Barbra Streisand – Classical ... Barbra

A beautiful album, and one of my favourites, featuring the incredible voice of Barbra lavished on a set of classical and Neo-classical pieces. Accompanied by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Claus Ogerman, the star piece for me is a hauntingly beautiful arrangement of In Trutina from Carmona Burana.

UK Pressing = CBS S 73484 - 1976 - Lyric Sheet Insert

I have been a loyal and devoted fan of Ms. Streisand since the age of 7 when I saw the movie version of “Funny Girl.” Her voice—simply put—is unlike any other. It is truly a God given talent as she herself freely admits to never having any formal training. She doesn’t even warm up prior to her rare but stunning live performances. She belts it out effortlessly but angelically. She is able to move her fans in a powerful way with her vast repertoire of music on nearly 100 albums spanning 50 years! She is the number one female recording artist of all time in overall sales. She is surpassed only by Elvis Presley in this category.
When I first listened to “Classical Barbra” shortly after it was released in 1976, I was disappointed. Apparently, I was simply too young to appreciate a collection of European classics performed in a multitude of foreign languages.
As is so often the case with Barbra, with age and maturity, I have found a whole new level of appreciation for past musical releases. A few months ago, I decided to give “Classical Barbra” another listen. Although I am unable to translate the lyrics it makes no difference. There is such beauty and emotion in her rendition of these songs they are able to move me in a profound way—especially in the short but powerful Track 6, “In Trutina (Carmina Burana) performed in Latin. I have been unable to find the lyrics anywhere but would love to have them so I could do a translation.

Barbra Streisand has given me and so many others an appreciation for many different kinds of music that in all likelihood would have never occurred had she not chose to record it

It is obvious that she takes painstakingly great care to decide what pieces to include on “Classical Barbra.” Just like other albums, including “The Broadway Albums” and “2003s “The Movie Album,” she includes some tracks that are extremely well known and performed by many others and other choices are extremely obscure ones such as “Goodbye For Now” from the movie “Reds

So, as I listen to “Dank Sei Dir, Herr from “Classical Barbra” I’ll wrap up this review and hopefully someone out there will find great appreciation for her music as a result of my review of this unique release from the greatest female recording artist of all time.