More than just a wailing diva

Eleven-year-old Jackie Evancho sounds fantastic and she has such an innocent approach to her singing.

All doubts that 11-year-old soprano Jackie Evancho can really sing those songs will now be put to rest. There are a lot of things that one can now do in the recording studio. You can put the out of tune in tune. Edit passages note by note to get the best or the correct parts. You can also enhance vocal quality or cover up the ordinary with loads of instruments and background choruses. Maybe, as some skeptics like to say, a lot of stuff was done to improve Evancho’s vocals in her recordings. There are lots of young kids who can sing but not like she does. Besides a song or two done live is totally different from a whole concert.

Evancho’s Dream With Me In Concert with musical host David Foster is just that, a whole concert that was held in the Ringling Museum of Art in Florida, a lavish estate that also houses the gilded mansion Ca’d’Zan. The DVD was shot live and that means that those vocals were also recorded live. The girl sounds fantastic and she has such an innocent approach to her singing.

Evancho treats her performance like it was the most natural thing in the world. Well, it is natural for her. She was born gifted with this extraordinary voice and she is most fortunate to have parents and mentors, mainly hitman Foster, who know how to nurture and treasure her remarkable talent. Can you just imagine what she will sound like when she is 18 or 20? I have a feeling, it will be WOW!

The album is pretty much made up of songs Evancho recorded for the Dream With Me CD save for one, her duet of A Mother’s Prayer with Susan Boyle. This was, however, replaced with two great choices, Mi Mancherai, a popular Josh Groban piece and Dark Waltz, the theme from the movie House Of Flying Daggers. Her duet of Somewhere with Barbra Streisand stays. Barbra appears on video and I am amazed over how this little girl is able to hold her own beside a legend.

The DVD makes an excellent companion piece to the CD of the same title. There is also footage of Evancho talking about her songs with Foster and a photo gallery. The whole package will make a great present for kids this Christmas. Time now to introduce them to a young girl who sings classical and to let them know that there is more to singing than wailing divas.

A word to stage parents. Take note of the way Evancho is dressed in clothes appropriate for her age and the occasion. No short shorts, boots, blinding bling or heavy make-up. Take note too of the prodigy Conrad Tao, who accompanies Evancho on the piano for To Believe and on the violin for Dark Waltz. Only 16 years old, he must be really good for Foster to allow him to share the stage.

If you want more of Evancho, you can also get a copy of her Christmas album O Holy Night. This was the same EP that was released last year with Silent Night, Panis Angelicus, O Holy Night and Pie Jesu. What makes this special is that it now comes with a DVD that contains highlights from Evancho’s career. These are her YouTube audition where she sings Panis Angelicus, and four memorable performances from her stint as contestant in the TV show America’s Got Talent and an interview with Evancho. See how she impressed the judges with O Mio Bambino Caro, Time To Say Goodbye, Pie Jesu and Ave Maria.

Still on Christmas music. Pure….the series from Sony has released Pure….Christmas. Pure…is a wonderful bargain for the budget conscious music lover. It is a boxed set of four CDs that costs only P250. Great to have this for yourself or to get several copies for friends. It is a gift that keeps on giving because they will be able to play the CDs year after year after year for ages.

Pure…Christmas includes Last Christmas by Wham; The First Noel by Whitney Houston; Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano; Happy Christmas (War Is Over) by Celine Dion; O Holy Night by Paul Potts; Ave Maria, Dolce Maria by the three tenors Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti; It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas by Perry Como; When A Child Is Born by Johnny Mathis and Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley are some of the 67 songs in the album.