Customer Reviews

Charlotte Church - Dream a Dream [Super Audio Compact Disk]

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

This is about the most splendid Christmas disc I've heard in years. Charlotte Church is a really awesome singer. Why some want to trash her is beyond me. There are some who just refuse to expand their enjoyment of music beyond the narrow restrictions of what music they deem "cool". I guess they'll never know what they are missing by not opening up to the vocal wonder that is Charlotte Church. For the rest of us, this is a must-have for our collection of Christmas music. We'll find a range of songs that would seem to include something for everybody. There are traditional classics like O, Come, All Ye Faithful, Ding Dong Merrily On High, Joy To The World, and Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming. There are more modern standards like The Little Drummer Boy and Winter Wonderland. There's even Draw Tua Bethlehem, a song in the singer's native Welsh. Seldom has any collection of Christmas music been this good!

Just when I thought she couldn't sound better. She releases Dream a Dream and proves me wrong. This album is destined to be a classic. If you only buy one Christmas album this year you can't miss with this one.

When one thinks of Charlotte Church one also thinks of the opening lyrics to the ancient and much revered Greensleeves,--"What Child is This?" Who is this young lady? Simply put, Ms Church is the finest teenage soprano in the world and Greensleeves (What Child is This?) is one of the songs included on her latest album, "Dream a Dream", released on October 21, 2000 by Sony Classical and soon to be certified Gold perhaps breaking all previous sales records. "Dream a Dream" is the astonishing follow up to her previous two albums "Voice of an Angel" now certified double Platinum by Sony Classical and the self titled Gold album "Charlotte Church." Truly, the sweetest teenage voice on the planet, it's difficult to believe this young lady is only fourteen.

Ms Church continues her tradition for excellence with this latest release. More than just another Christmas album, "Dream a Dream" is a mixture of the ancient and new, spiritual and contemporary, Pop and traditional. Ms Church's crystalline pure voice accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra carries one to heavenly heights with the greatest of ease. It's real delight to listen to this latest work by Ms Church and it will be one I'll be listening to long after the passing of the Season of Christ.

My favorite's on the album include these moments: Rhodri Davies' harp accompaniment on the beautiful Ave Maria is one of the finest ever heard, this pairing of harp and voice is nothing short of one of the finest moments in music history. Charlotte's "child like voice" in O Tannenbaum conjures forth images of Christmas settled and celebrated around the Christmas Tree by millions of children around the world. The only all a cappella song on the album is "Lo! How A Rose E'er Blooming". Dating from the late 1500's it is the most regal of all the spiritual songs on the album. Dream a Dream is Ms Church's first step into the season of Pop and is superlatively performed. What else are we going to see from this very versatile young lady in the way of Pop? The full orchestral backup of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" truly expresses the spirit of the season. "Draw Tua Bethlehem", a Welsh hymn of praise, is expertly carried by Ms Church in Welsh and English and sets one on a journey of hope.

Not only does this album express the measure of the season but it gives us an insight into the sophistication of voice and value of this very beautiful young lady. The album is beyond the land, lore and love of Charlotte's Welsh citizenship, it speaks to millions throughout the world of all languages and cultures.

I have been a fan of Charlotte Church since I caught her concert on public television. She amazed me with her talent and her childlike outlook that was so at odds with her powerful voice. I have been following her voice through her albums and could not pass up the chance to pick up her Christmas album both as a fan of Church and as an avid fan of Christmas music.

Charlotte Church will stun you with the brilliance of this album. The title song alone is darkly beautiful and includes the talent of Billy Gilman. The combination of these two voices is heartstopping and they blend wonderfully together. In addition to many traditional Christmas songs, Church also includes ones that are lesser known and for that I am thankful. Too often, a Christmas album contains holiday classics with different inflections produced by style alone. Church outdoes these other artists by including songs like "When A Child Is Born". Prior to this album, I had resigned myself to a musicbox rendition of it. But the lyrics are powerful and stirring and I am glad to finally have a version of it that does the song justice. Also, the catchy and moving song "Mary's Boy Child" is a song that initially caught my attention because the beat and style of the song was unexpected from the artist.

This is probably the best album I've heard from Charlotte Church in terms of the quality of her voice. Like many young artists, Church has been blessed with an extraordinary talent. The advantage of this is that she has years to cultivate her talent and to improve her technique. Though she is far from perfect, I respect her talent and am amazed at her gift. I look forward to hearing more from her in the future and to observe her development as a vocal artist.

I am going to take the other nine Christmas CD's that I have in my collection, pack them up and send them to my favorite charity. Then I am going to put this offering by Charlotte Church into my disk changer...and leave it there.

