Kathleen Battle: A Christmas Celebration
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Free Music Notes for Kathleen Battle: A Christmas Celebration
Free Music Review: A Christmas Collection For The Ages
Hit: 5 Stars
If there is one performer I miss hearing on a regular basis, it is Kathleen Battle. Anytime I knew that she'd be in a Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast, I knew it would be a performance to remember and more often than not, I was correct. She has a light voice that reaches the upper reregisters with ease and has as a gorgeous sound. She not a regular at many opera houses these days, and in likelihood, if she still did perform on the world's opera stages, we'd be hearing critics say her voice was not what it once was, but thanks to her recorded legacy, her voice will, always have that youthful, energetic sound.
Overall I believe that Ms. Battle performs better in complete opera recordings than recital albums, but most of her recital recordings are of at least good quality and this Christmas collection is outstanding. She handles all of the works with apparent similar ease, but since the recording is so varied, this is a compliment to her skill as a performer. She begins and ends with "O Come All Ye Faithful" where she does a few vocal acrobatics but it's never overdone. Each time I think of what the bets part of the collection is, my mind changes. She brings her skills from the operatic stage in her renditions of "O Holy Night," "Gesu Bambino" (only Pavarotti sings this better, but it's a very close second), and "The Zither Carol" which sounds so much like something that could come from the mouths of Oscar from UN BALLO or Zurbinetta from ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, two of her signature roles. The music from the African American Spirituals tradition and American background are well done and the accompaniment of the Harlem Boys Choir, used to great advantage here adds so much.
With so many Christmas collections from the world of opera available, choosing one can be difficult, but this is one collection that has proven to be a joy for almost fifteen years and will continue to give holiday pleasure for years to come.
Free Music Review: Pure Joy
Hit: 5 Stars
In a world where disturbing things are all too common, Christian scripture guides us to dwell on that which is lovely. Kathleen Battle's blessed voice is most certainly one of those lovely things. I bought this CD in the early 1990's, and I am here to buy it again because I have worn out the original with scratches, etc. I only listen to it during the Christmas season, but I enjoy it enough to hear it all year.
The 'Christmas Celebration' CD should be enough to convince you to also purchase Kathleen's 'A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert'. Ms. Battle's wonderful soprano voice is joined by that of the mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, and the blending is more than memorable. There are a couple of songs which are on both CD's, but you'll want to hear both. In fact, the video of the PBS special is also available, and I recommend buying all three. You won't regret it.
Some of my favorite selections from 'Christmas Celebration' include 'Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabelle' and 'Fum, Fum, Fum', both of which are from a culture different from my own. I found such glimpses into unfamiliar favorites to enhance my own enjoyment of the Christmas season, as long as all of my traditional American favorites were included. They were. "I Wonder As I Wander" and "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful" are there among the other favorites.
This CD's music is the kind that sets a wonderful Christmas mood. It can establish memories that say "Christmas" in the memories of children for life. Along with other classics like 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and 'The Nutcraker' (from your favorite orchesta) and George Winston's 'December' and a few others, you will slowly be able to assemble a Christmas music library that will stay with you for life.
Free Music Review: Uplifting music by a superior soprano
Hit: 5 Stars
If you could only have two Christmas CDs, Kathleen Battle's "A Christmas Celebration" would definitely be one (and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" would be the other.)While Battle has been known to be a temperamental diva (leading to a quasi-banishment from operatic roles), her pretty, soaring soprano is without peer. So good is her voice that I would consider several of the cuts on this disc to be definitive performances, not only of Battle's repertoire, but of all performances ever of that song.
Case in point would be her rendition of Gounod's "Ave Maria". Haunting and stunning at the same time, it's as if the angel itself were singing. "Mary Had a Baby" is another fabulously rendered, gospel-tinged beauty.
One of the other strengths of the collection is the sheer breadth of carols and hymns. Modern, traditional, and ancient songs are here. Common carols and more unusual ones appear. Among the less heard songs are "Fum, Fum, Fum!", "Marie Wiegenlied", "Zither Carol", and "Rise Up, Shepherd". Stylistically and internationally, Battle runs the gamut, too, making the album wonderfully cosmopolitan. In all, between the stand-alone songs and the medleys, there are twenty-five selections in almost sixty-three minutes of recording time.
Leonard Slatkin, long of the St. Louis Symphony, conducts the Orchestra of St. Luke's, and is ably backed by The Boy's Choir of Harlem and others. The sound is rich and full, the mic work impeccable. The recording itself is DDD and shows it. Despite being recorded in 1986, everything is fresh today.
You cannot go wrong with this CD. It is one of the best Christmas albums ever recorded and a great way to get into the spirit of Christmas.
Free Music Review: Best Christmas Album Ever!
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought this CD a couple of years after it came out, and have listened to it at every Christmas since. Kathleen Battle may have been temperamental and hard to work with, but at the time of this recording, she had the voice of an angel.
This CD features an eclectic mix of the warhorses of the Christmas carol repertoire, spirituals and some familiar carols and folk-type songs in their original language. All the songs fit Battle's soprano voice, as all are "classical", with no "pop" songs included. there is a familiarity to some of the songs whose arrangements are the same as some from Pavarotti's Xmas album.
Several people have remarked on their favorites from the album, such as both Ave Marias. I love her angelic voice on Maria's Wegenlied and Gesu Bambino. I think my favorite is Silent Night. I am not overly fond of that carol, but in the recording they have Kathleen doing harmony with herself as she takes the line higher than the actual melody. the effect is very moving. I can only describe it as sounding the way one imagine if an angel were singing Baby Jesus to sleep. Simply lovely. The orchestral arrangements are beautiful throughout, and the Boys Choir of Harlem and New York choral Artists provide fine choral support.
If you love beautiful operatic soprano singing and Christmas, this album is a must-have. Everyone for whom I have played this CD has rushed out and bought it, so it would make a great gift as well.
Free Music Review: A Christmas Album that Still Glows
Hit: 5 Stars
It has been almost twenty years since this CD was created and yet it remains at the top of the list of a large number of music admirers. Kathleen Battle was in her prime when this recording was made - her voice seemingly effortlessly produced with a beautiful range that was as comfortable in the music of Bach as in contemporary jazz. This collaboration with Leonard Slatkin conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's with New York Choral Artists & Harlem Boys' Choir may not introduce any new works, but the traditional songs of the season have rarely sounded so pure of tone and feeling. The arrangements are excellent and the combination of voice and orchestra (and occasional chorus) is well balanced. The title - A Christmas Celebration - is certainly apropos. It is well to be reminded of how fine a singer Kathleen Battle was in her heyday, and while she is not frequently present on the recital stage today (her most public appearance of the last few years was her invitation to sing at the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI at the White House in 2008), the glory of her talent will always be remembered - especially after listening to this very fine CD. Grady Harp, December 09