A celebration of new life

The songs of Celine Dion and the photographs of Anne Geddes make this world a better place to live in. We enjoy listening to Celine singing hit tunes like My Heart Will Go On and Because You Love Me but we pause to hear better and sway to the lilt of her rendition of Brahms Lullaby.

Likewise, we may give the paintings of great masters a cursory glance but will peer closely at Anne Geddes’ pictures of little babies framed in sunflowers or costumed as bumble bees. Some people may regard those items as trivial but their pristine, innocent beauty can certainly lift anybody out of the doldrums.

Celine and Anne, two of the most distinguished women of our time, recently decided to put together their music and pictures for a project they have chosen to call Miracle, A Celebration of New Life. New life, of course, means babies, those little beings that bring so much joy and who keep this world of ours going.

It was doubtless prompted by Celine’s ecstatic reaction to becoming a first- ime mother. I am not surprised she thought of this unique way to celebrate. Truth to tell, she is so engrossed in her new role that she has chosen to give up touring so she can be with her family all the time.

Hence we now have Miracle. It is something they can be truly proud of and that we can all enjoy. Anne says, "Each new life is truly a miracle. I photograph babies to portray and promote the absolute promise of a newborn, the powerful potential of a child to be an extraordinary human being. It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to create the Miracle project with Celine, whose vocal artistry completely captures our shared love for children."

As for Celine, she says, "I’ve always been a huge fan of Anne’s, long before I became a mother. I admired and appreciated the beautiful way she photographs babies. It has been wonderful working with her on this very special project."

Then from the two of them comes this. "Miracle comes straight from our hearts."

Also straight from the heart is the collaboration between producer and arranger David Foster and recording engineer Humberto Gatica. While the buyer will surely expect lullabies, the songs are in truth avowals of love that would enchant anybody. I am one of those who think that Celine lost much of her spontaneity with her entry into her Las Vegas period. But with Miracle where she clearly had no eye on the hit charts or the box office she regains all the early sincerity.

The title track with touching lyrics by Linda Thompson opens the album. The other songs included are Brahm’s Lullaby, If I Could, Sleep Tight, What a Wonderful World, My Precious One, A Mother’s Prayer, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Baby Close Your Eyes, Come to Me, Le Coup, La Biche et le Chevalier (Un Chanson Douce), Beautiful Boy and In Some Small Way.

Miracle comes in three visually and vocally stunning editions. One is the large, 180-page full-color book with the CD and the DVD about the making of Miracle. The other is the smaller 60-page book, also in full-color and with both CD and DVD. And the third is just the CD, which does not come with the book but instead teases the buyer with a few adorable photos of Celine with babies who were only a few days old when the pictures were taken.

Mother’s Day is only a week away. Miracle is something you might want to share with the mothers in your life or come to think of it, maybe with anybody you love. You do not really need to be a mother to appreciate something as beautiful as Miracle.

And because Miracle by Celine Dion and Anne Geddes is a wondrous celebration of life, I would like to end this piece with a quote from a book of poetry written by Leonard Nimoy. He is better known as Dr. Spock of the pointed ears in the enduring space saga Star Trek, but as these words show, he is also blessed with a sensitive, lyrical soul.

We are the dreamers, we are the dancers, life is the music, love is the song.

How true. Life is indeed a miracle.