Reviewed by John Irvine

How much more of this can you take! Yet another re-release of Gregorian Chant, this one focussing mainly on Pentecost with a mass and vespers for Whit Sunday. The recording presents a nice balance between the male voices of the Schola Cantorum and the gorgeously reverberant acoustic of the recording location. No details are provided on the recording location or the singers, so we cannot tell if they are monks or professional singers or some combination of the two. Whatever they are, these lads obviously have a firm grasp of and great familiarity with the chants selected for this disc. This is a very positive, uplifting release. The Pentecost chants in particular are tackled with great gusto, vigour and passion. Although recorded in 1966, the sound quality is such that you would think it to be a much more recent recording. Full marks to Sony for the clarity of sound! This disc is excellent value for money, a 72 minute budget-priced CD which should prove to be a good introduction for would-be chant addicts. It should also prove useful as an addition to any existing collection because of its unusual focus on Pentecost. There is little to criticise here and much to praise. However, this is not a recording which will set the world ablaze. It is well recorded and features competent, attractive, well phrased singing. However, it still lacks that something extra, the little special je ne sais pas to lift it head and shoulders above all of the other chant discs. You know, this Gregorian Chant lark could catch on...

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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