Customer Reviews

Charlotte Church - In Jerusalem

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Charlotte Church sounds even better when performing live than she does on her CD's - and that takes real talent! This video is absolutely beautiful. Charlotte is beautiful, her voice is beautiful, and the setting is beautiful. Every song is lovely, but I especially like "O Mio Babbino Caro" and "Plasir d'amour." "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer" is so wonderful that it sounds exactly like the version on her CD, only better! "The Holy City" is a smashing ending to this must-have for Charlotte fans! My only criticism is that this video is way too short!

This video certainly has no more merit than a CD by this artist. The scene is by the wailing wall in Jerusalem and the sum total of the program is to hear Miss Church wailing away with her choir-girl repertoire of material from previous CDs. Accordingly the listener/viewer has the same problems as with the CD and that is the total lack of range, control, and emotion in Miss Church's singing. If all you want is volume, you can receive the same every Sunday from your church choir. If you want to see Jerusalem, go there in person. The stationary night-time scene of Miss Church by the wailing wall will not satisfy your appetite for a Holy Land visitation.

Many people have been scepticalabout the development of her voice, but as this concert proves she only seems to get better and better. At fifteen years of ageshe has a wonderful appealingstage presence, and if she continues to train & improve, I believe that her dream to star in Madam Butterfly will happen.

Charlotte Church in Jerusalem is a wonderful concert performed in the shadows of the Tower of David in Jerusalem, and Charlotte is in fine voice throughout, but a couple of things make this my least favorite of Charlotte's concert DVDs. It's relatively short for one thing, clocking in at just 49 minutes - and that includes two orchestra intermissions. For another thing, the lighting is just horrible - maybe it looked great in person, but on video the stage is lit by some very harsh red and blue lights that oftentimes make Charlotte's tongue appear to be blue.

Despite its faults, though, this DVD does give us the always-impressive Charlotte Church singing a number of classical and religious songs, most of which can be found on her second, self-titled album. Singing in such a historically important setting, Charlotte performs with great reverence and grace. She is accompanied by the Ra'anana Symphonette Orchestra under the direction of Julian Smith, and the Chamber Cantus Choir joins her on two songs. There seemed to be a minor timing issue with the chorus on one song, but the orchestra is superb. Uri Miles, possibly Israel's only Uilleann Pipes player, lends an appropriately Irish sound to the song Last Rose of Summer, and Marina Blumen joins Charlotte to sing Pie Jesu. Blumen is greatly overshadowed by Charlotte, who had really settled in to her performance by that point. There are two intermissions, which seems rather strange given the short length of the DVD itself, but the orchestra fills the gaps wonderfully, especially with two selections from Bizet's Carmen.

My favorite songs are, not surprisingly, the ones sung in English. The Lord's Prayer is a beautiful song that Charlotte always sings with great feeling, and she quickly follows up with a powerful version of Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer. Ave Maria is another stand-out selection, followed closely by La Pastorella and Plaisir d'amour. Having begun the concert, appropriately enough, with the song Jerusalem, Charlotte concludes by singing The Holy City, which she soon reprises before calling it a night.

The DVD doesn't come with many bonus features. There is a discography of Charlotte CDs and videos, a set of pictures from Charlotte's time in Jerusalem (but the concert itself features a number of video shots of Charlotte touring the city), and - my favorite - a music video for Dream a Dream (featuring Billy Gilman). I absolutely love this particular song, so the inclusion of the video earns much appreciation from this Charlotte fan.

All in all, this is a wonderful DVD; I just wish it were longer and featured more flattering lighting. I would rank this last among Charlotte's DVDs, but that does not mean Charlotte Church in Jerusalem is not worth watching. Devoted fans like myself will definitely want to add this title to their collection.

I was asked to do this review by a friend who had inquired as to whether this Video constituted a great religious experience. Unfortunately, I finished viewing this video, obtained from a library, totally unmoved. Despite various venues in and around places associated with Jesus, the vocals from Charlotte Church were about as inspiring as a flat tire. There is a total lack of emotion with this little girl and her range is notibly lacking; especially at the lower octaves. There is an aura of sterility that surrounds her vocalizations. In viewing this video, I feel as if I were listening to vocals which have simply been added to some video shoots without any thought of the congruency between the two. Thus, I remain unmoved by this work which rates no more than a travelogue seen on the travel TV Channel.

