Touched by The Divine, Sistine Chapel, ~ The Creation of Adam ~ Michelangelo
Regardless of when we first heard David sing, the reality is it was pure and simple, wonderful and blessed fate that crisscrossed our lives with David’s artistry. And, now with this album, there will be myriad people hearing David for the first time.
David, with Christmas From The Heart, yet again, shows us another luminous 
facet of his talent, his heart and his soul.
These are my personal impressions and opinions.
Inspiration, faith, love, humility, gentleness, joy, mystery, and, yes, these performances are from the deepest recesses of his heart. In these songs, we feel David’s heart, he invites us to visit with his soul as he sings, and we see through his pure eyes, enveloped in his glorious love, the Infinite, the Universal One.
Accomplished and Ambitious? You betcha! Songs in English, Latin, Spanish and French, no less. Fearless in depth and breadth of choices. Orchestras, choirs, slow rhythms, fast tempos and in-between. At the core of every song, arising with rich, gorgeous clarity and crisp, sharp definition out of the surrounding music, the instrument that we have spent the last 22 months marveling about, David’s Voice.
Every song speaks volumes to me. My top songs (and they change priority every time I listen):
What Child Is This – Pure genius. Genuine, flowing from the center of David’s heart and faith. “This, this, is Christ the King…Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.” Vulnerable. Authentic. Tender. STUNNING. And then there are the vocals, the voice, the talent — but those are secondary to the purity and beauty of the message David delivers.
Michelangelo's Pietà 1499 ~ Saint Peter's Basilica ~ Rome
Ave Maria – To hear David sing this prayer is a rare and unexpected gift. His approach is quite simply to convey adoration one note at a time. The reverence he infuses into each syllable is deeply poignant and intimate. Each word finds us, like sonar, and detects and communicates with resounding pings, with our heart and soul. The Infinite. God. Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God. Life. Love. To be among Angels. His vocalization of “Amen” is a tsunami of faith. His live performances of Ava Maria will shake the stars from the sky, make angels faint and demons weep.
O Holy Night – Soaring into the heavens and beyond. Massive love. The Universal One. That last verse: “Noel, Noel…O night, O night divine. Noel, Noel, O night, O night divine” Sacred. Of the Divine.
And, then, there is Pat-A-Pan. Mysterious. Edgy. A march. “Tu-re-lu-re-lu, pat-a-pat-a-pan.” David’s voice giving us the sound of the drum, pat-a-pan, and the fife (small flute), tu-re-lu-re-lu, that the shepherds played to celebrate the birth of Jesus. I suspect reams will be written about this song, especially the last sixty seconds.
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel flashes through my mind when I hear David’s magnificent vocals and melodic interpretations with this collection of songs. One should be prepared for complete rapture if one but allows it to happen. From agnostic to devout, no matter our personal beliefs, it is a conduit for us, if we so chose, to touch the finger of The Divine.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas, SnowAngelz!
________________________________________
Addendum: Just wanted to say that although a person of faith I am not affiliated with a specific religious belief system. I was raised in an extended multi-cultural, multi-religious family. After years of attending services at various places of worship, I ended up with a deep appreciation of the world of faith and religion.
Also, I am a lifelong student of the European Renaissance and admirer of the artistry of Michelangelo (di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) and thus the choice of art.
Finally, I did post an excerpt of this on Amazon as a review after I downloaded the MP3.
SnowAngelz: Canadian fans of David Archuleta 
Kizzi, I’m soaring to the Sistine Chapel ceiling with your post. You”ve beautifully captured why this music is so Divine!
Going back to read again!
(And Angelica, you’re not seeing things! lol)
Kizzi, thank you for a such a powerful and visually evocative review. I completely agree with all, especially Pat-a-Pan. What a wonderful and curious arrangement – multi-layered, yet whimsical. My new favourite.
Kizzi, you paint the most gorgeous picture with your review. I don’t think I have even started to appreciate how beautiful the CD is yet. I haven’t even wrapped my head around it. I just know it’s from David’s heart, and as much as I love it now, it’s only going to get better.
Whaaaaaa???? Kizzi, are you the amazing Amazon Susan whose above reviews are making the fandom rounds? We are honored. And I just copied and posted this entire article which was copied and posted in part in a comment on FOD! haha!
