Sacred Arias
Audio CD
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£3.99
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Reviewer
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Katherine has a rich, wonderful voice and I remain firmly committed to the notion that I like her music. Sadly, the reality is that, on most of her albums, there are only a few tracks which really grab my attention and make me want to replay them. Sacred Arias is exceptional in that I can connect with virtually every track, and I could play the whole album over and over again. I will admit that I like church music, and I can see that the theme might not appeal to a wider audience. I believe that the best music is that which evokes an emotional response and, for me, this is Katherine's best album yet.
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Music: 10/10
Katherine Jenkins, as expected, sings beautifully throughout, and the music is wonderful. An absolutely fabulous collection of timeless arias.
Recording: 7/10
The recording doesn't do Katherine true justice. Microphone or recording issues, issues when processing the recording, a compressed top end, or some other issue with higher frequencies makes it a somewhat less relaxing experience than it should be to listen to all tracks in one sitting. Initially I looked for a room resonance to explain the unsettling loss of quality at the very top end, but I more or less ruled that out when I couldn't track down the apparent mild distortion. I haven't heard it on any other CDs and so my conclusion is that it is a CD recording quality issue. Audiophiles look out! I would be interested in hearing if anyone else feels that this is an issue.
If you are a real Katherine Jenkins fan this is unlikely to cause you any distraction. It does, however, spoil it for me to some extent.
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I have all of the cd's produced by Kaatherine with the exception
of the very latest Believe which I will be buying in a little while
when it has dropped out of the charts.
Sacred Aries is not the Best album she has produced as it has been
around for some time and was made when she was less experienced.
However it is an album which was designed for a specific market with
sales aimed at the older age group.Everybody would be aware of the type
of content included and would feel , as I do, that it was a cd that satisfied
everyone who liked Katherines singing and also liked to hear songs with a
religious flavour.No complaints at all.
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This is a very fine album-and don't let the detractors tell you any different!Katherine has a beautiful voice and it is impossible to listen to the album with an open mind,without experiencing the real feeling she puts into each line.The album is,in part,a retrospective-in that it covers some of the music which she grew up with as a choirgirl in Neath-and which proved such an inspiration to her.There are other tracks such as "Hallelujah!" which are sung with a rare beauty.So much better than more well-known cover versions.
This album is poignant,graceful and sets the spirit a-soaring.I am more than happy to fully recommend it.
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"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 the 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 focus more 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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