Customer Reviews

Gregorian Chant

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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This album was written up a couple of years ago in the detroit freepress when the other "pop" chant was big. This was supposed to be a superior recording, and it is. We listen to it all through christmas, esp. christmas eve. Very calming chant, fantastic choir.

If you have never listened to Gregorian Chant before, this is the one to try.

This excellent disc of plainchant was given top ratings by NPR's Ted Libby. The ensemble is composed of superb professionals selected for their fine voices and musicality and is conducted by an early music specialist known for his many notable recordings. Performances are all very warmly attractive with clear, bright intonation and exact enunciation. The meaning and mood of each selection seems to be perfectly balanced between the word and the sound, and the effect is not only a spiritual experience, but an aesthetic one, as well. Prospective listeners shouldn't hesitate here based on ideas of cold, "monkish" sounds which only a few initiates could appreciate. Konrad Ruhland and his singers reveal great treasures in this "plain," supposedly simple music which brings thoughts of later great musicians such as Palestrina, Monteverdi, Bach, and even Brahms and others whose musical influences can be traced back to this source, this heavenly and earthly origin. Sony provides excellent notes and translations as well as warm and clear recorded sound. A classic which should remain in the catalogue.

If you want a recording of Gregorian Chant, buy this one. It is truly the best. Having owned this CD for over 10 years, it is the one I cannot live without.

I have seldom listened to a more relaxing CD. If you turn the volume down, you feel like you are resting upstairs in a monastary, and the monks are practicing in some distance downstairs corner. There is no instrumentation, there are no choral harmony parts, and all of the words are in Latin; but the multiple voices produce a rich, melodiouse tone that is simple and very soothing. The effect is very much like a zen matra, but the sound is not repetitive. It has a melody.