Cellist
Yo-Yo Ma and pianist
Kathryn Stott continue their longstanding creative partnership with their warmly delivered 2020 duo album
Songs of Comfort & Hope. Recorded during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the set initially began as a series of online performances
Ma gave as a way of connecting with and offering solace to his fans. Using the hashtag #SongsofComfort,
Ma posted his solo performances and encouraged others to post theirs in turn. As an organic outgrowth of that process,
Ma then paired with
Stott to record some of the songs, as well as others in the same spirit. The resulting
Songs of Comfort & Hope follows their previous Grammy-winning collaborations, 1997's
Soul of the Tango: The Music of Astor Piazzolla and 2003's
Obrigado Brazil, and finds them performing a mix of traditional folk tunes, classical pieces, and jazz standards. There's a textural, ASMR quality to many of these performances, as in the opening "Amazing Grace, Prelude," in which
Ma and
Stott play against a backdrop of what sounds like a boat rocking gently in a storm at sea. Less theatrical, if no less captivating songs follow, including atmospheric renditions of
Antonin Dvorak's "Going Home,"
Wu Tong's "Rain Falling from the Roof," and
Francis Poulenc's "Les Chemins de l'Amour." Particularly vibrant is their take on "Scarborough Fair" as they each take turns playing the melody while the other offers shimmering, percussive accompaniment. It's that deeply engaging interplay between
Ma and
Stott throughout all of
Songs of Comfort & Hope that makes the album both a compelling and relaxing experience. ~ Matt Collar