Paul McCartney – Ecce Cor Meum

Paul McCartney – Ecce Cor Meum / 2008 EMI Classics / 67 Minutes / http://www.paulmccartney.com / http://www.emiclassics.com /

This DVD features material about “Ecce Cor Meum” (Behold My Heart), McCartney’s fourth classically-oriented CD. For those individuals that are not familiar with what “Ecce Cor Meum” entailed, it is a composition, specifically an oratorio in four movements, that is sang in both Latin and English. The primary focus of this DVD is to show a live performance of “Ecce Cor Meum”, as it captures a November, 2007 performance of the composition. The show at the Royal Albert Hall in London was chosen for this honor, and EMI Classics spared no expense in the capturing of this concert.

The audio is nigh-perfect; were it not for the audience noise at points, individuals would have little to no idea that this was not a studio performance. Gavin Greenaway’s conducting of the piece is spot-on; individuals would be hard pressed to find any place where the live performance is not as good as the studio one. The composition shows its maturity throughout all segments of this DVD; McCartney’s eight years working on this composition makes this into something hard-hitting, subtle, intense, calm, and is different for anyone that listens in. Perhaps most interesting on the “Ecce Cor Meum” DVD is the documentary that is bundled with the concert.

Where the album dropped over a year ago without much in the way of information given it, the documentary exhaustively explains influences, interests of McCartney during this time period, and gives a hell of a context for the live and studio recordings of this album. The competitive price of the DVD is well below that traditionally associated with newer classical compositions; the price also makes it very affordable for fans of McCartney’s other works, whether they are Wings or Beatles fans. This DVD also acts as a great stop-gap measure until that time when McCartney can come out with another album of new material. While the music present may not be of a style that they immediately associate with McCartney, the skill and ability of McCartney to put together a composition of this level is impressive. Check this disc out if you want to see the evolution of McCartney through pop superstar to rocker and to dignified, stately classical composer. Hopefully EMI Classics can continue to work with McCartney through this part of eir career; I can only forecast better and more impressive compositions in the future. Check this DVD out when you get a chance.

Rating: 7.0/10