"dream a dream", the third offering by the remarkable Charlotte Church is an absolutely luminous collection of well-known (and not so well-known) carols and songs. But beyond being just another Christmas CD, this one just happens to be performed by what some people believe is the most beautiful voice in the world today.

My favorite track on the CD (so far) is "Draw Tua Bethlehem", sung in Welsh and English and showcasing the remarkable growth her voice has undergone in power and color in the past two years. However, Charlotte is now able to employ a wide variety of vocal styles, ranging from the angelic "When a Child is Born", to the triumphant climax of songs like "Joy to the World". She also performs a truly astonishing rendition of "Ding Dong Merrily On High", and a touching version of "Gabriel's Message" - with only a harp as backup.

"dream a dream" is by far the best work Charlotte has recorded so far. If you buy one Christmas CD in the next ten years, this should be the one. Thank you, Charlotte!

Don't get me wrong, I love Charlotte. I fell in love with her voice when I first saw a commercial about her advertising "Voice of an Angel" and hearing her sing "Pie Jesu". However, this Christmas album is not quite what I expected...first of all, Dream a Dream isn't even a Christmas song and it's the title song. And then the other songs on the album, while beautifully sung, are sung by the choir with Charlotte only doing a verse or two on them and descants on some of them. There are some jewels on this album however, such as O Holy Night, which is done beautifully, and not-so-familiar pieces such as Draw Tua Bethlehem, but for the most part, the album is a little boring with a choir singing the same old Christmas songs (Oh Come All Ye Faithful, etc.) Bottom line: a good Christmas CD overall, but I'd rather listen to her self-titled album or Voice of an Angel instead.

Charlotte starts by saying, "A massive thanks go to my fans...without you, I wouldn't be here now". THANK YOU, Charlotte for another wonderful album; but I disagree, for you would be there regardless of fans. Regardless of religion, if you celebrate Christmas, this is a MUST. Charlotte's voice is coming on strong...just listen to the whole album, but especially "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" (she of course has the Angel voice), "Joy to the World", "Ave Maria", and last, but not least, the beautifully done "Silent Night". This young girl will give you a religious experience with her beautiful voice in this album. At Christmas parties this album will not be the background music; it will be the main talk of the party. At least, it will be at MY party. Try it; you'll see for yourself.

I'll be really honest. I like this cd. I like it a lot. And no, I'm not a Charlotte fan. This is the only album of hers I own, or care to own, for that matter. Nor am I a classical music fan. I'm just an average guy who likes to listen to Christmas carols at Christmas time (imagine that). I think the girl has a beautiful voice. The classical music nuts are ranting that her voice is untrained, that she tries ...(too) hard on one hand, and is unemotional and flat on the other. I think they're missing the point. Quite simply, you don't create best selling albums if you suck. And since her albums routinely top the charts, I think that says something. Okay, so maybe her voice doesn't measure up to the top sopranos out there. That's okay, I don't like most of the top sopranos out there. I LIKE the fact that her voice is untrained. It sounds more honest for the effort. I think she did a fantastic job on my all time favorite carol "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". And I've listened to a lot of renditions of that particular song.

The field of classical music has become like so many others: too insular for its own good. Whatever happened to just listening to music for the fun of it? Why not just appreciate it for what it is? After all, if you can pick out every little fault in Charlotte's singing, I think maybe you are listening to way too much music. Sure, it's not perfect. Even I can hear little errors in her performance, and a music afficionado I am not. But again, it sounds all the more honest for it.

Ah well, enough of my ranting. I guess this is like most other things: if the so-called "experts" (ie critics, etc.) hate it, I'm almost sure to love it.

A standing ovation for Charlotte; she has done it again. She has improved so much. I can't wait for her fourth album!

This is one of two Christmas records (George Winston's "December" being the other one) that I enjoy listening to even in July.

Charlotte Church brings out the classical sound in many of the familiar favorites, such as "O Come, All Ye Faithful", "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing", "Joy to the World".

Her "Ave Maria" is especially affecting for sheer spiritual feeling in her rendition. "Stille Nach, heilige Nacht" also has a spiritual quality, its being sung in the original german emphasizing a deep, heavenly beauty which the familiar English fail to convey as well. And again, "Cantique de Noel" is given the sacred treatment it deserves.

There are ageless favorites here that lend themselves well to Charlotte's voice, and to the choral arrangements such as "Ding Dong! Merrily on High", "Coventry Carol", "What Child Is This" (Greensleeves), "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" and "Gabriel's Message".

I did consider the title duet, "Dream A Dream", rather unfortunate...Her voice and Billy Gilman's do not blend well. Also, those who are Classical Purists, self-appointed experts, and such won't be happy with this album as a whole. But for those of us who maybe don't have "well-trained ears", but know what sounds good to us, this is a natural for our collections.