Reviewed by Tom Lennie

When you listen, as I do, to a considerable amount of pop/rock worship, then it's most refreshing to come across an album like this. Taize, as many will know, is a French-based community of Protestants and Catholics from all over the world, with an emphasis on ecumenism and meditative prayer. Their distinctive blend of worship is known for its simplicity - short choruses aided acoustically by the likes of guitar, flute, bassoon, etc. Some 'chants' consist of only one or two lines, repeated over and again. The music for all these 25 songs was composed by Jacques Berthier (1924-1994) - newly recorded here with the exquisite choral vocals of the Scottish Festival Singers. Packaged in a smart two CD box set, total playing time of both discs is just less than 70 minutes. Delivered in English, Latin, and, on one chorus, French, these are certainly beautiful sounds and a real tonic to a weary soul.

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