It was recorded in 1973 and consists of songs by classical European composers and includes tracks sung in English, French, Occitan, German, Italian and Latin.

Leonard Bernstein wrote of the album, "Barbra Streisand's natural ability to make music takes her over to the classical field with extraordinary ease.

[3] Barbra Streisand: The Music, the Woman, The Myth author Shaun Considine claimed that it took six months of secret editing to cut the album together.

[11] AllMusic gave the album a retrospective rating of 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as one of Streisand's "more esoteric projects" and a surprise to her fans.

[24] Scotland on Sunday, in an article about the inappropriateness and limitations of many crossover albums, described Streisand's effort as a " decidedly dangerous liaison".

[25] Classical pianist Glenn Gould wrote: "For me, the Streisand voice is one of the natural wonders of the age, an instrument of infinite diversity and timbral resource...Nothing in this album is insensitive or unmusical".