Customer Reviews

Voice of an Angel

5 star:		(257)
4 star:		(57)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(28)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

Immediately pleasing to the ear, her boy-soprano voice (i.e. Church's vocal color) it is an excellent built-in component to interpret songs like Gershwin's Summertime (From: Porgy & Bess, included on her 2nd CD). She will gain in her voice something more than the current divine touch of innocence when physically & emotionally matured (the taste appeal of aged-wine connoisseurs look for). Nevertheless, after hearing Ms. Church sing I was simply captivated.

Does Charlotte have the polish of a diva (which would be inappropriate at her age anyway) who's had decades of training and experience? No. But her music has a purity that a fully trained soprano does not have. It's lovely music that's soothing to the soul, as well as sweet to those who have the priviledge of listening her devoid of judgemental concerns/comparisons. If you close your eyes when you listen to this girl, you can imagine yourself in a Cathedral with her beautiful voice coming to enlighten you as alluring echoes.

This young lady deserves a great deal of respect for her accomplishments so far, and I join those who urge her and her trainers to pay attention to her vocal resources, guiding her & letting her voice mature naturally. Charlotte Church is mesmerizing, charming, lovely to listen to, and hopefully will continue to be so for many years to come.

The music in this CD is inspirational and uplifting, as well as the songs in her other released CDs. The words to describe the sheer beauty of Charlotte Church's voice do not come easily: it is better to experience the collection of pieces sung by her with irresistible charm.

The problem is that she is marketed as a prodigy and expectations are set incredibly high. I her 2nd CD she tries the operatic repertory with Puccini's Gianni Schicchi: "O mio babbino caro" and the: "Jewel Song" from Gounod's Faust. Her pure and voice showing an amazing agility that some coloratura sopranos would certainly envy.

I just got this CD yesterday after hearing so much about it. Before I comment, it is only fair for me to say that I am something of an opera fan, although I am certainly not a purist. I was impressed by this young lady, although I msut say that I quickly thought that she needs to do a lot of work to develop her fantastic gift. That is not to put her down, it is only to acknowledge that she is young and that the material she has decided to dedicate herself to singing requires a certain amount of life experience if one is going to give it the musical expression that it deserves. In that sense, she reminds me very much of Leeann Rimes, who is similarly gifted but who also needs time and experience to fully develop her talent. For that reason, Iwas delighed to see Ms. Church's own comments on her recording. She herself has apparently recognized that she has work to do. Nevertheless, having said all of that, I must confess that the CD has remained in my player for the last twelve hours and that I cannot, at the moment, bear to think of listening to anyone else. I think her voice is, at present, so special because it has such a boyish quality about it; it has that certain innocence that we usually associate with, for example, The Vienna Boy's Choir of old. That quality will, of course, be lost with time and it will be her job to replace it with the sound of experience, which is often the sound of lost innocence. Hopefully, she will be up to the task. My prayer for her is that her adult guardians do not push her too far, too hard, too fast. With good, patient, careful training (especially in how to round out, as opposed to belt out, those high notes) the sound of her voice should be gracing us for years to come.

Having enormously enjoyed Ms Church's first CD, and not having bought the second one yet, I read all the consumer reviews presented here, back through October. I'm glad I did.

On first playing Church's CD numerous times (and trying to sing along, as a 50+ year old whose hey-days were in the Oberlin College Choir..and not since) I was mesmerized by her sweet voice and most of her songs. I do still love her CD and I will buy the next one (and I don't feel like I am participating in the ruination of her voice by buying her second CD.)

But I was very glad to read some of the kinder, more constructive critical reviews here which reminded me that in all the enthusiasm for Charlotte Church's performance, we really are talking about a young voice which, with its very possible great potential, one hopes will not be abused and overused in its youthful stages, but given thoughtful training, mindful of the need for rest, so that this lovely resource will not be strained and spoiled.

It was interesting to read the reviews of the young (teenaged) singers who submitted reviews; some of them expressed their concern for the future of Ms. Church's voice. Others (and other reviewers) seemed simply disgruntled, jealous or spiteful.

This young lady deserves a a great deal of respect for her accomplishments so far, and I join those who urge her and her trainers to take care of her vocal resources, letting her voice mature naturally. Charlotte Church is guileless, charming, lovely to listen to, and hopefully will continue to be so for many years to come.

...This recording is simply what it is -- a beautiful collection of pieces sung with irresistible charm by a thirteen year-old child named Charlotte Church. Nothing more, nothing less. Is this recording a pinnacle of artistic mastery? Decidedly no. Is there room for Charlotte to develop as a singer? Absolutely yes. But Charlotte's voice is beautiful in spite of whatever shortcomings there may be given her experience and training. Please enjoy this recording without the unnecessary comparisons to other vocalists. I hope that Charlotte continues to enjoy her success for many years to come. singer. Her phrasing, breath, and even basic sense of pitch leave a great deal to be desired. This has nothing to do with her youth; the tradition of the Treble (a child soprano whose voice has yet to change with puberty) stretches back even before the days of Bach and Handel. Even by Treble standards, she is merely mediocre. Moreover, the tension evident in her voice suggests that she is pushing it to the edge of its capabilities. If she continues like this, she will wear it out before it's fully matured.

