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16 songs are contained on the disc that would admittedly be better but less alliteratively titled Inspirational Songs; Richard Rogers's Climb Every Mountain, one of the highlights, is hardly church music. Along with a healthy supply of beautifully sung classics by Franck, Gounod and the like are a handful of curiosities. The inclusion of an Ave Maria by Domingo's middle son Placido Domingo Jr, with Luisa Domingo on harp is an enjoyable bit of musical nepotism. Schubert's well-known Lullaby is merged with his ballet music from Rosemunde and the whole given a new text and backing by women's choir; likewise Mascagani's instrumental Intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana becomes a duet between Domingo and the pop soprano Sissel. Domingo's sheer musicality saves the former, but the latter is less fortunate, as Sissel's thin singing and pious recitation spoil an otherwise gorgeous composition. (Admittedly, Sissel fares much better in her second duet on the CD.) Also somewhat aesthetically questionable is Paolo Rustichelli's Kyrie, with the composer accompanying on piano, guitar, and synthesizers. The real low point on the disc occurs in Gounod's Sanctus, where a lovely climax is destroyed by the sloppy ensemble of the Coro Sinfonicao di Milano Giuseppe Verdi.

Whether Sacred Songs will convert the unbelievers is questionable, and it may even alienate some of Domingo's more dogmatic followers with its hint of crossover.