Charlotte's first concert video had her playing at the Brixton Academy in the UK. That was fine, she was full of poise and confidence for a pre-teenager. In doing a concert in Jerusalem, she nearly retains the same poise. No, her vocalizations are perfect; it's inbetween songs that she talks at a clip, belying an apparent nervousness at playing at the Tower of David. After all, it's a very historic site, and maybe the awe that place inspires got to her. Fortunately for her, she doesn't sing as fast as she talks, otherwise this would be a short video, plus it might've been retitled The Chipmunk In Jerusalem. But it's okay--she turned to full form by the time the Enchantment concert in Cardiff was filmed.

Seriously though, all but four songs are taken from Charlotte's self-titled sophomore release. The first of the two is the song she leads off with, "Jerusalem," part of the epic written by poet William Blake, which begins, "And did these feet in ancient times, walk upon England's mountain green."

One of Charlotte's little speeches involves her favourite instrument, the Uillean pipes, which has a sound like a bagpipe except less shrill, and which has been used by Enya and the Corrs, to name at least two Celtic artists. Uri Miles was the only Uillean pipe player they could find in Jerusalem, and he plays on "The Last Rose Of Summer" after giving the crowd a brief demonstration. Hey, at least it floated Charlotte's boat.

There are two intermissions here. During the first, the orchestra playing selections from Georges Bizet's Carmen is intercut with silent footage of preparations for the concert, including soundmen, light people, choreographer, the orchestra, Charlotte of course, and Marina Blumen, who comes out briefly later. In the second, the orchestra plays the Intermezzo Cavalleria Rusticana, while footage of Charlotte walking the streets of the city, wearing a blue dress and purple headscarf, and ordinary citizens of Jerusalem are seen.

Her signature tune "Pie Jesu" is done with Marina Blumen, and here we see the use of second banana done to a tee. Charlotte's clearly the glamorous star, slender, pretty, wearing her sleeveless magenta dress, and having a superior singing voice while Marina, round-faced, taller, a pit on the portly side and wearing a black outfit, pales beside her, vocally as well. Paging Gwillem Evans... (the kid who duetted with her on the first concert video).

She ends her set appropriately enough with "The Holy City," which she reprises the last verse as an encore. She is clearly at her best and most radiant here.

The Ra'anana Symphonette Orchestra led by Julian Smith do a bang on job, as do the Cantus Choir when they back her up in "The Lord's Prayer" and "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer," which is one of the better songs here.

However, the lighting isn't anything to shout home about, and she could've done a few more songs that used the choir more. One other oddity. Despite sporting nice long-sleeved pink dress on the video cover, she never wears it during the concert. Other than that, her voice is perfect, even if her rapid-fire talking gets a bit distracting.

I have been a fan of Ms. Church's since she was eleven years old. I think that this video really brings out the best of her angelic talent. Well done, Charlotte!

I first knew about Charlotte Church when I saw and recorded her concert in Jerusalem on PBS TV. I was so impresssed and captivated by the passion and beauty of her voice. All the songs in the concert were excellently executed but especially these three stood out - O Mio Babbino Caro, The Lord's Prayer, and Ave Maria. I later bought this DVD which showed extra scenes of Charlotte exploring the historic city of Jerusalem. These scenes of her walking and visiting the different areas of the holy city were especially touching. This DVD is unquestionably five stars!

Charlotte outdoes herself in this concert. Of course she had the help of a fabulous orchestra and conductor. I think that her voice was starting to mature around the time of this concert. She didn't always hit the notes right on (off by a mere half-note), but she always corrected herself. Despite all of that, every song was sung beautifully. Ave Maria is my favorite, with the breeze toying with her gorgeous hair as she sings her heart out.

There is no doubt that Charlotte has worked very hard on her breathing and vocal techniques, which are an improvement from Voice of an Angel. The only part I didn't like was the duet with the Marina girl. Marina had this terrible expression on her face, and sings equally bad and bland. Charlotte can't help but outshine Marina. I always skip this song. I also thought that the silent film playing during intercession could have been made into an extra feature for the DVD. There was one point where it looked like Charlotte was giving an interview; I would have loved to see that on the DVD.

I'm not making any excuses for Charlotte only being 15 during this recording. This is her best classical performance, and she knows exactly what she's doing. I give Char 5 stars for her performance, but the lack of features on the DVD and Marina person take it down to 4.

Her voice gets better and better. Great DVD.