Sarah Brightman - A Winter Symphony
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CD Details
Artist: Sarah BrightmanEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
CD Release Date: 2008-11-04
Music Label: Manhattan Records
Soundtracks:
- Arrival
- Colder Than Winter
- Ave Maria (duet with Fernando Lima)
- Silent Night
- In The Bleak Midwinter
- I've Been This Way Before
- Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring
- Child In A Manger
- I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
- Amazing Grace
- Ave Maria
- I Believe In Father Christmas
Music reviews of A Winter Symphony
Music Review: A WINTER Symphony indeed!
Rating: 4 Stars
Ok, so first of all I'd just like to make something clear: "A Winter Symphony" is NOT a Christmas album... at least not a usual one. I'd say it's more of a "winter themed album" (hence the title). So, no "Santa claus is coming to town" or "jingle bells" here. Not that there's anything wrong with those songs, BUT if that's what you're looking for, you'll have to look somewhere else. There are plenty of other xmas albums with merrier tunes that could please you if that's your cup of tea.
So, now that I've got that out of my mind, let's start with the review of the album:
1.Arrival: The opening of the album was originally an ABBA instrumental. I think it actually works quite well, really well indeed and it's one of my favourite songs in the album. The music is quite joyfull and there's a feeling of hope and longing and excitement through the whole song. [9/10]
2.Colder Than Winter: A really sad, touching ballad. The holidays is definitly the moment when you miss the ones you love(d) the most, and that's what this song is about. "It's colder than winter since you closed the door". I get goosebumps everytime I hear this song. Beware thos of you who have recently gone through a breakup! [10/10]
3.Ave Maria (with Fernando Lima): I must admit I'm not a fan of Lima's voice. I think it was OK in Pasión, but I just can't stand it in this song. This has to be my least favourite song in the album. Spanish lyrics, poppy tune, doesn't do much for me. Though for those of you who liked LIma's part in Pasión, you'll probably enjoy this one as well. [4/10]
4.Silent Night: I've read that a lot of people complain about Sarah's whispery voice. And you should know that she does the WHOLE album in that breathy voice. To me, it works quite well in most of the songs. I really enjoy this version of Silent Night, Sarah's voice is quite angelic and the orchestra is amazing (if there's something you're gonna love about the album will be the orchestral arrangements, I asure you!) [7/10]
5.In The Bleak Midwinter: Sarah had already recorded this song some years ago for an album called "Save The Children". Back then, Sarah's voice was quite different and still had the Christine Daee timbre. Sarah's voice has obviously changed since then, and so I was really curious about this new version, which I must say is a bit dissapointing. It's not bad, but I'm gonna stick to the old version, just because I think it was more... powerful. Maybe if she had used her soprano voice this could have been better. [5/10]
6.I've Been This Way Before: Another ballad. This song actually made its way to the Symphony Tour. It's definitly a highlight of the album, I'm sureyou'll like it: beautiful lyrics, amazing arrangement, angelic voice. What elsecan I say? [9/10]
7.Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring: The popular cantata gets a facelift... or is completly destroyed, depending on your likes. I wonder why Sarah didn't use her soprano voice for this one, the breathy voice doesn't quite work here. Still, I love this song, and the orchestra and the chorus kinda make it up... perhaps it's too little too late to save the song. I'm not skipping it in my plyer anyway. [6/10]
8.Child In A Manger: Well, you all know the carol so there isn't much to say aboout it. Once again, the breathy voice... not the I'm critizising, I'm just pointing it out. It's not my faaaaaavourite, but I don't hate it either. [7/10]
9.I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday: This is one of my 2 absolute favs from the album. This is the ONLY merry merry song in the album. It's amazingly joyfull, Sarah sings with the excitement of a child standing in front of a christmas tree... and there's also a children choir that joins Sarah! (Her "come on children, sing!!!!" is really cute). Oh, and Sarah leaves aside her breathy voice and actually uses her chest voice... which I hadn't heard for quite a while, which is nice! [10/10]
10.Amazing Grace: The intro of the song is certainly impressive, and it's a lovely hymn anyway. Sarah's version has become my favourite version of this piece, not only because of the music, but because of how much emotion she puts into this one (and the voice is amazing, as usual). After so many crappy renditions of this song it's great to finally listen to one that actually inspires a feeling of hope and love and trust in God. [8/10]
11.Ave Maria (Gounod): Ok, so we arrive to the famous Gounod's Ave Maria. This has got to be THE love it/hate it Sarah piece of all time. Sarah sings this again with her breathy voice, much like she did with Schubert's Ave Maria, though I don't think it works as well in this one. The high note is... well, the woman definitly hits the note (and it sure is a high and difficult note) but I think it's just a tiny bit screamed out. Sarah's technique for hitting the high notes has changed in Symphony, I think I kinda get it: she has left all the body resonance behind to make her voice lighter to be able to reach the head resonance easier... it sound too metallic to my taste, but it's not wrong or bad. In any case, there are billions of sopranos singing this same piece, but no one does it like Sarah, that's for sure. [8/10]
12.I Believe In Father Christmas: This is my second absolute fav on the album. I love the song, which is a classic xmas song, and the arrangement is just amazing! The orcestra really gets to my heart, and the song fills me with joy and the spirit of the season. (Just so you know, this song is also sang by Sarah in the Symphony Tour). [10/10]
Now, these songs can only be found in the Barnes & Nobles edition of the album (in the USA) or in the cd+dvd edition (worldwide). I highly recommend getting the version with the bonus tracks!
13.When A Child Is Born: Sarah had already recorded this song with Gregorian before... though she only sang a few lines at the end of the song, so it's great to have her full version of it. The song is lovely, as always and Sarah surfs through it amazingly well. It's alomst as if this song was written specifically for her voice. [9/10]
14.Carpe Diem (with Mario Frangoulis): I'm not a big fan of Frangoulis, though I do enjoy some of his songs. I often find that when he sings his high notes he's a bit of a show-off, too much power, not enough control to make the notes sound... soft enough? So... this duet is enough, but I don't htink it's either Mario's nor Sarah's best performance. Actually, I don't think it fits the album at all, but it certainly is a nice song. I'd recommend to lower th evolume a bit in the end of the song or you may end up deaf. [7/10]
15.Happy Christmas-War is Over: Who doesn't love this christmas classic? Sarah also sang this in the Chritmas in Vienna concert with Placido Domingo, Helmut Lotti and Ricardo Cocciante. I like how clear Sarah's voice sounds in this song, and again theamount of emotion when she sings. In any case, this song is always a favourite of mine, and if Sarah's singing it, even better! [9/10]
So, all in all, I think this is a great album (notice I didn't say it's a "great cmas album"), but it may not be everyone's cup of tea. My advice? Listen to the samples here or go to youtube and listen to the songs before buying it, that way everyone is happy and no one ends up with an album that they hate. Way to go Sarah, another awesome album!
*I only rate this 4 stars because:
1. I hate her Ave Maria with Lima
2.The breathy voice is sometimes a bit too much
3.The deluxe edition SHOULD be the standard edition, it's not fair to release only 12 songs.
Description of A Winter Symphony
Sarah Brightman, A Winter SymphonyBroadway & Vocalists CDs
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