"Director: Kriss Russman"

• Charlotte Church - Dream A Dream: Charlotte Church In The Holy Land | DVD | (20/11/2000) from £20.98   |  Saving you £-12.99 (-162.60%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Filmed on location at the Dormition Abbey and on location in the Holy Land, Charlotte Church in the Holy Land was originally screened over Christmas 2000 as a BBC TV Songs of Praise special. In its 48-minute running time Church performs a selection of favourite hymns, carols and spiritual songs, including "The First Noel", "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", "Silent Night" and "O Come All Ye Faithful". These are interspersed with short clips of the young singer visiting locations associated with the Nativity. These interludes involve Charlotte discovering what it is like to wear traditional dress from the time of Christ, ride a camel and a donkey and explore the site some believe is the very place Jesus was born. Church is likeable and natural in these sections, and given how short the programme is it is a shame these have not have been extended. The 12 songs showcase Charlotte's beautiful if inevitably immature voice in rather saccharine arrangements, including "What Child is This" set to the familiar tune of "Greensleeves". Fans of her albums will love this release, which is sure to be on many Christmas present lists for years to come. On the DVD: Presented in 4:3 TV ratio with strong picture and sound, the DVD contains a very small photo gallery, a brief biography and a discography, but mainly serves to promote the companion album, Dream a Dream. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Charlotte Church - In Jerusalem | DVD | (26/03/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Charlotte Church in Jerusalem continues the pilgrimage begun in her 2000 Christmas video, Dream a Dream: Charlotte Church in the Holy Land. Here the Welsh singing sensation performs a live concert from the Tower of David in Jerusalem. While no longer a 12-year-old cherub, the teenage Church retains her youthful giddiness as she breathlessly introduces numerous songs from her recording career--Parry's "Jerusalem", Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro", Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" (in a duet with Marina Blumen), and the appropriate closer, Stephen Adams' "The Holy City". Uri Miles ("the only Uillean piper in Israel") accompanies "Last Rose of Summer" and the Cantus Choir backs up "The Lord's Prayer" and "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer". Conductor Julian Smith and the Ra'anana Symphonette Orchestra perform brief orchestral interludes from Carmen and Cavalleria Rusticana, during which Church is shown rehearsing and preparing for the concert (in fast motion), then visiting various parts of the city. In fine voice, Church is always respectful, even reverential of her surroundings, and the concert setting, with the stone walls lit against the night sky, is nothing less than stunning. --David Horiuchi, Amazon.com