I confess to some conflicted opinions......... | Sacred Arias

Beautiful woman, beautiful voice | Sacred Arias | Leonard Cohen, Gabriel Faure, ...

classical music:


	• Sacred Arias Leonard Cohen, Gabriel Faure, ... Decca, 2008 average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Spiritual Songs with Secular Appeal

"This girl sings HYMNS! My, she looks so provocative!" my friend exclaimed when I handed her a copy of this CD and described its contents to her. I don't wonder at her surprise, for I thought a similar thing when I first saw the video advertisement for Katherine's "Sacred Arias" release. Sure, she may have been singing "The Lord is my Shepherd" but she looked so seductive in it, had the audio been on mute, no one would have been able to guess!

This is unsettling to me. I never have cared for Katherine's many risqué outfits, but it seems to be in excessively bad taste to advertise a supposedly Christian album with such a sexy marketing campaign. I am not saying that she should have dressed down. I love gorgeous clothes, and I love Katherine's good looks, but she doesn't have to reveal so much cleavage or pose in dresses cut in such a way that the back of her dress goes all the way down to the top of her buttocks. Because of Katherine's penchant for such clothing, it really didn't shock me (too much) when I recently saw her overtly erotic GQ magazine photo shoot.

The music itself is lovely, but since the singer seems to more focus on herself than the Lord, the messages in the lyrics don't come across as strongly as they might. The repertoire is nice, but seems a bit repetitive...most of these songs have been covered by other crossover artists in recent years, and since there are so many other wonderful hymns out there, I don't see why Katherine couldn't have branched out a bit and sang something less well known. I am also a little disappointed by the inclusion of the song deceptively titled "Hallelujah," which is not at all sacred.

In August 2008, Katherine Jenkins graced the cover of Classic FM magazine. During their interview, she said, "It doesn't matter what your religion is - the melodies are beautiful so I hope it will appeal to all people." Well, my religion matters very much to me. I am led to believe that to Katherine, the only thing about her faith that matters is the outward gloss rather than a faith that is substantial and real. I have the feeling that God would be more pleased with a woman who had less talent but a greater love for her Savior. Because of this, I believe "Sacred Arias" will appeal more to a secular audience than to genuine believers.

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I confess to some conflicted opinions.........

....on this one. Katherine Jenkins is pretty. That's a self-evident truth; even Mont Blanc used her for a poster girl, targeting the type of guys who can afford their pens. She is a good, not a great, singer. This album is well presented, with excellent renditions of some wonderful music. The pictures are fabulous, and that's the problem; I like to look at pretty girls as much as any guy, but semi-provocative photos with an album of sacred music make me uncomfortable. She can be as seductive as she wishes on a CD of opera arias, and I won't care. But here? (Contrast Renee Fleming's similar offering; perfect taste).

OK...I got my vent out of the way. The music is wonderful! Standard old hymns ("Abide With Me", "May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You", "Silent Night"), classical pieces ("Panis Angelicus", "Agnus Dei", "In Paradisium"), even a Spiritual. The "Pie Jesu" from the Andrew Lloyd Webber "Requium" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" are particularly fine.

Make your own decisions. I took away one star for mixing sexy art with hymns. I'm a Christian, but not a prude, and I'll admit that I'd add, rather than subtract, a star were this opera. This is very good, not a great, disc. I know that "Opera News" slammed it, but with all respect to a truly great magazine, this really isn't "their thing". Katherine is no Elina, either in looks or voice; still, you might enjoy it.

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Beautiful woman, beautiful voice

Katherine Jenkins does a wonderful job on the more operatic or classical material. My only regret is that she carries this style over into the more popular pieces where it doesn't work as well. Still, if she shows up at my front door and wants to run off to Mexico, I'm gone!

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never tire of it

Absolutely beautiful. I never tire of listening to it while I am working. I also own Living a Dream, Second Nature, and From the Heart. I like her choices on this CD the most. Out of my Kiri Te Kanawa, Renee Flemming, Sarah Brightman, and Kathleen Battle CD's, I often choose Katherine and Kathleen. One of the few voices that both my husband and I listen to together. So nice to hear a young lady sing these songs instead of "popera"! Very classy. Her voice is not overly trained. I look forward to her future productions!

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Slightly Disappointed

Her presentation in this album is not quite as pretty as she is. Actually, Susan Boyle does it better.

Just a few years back Katherine Jenkins was a public school music teacher in Wales. Today, she is the UK's fastest-rising classical star. Ever since she shattered a glass chandelier with a high note during a concert, Katherine has taken the classical world by storm, winning several singing competitions at the Royal Academy of Music. Her debut album Première went straight to number one in the U.K in April 2004 and stayed there for eight weeks. Katherine's second album, Second Nature was released in October 2004 and featured her stirring rendition of Time To Say Goodbye--the multi-platinum smash by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. The album quickly went platinum selling over 350,000 units by Christmas making Katherine Jenkins the U.K's biggest selling Classical Artist of 2004.

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