Classics for Romance, a 2007 release from Global Journeys, may be filled with laid-back classical pieces to set the proper mood for love, but these selections are so well known, you're likely to have them scattered over other compilations in your collection. Assuming that everyone has heard various lush arrangements of Pachelbel's Canon in D major (this album's offering is a super slow version for piano and strings), and that Delibes' Flower Duet, Bach's Air on the G String, and Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1 are equally familiar, these quiet pieces give some idea of the dreamlike mood of the whole album. However, that does not mean it is free of defects, some of which are distracting enough to make listening a drag. Most annoying of all this disc's problems is the lack of a clear attack on the opening pitches of tracks, which instead fade in unnaturally and sound especially strange on the piano's first notes. Furthermore, works that were originally composed for solo piano have other instruments thrown in for weak effects, such as a cello obbligato droning on Beethoven's "Moonlight" Sonata, harp and strings shimmering behind the piano in
Debussy's Clair de lune, and still more strings to gussy up
Chopin's Nocturne in E flat major and Beethoven's Für Elise (misattributed on the back cover to Mozart). In short, amateurish touches that are entirely unnecessary and anathema to purists. Alas, there are no credits for the arrangements, nor are the pianist and other musicians identified, so the problems of the performances are impossible to pin on anyone. The sound of this CD is decent, so playing it at a moderate level will work for casual listening.