Cistercian Monks Of Stift Heiligenkreuz - Chant: Music For Paradise
STYLE: Choral RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 47881-14329 LABEL: FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
To see this album of unadorned Gregorian chant resting alongside Usher and Scooter in Britain's pop chart is a delightful surprise though not, as pop historians will tell you, a unique occurrence. Back in 1994 the albums 'Chant' and 'Canto Gregoriano' by the Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo De Silos sold millions when some bright music industry suits came up with the idea of marketing ancient Latin plainchant as a remedy for stress. Now it seems that the West's turbulent times have encouraged Universal Classics to take the same marketing approach with this item, recorded at the Sanctuary Of The Relic Of The Holy Cross in Stift Heiligenkreuz, Austria. If you've yet to encounter this or the Santo Domingo De Silos albums and can't remember the old dance hits "Sadness" and "Mea Culpa" by Enigma (which liberally sampled Gregorian chant) let me explain that Gregorian Chant is a single note melodic modulation rising and falling with rhythm determined by the words of Scripture being recited. Chant was not of course written to be listened to or to be "chilled out" to but was part of the ancient tradition of worship of the Roman Catholic Church. On record, for decades now Gregorian Chant has been considered a subdivision of classical/choral music and there are literally hundreds of albums of plainchant issued by the classical companies. 'Chant: Music For Paradise' isn't the best album of the genre you'll find, but the haunting voices of the monks caught in the sublime cadences of their monastery's natural reverb do indeed have a marvellously other-worldly character with the tracks "Deliver Me" and "Hymn For Pentecost" being particularly powerful in engendering a mood of peaceful tranquillity. And it's good to see Universal have supplied English translations of the Bible texts used for non-Latin speakers. All in all, an album of considerable beauty which indeed will relax tens of thousands of purchasers. My only query is the title. When I get to Paradise I expect to be singing Matt Redman songs.
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