Then you already know I love it. ((0))
BTW Who is going to Cleveland? Anybody? Some crazy, overly obsessed inquiring mind from Mississippi wants to know.
Angelica – “raises hand”. My dream this past year has been to see David perform at the Palace theater one day. I am just shocked he will be performing there so soon! This equally crazy, overly obsessed Cleveland fan would be thrilled to have a certain Mississippi fan to share the magical experience with.
Kizzi, What a beautiful review!!
Angelica … “Amazing Amazon Susan” bahaha, love it, sounds like a superhero! (which, of course, you are, Ms. Kiz).
Also loved this, “he invites us to visit with his soul as he sings” … that’s incredibly moving … and true
I’m with you, Pastel, still trying to process the depth and breadth of it all … good thing we’ll have a few months to spend with it till Christmas … and beyond!
Angelica, did you say Cleveland? Yes, a few of us SnowAngelz have been talking about heading south of the border for it. You heading north???
Sunshine, yes, Pat-a-Pan and Riu Riu Chiu are neck-and-neck now on my constant replay list!
I can’t really pick one favourite though, although OHN and WCIT and SN and OCAYF are close, LOL.
oh, Kizzi, this is beautiful, “Inspiration, faith, love, humility, gentleness, joy, mystery, and, yes, these performances are from the deepest recesses of his heart. In these songs, we feel David’s heart, he invites us to visit with his soul as he sings, and we see through his pure eyes, enveloped in his glorious love, the Infinite, the Universal One.”
KABOOOM, goes my heart.
pastel, I agree that this cd will only get better, just think, we can enjoy it every Christmas time, it is sure to become a standard.
I did recognize your writing on amazon, kizzi, way to go!
Yjf and Angelica, Cleveland??? could be a plan.
Faves?? very difficult- Pat a pan, WCIT, Silent Night….certain words and phrases just get me every time…. I could listen to “loves puure liight” from Silent Night over and over…
aaahhh, he’s working again!!!
http://twitpic.com/lkhnb
yjfanofdavid and TOfan,
Yes, I am toying with the idea. Mostly because it’s on a weekend, I can get a roundtrip flight for $200.00 (cheaper than to any other city for some reason, yes I checked them all,) and because of this…the Palace Theater.
oh my heck, Angelica, that WFM
Kizzi, I keep finding something new, ” ‘This, this, is Christ the King…Whom shepherds guard and angels sing.’ Vulnerable. Authentic. Tender. ” Yes, yes and yes!
Angelica, that theatre looks spec-tac-ular! *dangles carrot*
Refnaf, thanks for the twitpic … pictures of David recording are among my faves (and don’t even get me started on the “Let’s Talk About Looooove” vid). 😆
heh. Start your engines! Ahahahaaaa!
Wait what? 😳 ???????
That won’t start anybody’s engine.
I got VIP tickets last night for the PA show. Dawn and I will be road tripping to Foxwoods, PA, and Westbury all VIP.
Sorry to be off topic but I am waiting to read any reviews. How do I embed a video here?
Abrra
Thanks everyone for your comments.
Angelica – I had a non stop day, yesterday, and buzzed in while on a conference call when someone else was talking to post the wonderful Christmas Tour poster. Then I scroll up and see your comment….LOL….talk about panic and a sinking feeling!
That’ll teach me. I bought the MP3 from Amazon in the early hours on the 13th as they ask if you want to review after purchase…I use Amazon for book purchases mostly so I thought “What the heck, Why Not” and used an excerpt of what I had written for SnowAngelz–yeah, I know…my only excuse was it was 4 hours past my bedtime. Didn’t realize people really read reviews AND that was a big duh! Of course David fans read them, just not me….what a dummy I am. Sorry TOfan for scooping myself in cyberspace. Geeezzzz *blushes*
Off to Philadelphia for another jammed packed day.
Happy 2nd day after CFTH release. 9 days til Manchester. 🙂
Kizzi,
I R sorry. 😥 Can I help it if you are so eloquent? 😆
About that strange video link above. I was on YT researching and gathering material for my next movie. I was converting a video to a format MM will accept and when I copied and pasted the LTAL video, the other one posted. It made me giggle last night so hard cause I prefaced it with…start your engines! And up pops little drummer boyl LOL! Y’all ain’t laughing though. LOL! anyway.
