Voice of an Angel

1	Requiem/Pie Jesu 3:29
2	Panis Angelicus 4:13
3	Carmina Burana/In Trutina 2:06
4	The Lord's Prayer 2:56
5	Jerusalem 2:17
6	Ave Maria 4:14
7	Psalm 23 2:45
8	I Vow to Thee, My Country 3:57
9	Danny Boy 2:46
10	My Lagan Love 3:16
11	Suo-Gân 3:15
12	A Lullaby 3:00
13	Amazing Grace 2:47
14	Three Welsh Bird Songs/Y Gylfinir (The Curlew) 2:18
15	Three Welsh Bird Songs/Tylluanod (Owls) 2:43
16	Three Welsh Bird Songs: Mae Hiraeth Yn y Môr 2:43
17	Hansel and Gretel/When at Night I Go to Sleep 2:52

Barnes & Noble

We're fascinated with child prodigy musicians because these innocent-looking youngsters have astonishing gifts that makes them sound like adults. Twelve-year-old Welsh soprano Charlotte Church has the clear voice of a child in a church choir and the vibrato of a grown-up. Voice of an Angel, Church's debut recording, is guided by the nurturing and gentle conductor Siân Edwards, who leads the Welsh Opera Orchestra and what sounds like a choir of coal miners filling a rugby stadium with mighty sound. Church appropriately bypasses the big opera arias, offering familiar tunes by British composers such as Parry, Holst, and Harty, as well as three charmingly nature-oriented Welsh bird songs by Elwyn-Edwards. Although it is not specified in the CD booklet, the young singer apparently performs the roles of both Hansel and Gretel in a duet from Humperdinck's opera, and she does so winningly. The booklet does explain, a propos of the fur-cloaked image of Church on the cover, that "Charlotte Church does not wear real fur." Give her a few decades, at least, and this budding diva should be swathed in mink like the best of 'em. Benjamin Ivry

All Music Guide

Given that she was merely 12 years old when she released her debut album Voice of an Angel, and that she is certainly cute, it may be easy for observers to dismiss Charlotte Church as the product of mere marketing, but that's not really the case. Yes, she is a marketer's dream, but her soprano voice is alluring, accomplished, and sweet -- even if it's not quite the voice of an angel, it comes close. And that's the reason why millions of listeners were wooed by Voice of Angel: Church is talented, young, and adorable. She's a good singer, sure, but one with enough talent to make her more than a special interest story. However, she is also the kind of singer that isn't well-regarded by classical purists for a variety of reasons, chief among them being the special-interest story itself. It's a double-edged sword, actually, since her very age makes her noteworthy to a wider audience, but not to the aficionados of opera, since she doesn't possess the skill that would make her a great artist in the view of many critics. Yet Voice of an Angel should be judged as a record, apart from Church's age. On that level, it succeeds -- particularly if it's viewed as a debut album. Yes, the material is pretty familiar -- "Ave Maria," "Amazing Grace," and "Danny Boy" all make appearances -- and because Church doesn't really offer revolutionary interpretations of the songs, she is open to criticisms from some opera critics. However, she has such a nice voice that it will be easy for many listeners to overlook the obviousness of the material and just enjoy the sweet music; Voice of an Angel certainly has its fair share of that. Stephen Thomas Erlewine