A Thrill of Hope

Soemeone has created a mashup of the three greatest high-range voices in female pop music, each singing O Holy Night. This song is a great test of range.

I remember having to sing it solo for our parish once at Christmas Midnight Mass. I was terrified my voice would not make it.

At this level, comparisons are odious. Each of these singers, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Whitney Houston, is uniquely great in her own way.

Of the three, though, Whitney Houston is probably my favourite. I think she has greater power in the upper ranges, greater richness. Your opinion may differ.

Here's Mariah Carey knocking it out of the park on her own:

And here's a vastly inferior version, from the technical standpoint, by Rickie Lee Jones. Yet it too is wonderful. It conveys something emotionally that the great virtuosos do not seem to. With them, we are distracted by the technical side. Here, perhaps, we better hear the message. We are broken, and in need of salvation.

A thrill of hope
This weary world rejoices.

Fall on your knees
To hear the angel voices...