Bahahaha, thanks Angelica & Kizzi, great way to start my day … I think we’re all finding it a little hard to see straight with all these gorgeous “Mariaaaaaaa”s and “tu-re-lu-re-luuuuuuus” playing in our heads! 😆
Abrra, you can embed videos just by posting the http://www. etc. youTube link (no “v” needed 😉 ) We’ll need to compare road-trip notes in Manchester!
Kizzi – I’ll second Angelica’s eloquent
Like Pastel, I haven’t fully wrapped my head around all the songs on this CD. Each song deserves special attention keeping your words in mind “Each word finds us, like sonar, and detects and communicates with resounding pings, with our heart and soul.”
It truly warms my heart that David has provided us with the excitement and anticipation of getting together with fellow fans – now friends. I will be going to the Santa Rosa and SF, CA concerts along with my VBH and, too, planning to meet up with mike, vermeer… and more – as I firm up our plans.
Late night writing sessions FTW!!!
http://twitpic.com/lm0hg
DisneyDreaming CD review:
http://bit.ly/1XqpAY
So Cleveland is official! (And one of the ticket prices is a real deal! 😆 ):
http://bit.ly/3zTDac
Whoa! Thanks for that link TOfan! I found a good deal on airfare and now I find I can get my ticket for NOTHING! Suweeeeet!!!!! 😆
Angelica and Tofan, I am pretty sure you guys won’t be disappointed. 🙂
Angelica and Tofan, Oops. It should be this:
Wowza!!! Thanks, yjfanofdavid! What a beautiful theatre worthy of The Voice!!!
And FYI, thanks to a suggestion from a Vancouver SnowAngel, the comment feature is now open on the Christmas Tour Dates Page (see tab up top) for any SnowAngelz who’d like to connect with other David fans at concerts or VIPs.
If you don’t wish to post your email address, you can send a message through the “Contact Us” email (in the sidebar) and we will connect you.
Cleveland FTW
Refnaf, Will you be in Cleveland too? All we need now is for the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra to accompany David at the Palace Theater. But this is what David said about using orchestra in his tour at USA Today IdolChatter:
“It’s hard, with money and stuff, because it can get pretty expensive when you add more and more to it. It can affect other things on the tour, even just normal things. You have to be careful with the budget. But I think there are some dates where there will be an orchestra or strings, just to add to the performance.
I really feel like real instruments and the live feeling add so much to the music, and to those arrangements, especially. It gives something extra to the people who come out to the shows. While it won’t be the whole tour, I think at least sometimes there will be some live strings there for the performances.”
I am keeping my fingers crossed. 🙂
David’s latest tweet: Time to practice and work on a little guitar, then on to working on practicing some vocals.
I am dying to know how his sessions are going with the vocal coach Brett Manning
Nice About.com review of Christmas From the Heart:
http://bit.ly/4izDZY
And great interview with David about CFTH from USA Today (does he have any idea how hilarious he is? lol):
http://bit.ly/Iairt
awestruck, I wondered if Brett was helping him with those killer high notes he’ll need to nail if Ave Maria or OHN are part of his Christmas tour repertoire.
Wow, who would have thought he’d say yes to this gig a year ago!
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705337060/David-Archuleta-to-speak.html
David is in amazing company for his speaking engagement TOfan – one of which is pianist Roger Williams composer of ‘Autumn Leaves’ and the song for ‘Born Free’ (a movie I thoroughly enjoyed)- see his bio here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_(pianist) It would be wonderful if David could spend some time talking with him.
Oops original composer of Autumn Leaves was Joseph Kosma.
Off topic: Has it already been a year since David wowed the young ladies of Seton Hall?
Kris Allen must have stopped by there this year, hence this hiLARious tweet:
@davidlove123: Yo @krisallen4real, im a BIG fan of yours & imma let you finish, but @davidarchie has the best Wigelow dance of all time!
😆
Flying by {{{{{SnowAngelz}}}}}
I see that some of you are major tweeters! Tweeting seems to be where the action is at – 🙂
Off to the airport and home later today – It snowed yesterday here in Pennsylvania – brrrr!
CFTH is awesomeage when played in the car while driving – soothing & joyful – the cure for road rage 😉
CFTH is climbing up the Amazon.ca charts … currently #9 in Pop/AC and #12 in Pop/vocal … woot!