Our Review
Before I knew anything at all about Emmanuel: The Story of Christmas or Tatiana, I was drawn to the artist's name. Once I heard her voice, I was hooked. Although not well known in the United States, Tatiana (also known as Tajci, pronounced TY-chee) was a superstar in Central Europe before war consumed Croatia, her home country, in 1991. Tatiana's life has been quite an odyssey; she emigrated to this country and found a whole new life, including a sweeping new spirituality. Her dynamic faith lives large in Emmanuel.
I must confess that I usually do not enjoy holiday albums that include substantial spoken passages, and this offering has at least five cuts that are entirely Tatiana reading segments of the Christmas story (totalling perhaps two minutes). Her voice is so passionate, so sincere, that these spoken portions fall into place much more naturally than on other recordings of this sort. And the voice! So lovely and natural! Truly, this woman has a gift!
The excellent opening immediately grabs the listener. On Ani Ma'amin, Tatiana sings a cappella Hebrew lyrics, applying a most uplifting, yet mysterious, delivery. She sings that the Messiah is coming, and you know she believes it with every fiber of her being.
My favorite cut is Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven, which is also the album's longest number. Conceptually, this recording does a terrific job of setting the scene, presenting the prophecy of a virgin conceiving (track 3), then the angel appearing to Mary (track 4), and the Annunciation/Joseph's Dream explaining to Joseph what is happening to Mary. With that foundation, Tatiana sings Breath of Heaven, taking the virgin's role with true pathos, singing, "Help me be strong, help me go on. . ." Tatiana's voice is really quite remarkable; it packs bright clarity, flexibility, and powerful emotion.
If you seek an album that really does tell the Christmas story, then Tatiana's fine Emmanuel: The Story of Christmas may be precisely the answer to your prayers. Sweet!
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2006)
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From the liner notes:
Produced by Denny Bouchard and Tatiana
Conceived & Developed by Tatiana & Matthew Cameron
Arrangements & Sequencing by Denny Bouchard
Piano by Tatiana and Denny Bouchard
Cello by Ginger Murphy
Percussions by Burleigh Drummond
Violin by Cara-C
Hebrew Dialect Coach: Craig Taubman
Spanish Dialect Coach: Edna Birrera
Tatiana
Emmanuel: The Story of Christmas
Artist link
Label: Cameron Productions
Length: 38 minutes
Genre: Pop
Release: 2001
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Ani Ma'amin (I Believe) |
| O Come, O Come Emmanuel |
| Prophecy |
| Angelus |
| Annunciation/Joseph's Dream |
| Breath of Heaven |
| Elizabeth & Mary |
| Magnificat |
| Census |
| To Bethl'em from Juda |
| Birth |
| The Hands That First Held Mary's Child |
| Shepherds |
| Gloria in Excelsis Deo |
| What Child Is This |
| One Solitary Life |
| Silent Night |