Ms Church continues her tradition for excellence with this latest release. More than just another Christmas album, "Dream a Dream" is a mixture of the ancient and new, spiritual and contemporary, Pop and traditional. Ms Church's crystalline pure voice accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra carries one to heavenly heights with the greatest of ease. It's real delight to listen to this latest work by Ms Church and it will be one I'll be listening to long after the passing of the Season of Christ.

My favorite's on the album include these moments: Rhodri Davies' harp accompaniment on the beautiful Ave Maria is one of the finest ever heard, this pairing of harp and voice is nothing short of one of the finest moments in music history. Charlotte's "child like voice" in O Tannenbaum conjures forth images of Christmas settled and celebrated around the Christmas Tree by millions of children around the world. The only all a cappella song on the album is "Lo! How A Rose E'er Blooming". Dating from the late 1500's it is the most regal of all the spiritual songs on the album. Dream a Dream is Ms Church's first step into the season of Pop and is superlatively performed. What else are we going to see from this very versatile young lady in the way of Pop? The full orchestral backup of "O Come, All Ye Faithful" truly expresses the spirit of the season. "Draw Tua Bethlehem", a Welsh hymn of praise, is expertly carried by Ms Church in Welsh and English and sets one on a journey of hope.

Not only does this album express the measure of the season but it gives us an insight into the sophistication of voice and value of this very beautiful young lady. The album is beyond the land, lore and love of Charlotte's Welsh citizenship, it speaks to millions throughout the world of all languages and cultures.


A wonderful compilation of Christmas songs   December 1, 2000
C. M. Chen (CA)
24 out of 26 found this review helpful

I have been a fan of Charlotte Church since I caught her concert on public television. She amazed me with her talent and her childlike outlook that was so at odds with her powerful voice. I have been following her voice through her albums and could not pass up the chance to pick up her Christmas album both as a fan of Church and as an avid fan of Christmas music.

Charlotte Church will stun you with the brilliance of this album. The title song alone is darkly beautiful and includes the talent of Billy Gilman. The combination of these two voices is heartstopping and they blend wonderfully together. In addition to many traditional Christmas songs, Church also includes ones that are lesser known and for that I am thankful. Too often, a Christmas album contains holiday classics with different inflections produced by style alone. Church outdoes these other artists by including songs like "When A Child Is Born". Prior to this album, I had resigned myself to a musicbox rendition of it. But the lyrics are powerful and stirring and I am glad to finally have a version of it that does the song justice. Also, the catchy and moving song "Mary's Boy Child" is a song that initially caught my attention because the beat and style of the song was unexpected from the artist.

This is probably the best album I've heard from Charlotte Church in terms of the quality of her voice. Like many young artists, Church has been blessed with an extraordinary talent. The advantage of this is that she has years to cultivate her talent and to improve her technique. Though she is far from perfect, I respect her talent and am amazed at her gift. I look forward to hearing more from her in the future and to observe her development as a vocal artist.


Charlotte triumphs!   October 20, 2000
23 out of 26 found this review helpful

I am going to take the other nine Christmas CD's that I have in my collection, pack them up and send them to my favorite charity. Then I am going to put this offering by Charlotte Church into my disk changer...and leave it there.

"dream a dream", the third offering by the remarkable Charlotte Church is an absolutely luminous collection of well-known (and not so well-known) carols and songs. But beyond being just another Christmas CD, this one just happens to be performed by what some people believe is the most beautiful voice in the world today.

My favorite track on the CD (so far) is "Draw Tua Bethlehem", sung in Welsh and English and showcasing the remarkable growth her voice has undergone in power and color in the past two years. However, Charlotte is now able to employ a wide variety of vocal styles, ranging from the angelic "When a Child is Born", to the triumphant climax of songs like "Joy to the World". She also performs a truly astonishing rendition of "Ding Dong Merrily On High", and a touching version of "Gabriel's Message" - with only a harp as backup.

"dream a dream" is by far the best work Charlotte has recorded so far. If you buy one Christmas CD in the next ten years, this should be the one. Thank you, Charlotte!