* I wonder that this is marketed as a Classical album, as there is not a single Classical selection on it.

* The accompanying orchestra and chorus are crafted to the very peak of saccarine, mindless cheesiness, with no depth or thought whatsoever.

* I'm glad the lyrics are included, as her singing of them is indecipherable.

* In the last verse of "Amazing Grace", she attempts Black-Gospel-style appoggiaturas, an octave higher, in her soprano range. The result is nothing short of laughable.

This has nothing to do with "jealousy", and one reviewer supposes. I am not bitter, cynical, or mean-hearted. It's just that Church is nowhere near the artist her hype claims she is. There are wonderfully talented young musicians out there. Seek them out. Don't let the marketing insanity gull you into cheering "talent" as poor as this.

It is hard to express in words the depth of purity which transcends through Charlotte's voice. This CD will forever remain close to my heart. Heart! From heart to heart--that is the way a true artist should speak; Charlotte does. She's definitely a prodigy-very impressive.

I love the way she sings in Latin yet inside the CD pamphlet it is translated in English for us to understand (not all the songs are in Latin, only about 1/3.) The first time I heard her was on television singing "Pie Jesu." I wasn't even watching; just doing chores in another room and I was drawn like a magnet into the room where the most beautiful voice I had ever heard was coming and sat down right in front of the television with my mouth dropped to the floor.

I highly recommend it to everyone of all ages, but if you have an appreciation of classical music and/or opera this is not to be missed! Charlotte is like a breath of fresh ocean air to me. Allow her to transport you to your favorite place as well!

For the few minutes of Charlotte Church's performance on PBS that my husband and I saw.... everything else in the world was blocked out and all that existed was the this beautiful voice. When it was over, we both looked at each other.. speechless. I've never heard anyone sing who can even compare to Charlotte Church. The highest rating I could give her here was five stars... but she deserves more stars than in the universe. Discovering this beautiful girl's talent is one of those magical moments of a lifetime.

If you enjoy Charlotte Church, you may also want to check out Andrea Bocelli's, "ROMANZA" and John McArthur's, "HIDDEN."

This CD is remarkable. It is true that the recording quality is poor, but this also gives it a sense of reality. She does not have a huge diva voice yet, nor am I sure she ever will. If she is trained well, she will be wonderful upon reaching vocal maturity. If she is overworked, she will not be able to sing by the time she is 17. I am a college voice major, so when I first listened to the CD, I could pick out the awkward breathing and missed notes, but I could not have cared less. She does NOT sound like a 40 year old lyric soprano who's been doing operas for 15 years. If that's what you're looking for, by a Cecilia Bartoli CD. Charlotte sounds old for her age, maybe like a 20 year old, but has qualities of youth that make her voice very unique. If anything I'd buy each of her CDs as they come out to track her progress and see her grow as a singer. It is a lovely CD to put in at bedtime if you want to be lulled to sleep. Those bashing her and saying that they have heard better, I hope you have, or else you have no business rating a classical CD. I have heard better as well. But regardless of what you may say, her expression is beautiful, her voice is clear, and her song choice reflects her values, God and Country. In conclusion, don't buy this CD in search of perfection. But if you are truly in search of perfection, don't buy any CDs at all.

To all who criticize young Charlotte all I can say is "baloney". I'm no opera critic. In fact, when some aspiring Miss America contender begins caterwalling in the talent competition I use that time for a restroom break.

Miss Church, on the other hand, holds my attention--sends chills up my spine on several selections--and awakened an interest in music I did not possess previously. (God help me, my last CD purchase was Britney Spears.)

Charlotte may be young and incompletely polished, but the sheer potential of the lass astounds me.

Hopefully she will only improve with age and, in doing so, will convert others such as myself to the beauty of her music.

Okay... I know absolutely nothing about opera. I don't know what it's supposed to sound like. Call me ignorant. What is important to me is this... as I write this, Charlotte Church is singing Suo-Gan, and it makes my heart melt. Simple as that. This is the most inspiring piece of music I've listened to in, well, I don't know how long. The critics who tear into this girl's music need to sit back and relax to this album. Miss Church, you go right on singing.

I must say, I don't really understand the negative reviews that Charlotte Church has received for her singing. Yes, of course she is young. But that just makes her all the more amazing. "Voice of an Angel" is one of my favourite albums. I have to say that, having heard her sing recently, her performance on "Voice of an Angel" was a little... well, green. But it was still INCREDIBLE! My only complaint about the album has nothing to do with Charlotte's singing... I didn't like the arrangement of 'Danny Boy'. It was a little too gloomy. If you watch the "Voice of an Angel" video you can hear a much better arrangement of that song.

I don't doubt that Charlotte will fulfill her dreams of singing opera on stage. She already has an incredible voice, and is getting better all the time.

I would definitely recommend this album to anyone, even if they are not actually a fan of classical or opera music. I think Charlotte Church has gone a long way in bringing this kind of music to a new generation of listeners.