Best of the Monks of Solesmes - 2 CD set
Gregorian Chant
- ISBN: 9781612617879
- Trim size: 0 x 0 inches
- Weight: 6 ounces.
- Publication Date: 01 Jan 2017
- Product ID: 7879
- Format: CD-Audio
“Supremely ethereal.”—USA Toda
With chants from the 10th to the 17th centuries, each CD in this two-volume set, contains the best of the Monks of Solesmes—including the Te Deum, Stabat Mater, Ave Maria, chants for the Liturgical Year from Advent to Pentecost, hymns from the service of Compline, chants devoted to Our Lady and the Blessed Sacrament, as well as the beloved Mass of the Angels.
Sung in historical style, the chants on this disc are ideal for those who are familiar with the chant liturgy, as a collection of familiar melodies, as well as those wanting to become familiar with Gregorian chant.
Each piece is taken from the Liber Cantualis, and the corresponding reference number in the Cantualis is provided for each track, as well as the respective place in the service and/or liturgical calendar.
Since 1833, the research and study of Gregorian Chant by the Monks of the Abbey of St. Peter in Solesmes, France, has focused on making this sung form of prayer the finest possible offering for God, to whom it is addressed six times a day at the Abbey.
Media
“The most famous and ‘authentic’ recordings of Gregorian chant for generations have been those made by the Solesmes monks.” —The Boston Globe
“The music is utterly magnificent and the singing of this great choir is thrilling beyond words…it’s better to starve to this music than to live without it.” —Classic CD
“Supremely ethereal.” —USA Today
“Solesmes sets the standard for Gregorian chant performance.” —American Record Guide
"Communicates a mood of mystery, timelessness, peace, beauty, and contemplation."
"The Monks of Solesmes ... use the most authentic manuscripts and ancient documents to recover the original melodies."
"The monks' chanting is living, strong, unvarnished."
"The chant is organic and text-based ... the singing is full and well-supported."
"The recordings present entire liturgies, mostly sung live (creating) ... a sense of unbroken, focused prayer."
"There's something incredible fresh and new ... which is well worth your attention."
—New Liturgical Movement
"The music is exceptionally inviting, engaging listeners' ears with beauty and elevating their thoughts no matter what their spiritual or religious beliefs and doctrines may be."
"The beauties of Gregorian chant...encourage inward looking, contemplation, thoughtfulness, a kind of separation from mundane affairs ... Gregorian chant resonates."
"The sensitive, careful, beautifully measured performances here can be used as an entry point to an earlier time."
—TransCentury Communications