馬友友 Yo-Yo Ma (大提琴)
凱瑟琳‧史托特Kathryn Stott (鋼琴)

 十九座葛萊美獎的肯定，疫情肆虐之下最療癒的錄音。
 臺灣樂迷搶先現場聆聽，2020年終最動人的心靈洗禮。
 收錄廿首雋永不敗歌曲，豐饒、細膩、溫暖的音樂饗宴。

大提琴家馬友友與他多年來的伴奏搭檔，英國鋼琴家凱瑟琳‧史托特，從1985年合作的第一張錄音開始，就屢次拿下非常具備指標意義的葛來美獎，這其中包括「最佳古典跨界專輯」的《巴西情迷》與《探戈靈魂》。美國國家廣播公司為他們在2015年的錄音《生命之歌》寫下的註腳是：多年來他們完美、溫暖、圓熟的合作情誼，就展現在既豐饒又細膩的精彩演出當中。聽過馬友友與史托特現場演出的樂迷，一定會為他們渾然天成的默契感到印象深刻，這不僅是多年淬練的結晶，也是對藝術與人文共識的成果。

2020年全新錄音《大地之歌》，在克服諸多艱難險阻的考驗之後，終於如期問世。臺灣的樂迷十分幸運能在《大地之歌》全球發行之前，有機會在台灣四個主要音樂場館搶先欣賞馬友友與史托特的現場音樂會。除了延續《生命之歌》的純粹古典曲目之外，馬友友與史托特在新專輯中也將跨界精神展現到極致，選曲橫跨古今中外全球五大洲，收錄來自華裔音樂家吳彤創作的《遠山》、《檐頭雨》；最膾炙人口的愛爾蘭民謠《丹尼男孩》、《夏日最後玫瑰》；南美智利「民謠之母」比奧萊塔‧帕拉的《感謝生命》、象徵美好希望的美國電影歌曲經典《彩虹的彼端》。「歌曲就像承載著情感的時空膠囊」，馬友友與史托特說，「串連起久違的夢想和渴望，讓我們保持積極正向，團結在一起。」

Five years ago, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Kathryn Stott created an album called 'Songs from the Arc of Life' which charted an imagined lifetime through song and its unique way of storytelling.
It had long been their wish to explore this medium further, but they could never have imagined that the catalyst would be a pandemic that fundamentally rearranged our ways of living.
'Songs of Comfort and Hope' was conceived in April 2020 when people everywhere were entering a dramatic new world, one in which we have been separated from our loved ones and many filled with fear and isolation.
Featuring twenty one new recordings, ranging from fresh arrangements of traditional folk tunes, pop songs, and jazz standards to mainstays from the western classical repertoire, the songs on the album bring a sense of community, identity, and purpose, crossing boundaries and binding us together in thanks, consolation, and encouragement.
This is music that tells stories, that marks occasions private and public, that gives voice to celebrations, remembrances, and all of life?s mysteries.
They are songs that pay tribute to champions of social justice 'like Paul Robeson and Violeta Parra' and to the troubadours of our joy, imagination, and sorrow 'like Wu Tong, Francis Poulenc, and Benjamin Britten.
They are creations that, as Felix Mendelssohn once wrote, express thoughts that are ?not too indefinite to be put into words, but on the contrary, too definite.
Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott hope that the familiarity and reinvention contained in this music offers everyone some comfort and hope.