In Dreams is the debut album by Joseph McManners

Joseph McManners

Joseph McManners is an English actor and singer. He lives on a non-working farm in Petham near Canterbury and recently left Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys for Tonbridge School after being awarded a drama and academic scholarship.-Singing career:McManners decided to become a singer after he...

 and it was released on 5 December 2005 by Sony BMG following a £2 million 4-album record deal. The album features covers of mostly solo renditions of classical

Classical music

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...

 songs but it also features a duet with Jo Appleby

Jo Appleby

Jo Appleby is an English soprano from Thornton, Lancashire. She is a former member of operatic pop group Amici Forever.-Life:...

.
It was mostly well-received by critics.

Background

The album, produced by Nick Patrick, is a collection of songs McManners particularly likes or ones that have special meaning to him. For example, the songs "Bright Eyes" and "Walking in the Air" were included because of their sentimental value. They remind him of how he used to watch Watership Down

Watership Down (film)

Watership Down is a 1978 English adventure drama animated film written, produced and directed by Martin Rosen and based on the book by Richard Adams. It was financed by a consortium of British financial institutions...

and how he used to watch The Snowman

The Snowman

The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was...

each Christmas Day with his mother. "Where is Love" and "The Little Prince Song" are important because they were key elements to the start of his career.

About the name of the album McManners said:
The album was recorded in Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 in the Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 and the music was provided by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Critical recognition

The album received a nomination for "Album of the Year" at the 2006 Classical BRIT Awards

Classical Brit Awards

The Classic BRIT Awards are an annual awards ceremony held in the United Kingdom covering aspects of classical music, and are the classical equivalent of pop music's BRIT Awards....

 and McManners' rendition of "Bright Eyes" from the album has debuted at "number one" in Asian airplay, ahead of James Blunt

James Blunt

James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...

 and Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

.

Track listing

#	Title	Originally from	Songwriter(s)	Music by	Notes
1	"Bright Eyes Bright Eyes (Art Garfunkel song) "Bright Eyes" is a song written by Mike Batt, and performed by Art Garfunkel. It was used in the soundtrack of the 1978 film Watership Down and as such is considered the theme song of the film and the later television series adaptations. The track also appears on Garfunkel's fourth studio album,... "	Watership Down Watership Down (TV series) Watership Down is an animated television series, adapted from the novel of the same name by Richard Adams. It was a co-production of Alltime Entertainment of the United Kingdom and Decode Entertainment of Canada, and produced by Martin Rosen, the director of the 1978 feature film...		Mike Batt Mike Batt Michael Philip "Mike" Batt is a British songwriter, musician, producer and Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry...
2	"Pie Jesu Pie Jesu Pie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent... "		John Rutter John Rutter John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...	John Rutter John Rutter John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
3	"In Dreams In Dreams (Howard Shore song) In Dreams is a song by Howard Shore, with lyrics by Fran Walsh, originally written for the motion picture The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. In the movie, it was sung by the boy soprano Edward Ross... "	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring		Howard Shore Howard Shore Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
4	"Psalm 23 Psalm 23 In the 23rd Psalm in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, the writer describes God as his Shepherd. The text, beloved by Jews and Christians alike, is often alluded to in popular media and has been set to music.... "	The Vicar of Dibley The Vicar of Dibley The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It aired from 1994 to 2007...		Howard Goodall Howard Goodall 210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
5	"Walking in the Air Walking in the Air "Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1978 children's book The Snowman. In the film the song was performed by St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty... "	The Snowman The Snowman The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was...		Howard Blake Howard Blake Howard Blake, OBE is an English composer , particularly noted for his film scores, although he is prolific in several fields of classical and light music...
6	"Panis Angelicus Panis Angelicus Panis angelicus is the penultimate strophe of the hymn Sacris solemniis written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi as part of a complete liturgy of the Feast including prayers for the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.... "		César Franck César Franck César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....	César Franck César Franck César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
7	"Circle of Life Circle of Life The song was re-recorded in 2003 by the Disney Channel Circle of Stars, a group of actors and actresses who have appeared in Disney Channel television series and original movies... "	The Lion King The Lion King The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...		Elton John Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...	Duet with Jo Appleby Jo Appleby Jo Appleby is an English soprano from Thornton, Lancashire. She is a former member of operatic pop group Amici Forever.-Life:...
8	"Lullaby"		Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...	Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
9	"Music of the Angels"	Sonata Pathétique		Beethoven/Saggese
10	"Candlelight Carol"		John Rutter John Rutter John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...	John Rutter John Rutter John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
11	"Morning Has Broken Morning Has Broken "Morning Has Broken" is a popular and well-known Christian hymn first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" . It is often sung in children's services... "			Cat Stevens Cat Stevens Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
12	"Where is Love? Where Is Love? "Where is Love?" is a song from the Tony Award-winning British musical Oliver!, and the 1968 film Oliver! based on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens... "	Oliver! Oliver! Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....		Lionel Bart Lionel Bart Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver!-Early life:...
13	"The Little Prince Song"	The Little Prince The Little Prince (opera) The Little Prince, subtitled A Magical Opera, is an opera in two acts by Rachel Portman to an English libretto by Nicholas Wright, based on the 1943 book of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry...		Rachel Portman Rachel Portman Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score...

Information was retrieved from McManners' official website.