Katherine Jenkins

KATHERINE JENKINS - SACRED ARIAS (2008)

1. Abide With Me

2. Pie Jesu

3. The Lord is My Shepherd

4. Down In The River To Pray

5. May The Good Lord Bless And Keep You

6. Hallelujah

7. Panis Angelicus

8. In Paradisum

9. Silent Night

10. Ave Maria

11. Misa Criolla: Kyrie

12. Agnus Dei

Sacred Arias is Katherine Jenkins' last album in her deal for Universal before she moves to Warner for another six-album deal, and she has decided to go out with a bang--albeit a quiet one. While her previous outing, Rejoice, saw the Welsh mezzo-soprano striking out more than ever towards the world of pop, Sacred Arias, as the title suggests, sees her return to her religious-classical roots with comfortably familiar tunes like "Abide with Me", "Ave Maria", "Pie Jesu" and even "Silent Night". The mood on Sacred Arias is as refined and peaceful as you'd expect given the title, and though there's an abundance of well known material here, Jenkins also offers us the more obscure charms of "Missa Criolla", a dreamy version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and a soulful take on "Down in the River to Pray". Other classical pieces include "Panis Angelicus" and Barber's haunting vocal piece "Agnus Dei", which help make this a triumphant final flourish for both her and Universal. --Danny McKenna