Western classical music began as, predominantly, church music. Here is a CD review of an example of such early Christian music:
“Chant”
Anonymous Gregorian Chant for Divine Office: Compline. In paradisum. Veni Creator Spiritus. Spiritus Domini. Subvenite. Libera me. Missa pro defunctis. Factus est repente.
The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz
UCJ Records; 53 minutes
Music from the Monastery of Sound
Every so often, plainchant enjoys a surge of popularity. About 20 years ago, the Benedictine monks of Silos enjoyed phenomenal success with a series of recordings. It’s a sign of the times that the current renewal of popularity stems, not from a recording, but from a video game; and that the issue of this CD appears to be a response to it. The first part of the programme presents the Requiem Mass, in its entirety, with other associated numbers; the second, the Office of Compline, the last of the daily canonical hours, whose associations of spiritual peace and rest signal the project’s programmatic integrity; for, though clearly marketed for a wide audience, the choice of repertoire aims at something more than a facile “chill-out” factor. It includes some of plainchant’s most famous pieces, which is also important: this is the origin of the composed tradition of Western music, and listeners can trace these melodies in countless polyphonic settings.
The monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz intone lightly in the mid-tenor range, with little, if any, vibrato. We are, clearly, listening to monks who, though not professional singers, “perform” this music on a daily basis. Their tone is, perhaps, not as distinctive as that of the Monks of Silos, but the lack of affectation is, in its own way, convincing, and indicates a certain form of authenticity. That said, there are, now, several professional ensembles specialising in plainchant that bring, shall we say, other depths to its interpretation. None the less, with repeated listening I’ve been able to put aside my initial misgivings concerning the timing and intention of this project. It’s also poignant, given this recording’s inclusion of both the Mass for the Dead and the Nunc dimittis, to have been asked to review it on the very day of Mary Berry’s death. But for her passing, she would have done so herself, and I’m sure she’d have welcomed this with the generosity that shone through in all her reviews.
From: Gramophone, Volume 86, Number 1,034 (August, 2008), p. 81. Review by Fabrice Fitch.
Gramophone is an English classical music magazine published continuously since 1923. Mary Berry, referred to in the review, was a long-time reviewer for the magazine who died recently.
