Customer Reviews

The Mystery Of Santo Domingo De Silos Gregorian Chant From Spain

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The musical perfection of the recorded legacy of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes aside (and what a legacy - and how impossible to set it aside!), for me this is the 'ultimate' recording of liturgical chant. So much recommends the recordings of Solesmes - the exquisite singing, especially of that one anonymous tenor voice which alone seems to create the 'sound' of the entire schola!- the aristocratic liturgical taste of Dom Gajard, and now Dom Jean Claire, the genuine poverty of the monastic life at Solesmes (I've stayed there and seen it). While Solesmes pursues the vast body of Gregorian chant, here the monks sing chant from an earlier age, so-called Visigothic (Mozarabic) chant, not much heard before the liturgical relaxations subsequent to the Vatican Council II. These monodic melodies of Spain's Arabic past mark not only a musical beauty, but lets us to hear Roman chant in fresh light. While the Kyriale included in here may more exactly be called neo-Mozarabic, the main selections come from the period prior to Roman codification under Gregory, Spanish in heart, and universal in beauty: the remarkable 'Introibo ad altare Dei mei', various Antiphons and Prayers intrinsic to an older national liturgical ideal usurped by Gregorian legislation, culminating in the otherworldly 'Lamentation of Jeremiah', which once heard will never leave you. Recorded in the great Romanesque Abbey church, with an acoustic richly suited to the sung prayer of glad monks. If you love liturgical chant, get this treasure and enter a rich path of consuming fire.

By happy coincidence, this CD was my introduction to Gregorian Chant and while I have since listened to many more, this disc is clearly the best. Right from the opening Dominus Regnavit and Laudate Dominum, the listener is caught up in what seems to be a swelling wave of deeply felt emotion, all the more impactful for the pure voices. Follows in due course the majestic old Credo and lastly for the moving finale, the Lamentation of the Prophet Jeremiah. Sung with tremendous control and feeling by the monks of the Abbey of Santo Domingo, the sound quality and the depth of the individual voices is amazing. Listening with your eyes closed, you can picture cowled monks singing in an echoing hall, yet the acoustics are so good that while giving the listener a feeling of resonance in space, there isn't the faintest of ghost echoes. I learn from the inset that the Abbey of Santo Domingo in the village of Silos is one of the oldest surviving Benedictine monasteries in Spain and an earlier reviewer on this page, Jason Anderson, has written some very informative historical notes. The inset also has a nice piece on the abbey and the history of the chant, as well as the full text of the lyrics in Latin plus an English translation. I cannot recommend this CD too highly: whether you love Gregorian Chant or you just want a soothing listen for a quiet evening or a long drive, I guarantee you will not go wrong with this one.

The monks of Santo Domingo de silos follow the rites and traditions of the ancient Mozarabic period of Hispania (modern day Spain). This period stemmed from the Visigothic period of control over the former Roman protectorate. And from this period throughout the generations this form of pure, magical and yet authentic chant has been saved and will continue to be saved. I brought this CD initially for my stepdad but I decided to keep it with me after listening to it. I fell in love with the sound, the atmosphere and it made me great when I listened to it.
I hope to one day visit the abbey and listen to these chants in person and live. 22 tracks of solid gold chants and the voices are so in sync with each other that the real mystery is why there is not more monasteries like this one.

While I agree with the other reviewers that this is a fine recording, two precisions are necessary for the sake of accuracy. The disc is titled "Gregorian Chant" but in fact it is Mozarabic or Old Spanish Chant. The reviewer who wrote that the monks observe this rite is mistaken. The monks observe the same monastic rite as the monks of Solesmes and other Benedictine abbeys. The choir director at the time (1968), however, is a musicologist who prepared a special program of Old Spanish Chant for the historically based Archiv Produktion of Deutsche Grammophon.

Este es un maravilloso cd para cualquier persona a la que le guste el canto gregoriano o esté interesada en escuchar algo de este tipo de música. Al principio puede parecer que todas las canciones son muy similares, pero una escucha atenta hace que esa sensación se despeje por completo. La calidad de sonido es muy buena y uno se siente casi dentro del propio monasterio de Silos cuando pone este cd, da una ambientación totalmente medieval y transporta en el tiempo y en el espacio al oyente. Además el precio es muy bueno para un cd de estas características.

I am a writer, so I got this CD to listen to while I write. Each chant on this CD is a jewel in its self. The voices are mystical and haunting and at the same time so peaceful, each of the singers is so insync with the others. When listening to this CD, I feel like I am transported into a medieval abbey surrounded by gregorian chant. I have heard many gregorian chant albums and this is by far one of best, it had the richness and a haunting, beautiful quality that many of them lack.

This is superb. The passion in the voices melts my heart...I can hear the longing for Christ in their voices. One of my all time favorites.

I purchased this version of the monks of Santo Dominto De Silos at the same time I bought the 2008 edition of the Gregorian chant by the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz (Chant: Music for the Soul). While the effort of the Santo Domingo monks was highly praised when it was released, I fully understand why the version by the Cistercian monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz was so brightly hailed. The Spanish recording seems regimented, in contrast to that of the Austrian Cistercian monks of 2008, who seem quite sublime, un-regimented, and singing only in response to their devotion to God. Even so, this recording by the Spanish monks is clear, pure, and by the books; it is authentic. If you are interested in Gregorian chant, you should have a chant rendition of this style in your repetoire because these fellows deliver it in a style considered normal in the recording world before their performance was usurped for many by the Austrian monks.

I was looking forward to receiving this CD because I love chant and because I had walked some of the Camino de Santiago. It was in Burgos, Spain that I heard about the CD. But the CD was a disappointment because there was very little variety in the chants and they all began to sound all alike. I found myself getting bored.

If you got turned onto Gregorian chants by listening to 'the voice of Enigma' album, you may be as bored and disappointed as I was with this CD.