Gregorian Chants: The Best of the Benedictine Monks of St. Michael's

Denis Stevens (Performer), Benedictine Monks of St. Michael's de Laudes (Artist), The Monks of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Benoit (Artist), The Ambrosian Singers (Artist), Fr. Joseph Montalbo (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Denis Stevens
• Audio CD (March 18, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cobra Entertainment LLC
• ASIN: B000001VIR
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,987 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #6 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Chants
  • #16 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Early Music > General AAS
  • #16 in Music > Classical > Historical Periods > Early Music > General

Track Listings

1. Sancte Dei

2. Salve sancta parens, introit for St. Mary

3. In Paradisum Angeli

4. Sanctus & Benedictus (II)

5. Conditor alme siderum, hymn, mode 4

6. Unspecified Organ Voluntary (1)

7. Te lucis ante terminum, compline hymn in mode 8 (Liber Usualis No. 266)

8. Christus Natus Christos

9. Kyrie eleison

10. Unspecified Organ Voluntary (2)

11. Gloria

12. Puer natus est nobis, introit

13. Sanctus & Benedictus (II)

14. Beata Dei genitrix, responsory in mode 7 (Liber Usualis No. 383)

15. Veni Sancte Spiritus

16. Unspecified Organ Voluntary (3)

17. In Paradisum Angeli

18. Dominus exsultemus

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars You can do much better than this CD, June 7, 2004

By 

Caesar Magnus "caesarmagnus" (Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gregorian Chants: The Best of the Benedictine Monks of St. Michael's (Audio CD)

The only reason I gave this CD one star is because you cannot rate a CD with zero stars. I would not recommend this CD at all. First, several songs are not really Gregorian Plainchant. They will start out with chant and go into a strange polyphony. But the worst thing about this CD is that it is of a horrible recording quality. It sounds like the monks are singing into a microphone through a fan. Some of the songs they don't even finish, the recording just fades out. It is extremely low quality and I would highly recommend other recordings such as the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos or the monks of Solesmes. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS CD! This is not a good example of Gregorian Chant.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, with great depth of sound, February 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Gregorian Chants: The Best of the Benedictine Monks of St. Michael's (Audio CD)

One really hears the passion and life in the voices of these monks--keep in mind that this is not merely a group of singers who have assembled in the studio to record a CD, but rather, men whose lives are totally wrapped up in the mysteries of which they sing. I can really hear their struggles and love for God in their chants, and their harmonies are creative and sweet to the ear. True, if one is not familiar with this type of music--Gregorian Chant--it may sound a little spooky and strangely other-wordly. I would encourage the listener to look up on the Internet the portions of the Latin mass that are on this CD--the Gloria (#11), for example, and read the words in English along to sound of the song. That way, you can have a sense of the things about which the monks sing, which will bridge the distance between the listener and this genre of music.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars DOMINE LABIA MEA APERIES, May 8, 2006

By 

Claudio-Miguel "Claudio" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gregorian Chants: The Best of the Benedictine Monks of St. Michael's (Audio CD)

"Lord Open my Lips......"

I would suggest that anyone REALLY interested in PURE, GREGORIAN CHANT to access the following Carthusian Link:

[...]

You will hear Gregorian Chants as you have never heard before.
As a former Trappist Monk, where the Choir Monks sang the Divine Office each day - a total of about 7 hours - and in the Cistercian Chant, the CARTHUSIAN CHANT is by far the most pure of the two traditional chants. The Carthusians do NOT utilize any musical instruments as is used in some Trappist Communities and Benedictine Communities.

This recording is a rather poor rendition, but seems to please some listeners. For those purists among you, access the above site.

The Carthusian Gregorian Chant has its own renditions. You will notice whenever the Nuns or Monks are chanting the 'GLORIA' that the tempo is drastically reduced, and not rushed thru.

Background noises in this recording make it difficult to really appreciate the Chant.

In the Carthusian Chants - especially those from La Grande Chartreuse, France, the diction is crisp, clear and every Latin Word is distinguishable.