Legends of St. Nicholas: Medieval Chant & Polyphony

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
If you're feeling jaded at the prospect of the usual holiday fare, Anonymous 4 has a truly sublime musical treat in store with their latest release. The contemporary world has turned Santa Claus into an icon of consumerist mania, but the historical figure from whom he ultimately derives was a uniquely inspiring religious figure to medieval Europeans. Anonymous 4 has culled together music from the liturgy of the hours and other sources originally produced to celebrate the legends associated with the fourth-century St. Nicholas, who was considered the patron of sailors, unmarried women, Russia, and--ironically--merchants. As with their earlier Christmas celebration, On Yoolis Night, the quartet ethereally blends their seamless, unaccompanied vocals in this collection of chants, hymns, and readings recounting the saint's life and miracles on behalf of those in need. In addition to Latin settings, the program includes one of the oldest known English-language hymns ("Sainte nicholaes," by a contemporary of Hildegard) and a number of verse-refrain pieces thought to inspire dancing in church. Most of the musical material involves simple unilinear trails of chant, which the ensemble spins out with their trademark unanimous purity of tone. Elsewhere, as in the spiraling eddies of "Novus presul prodiit," their suave harmonies glint like a sudden shaft of light through stained glass. And it is all captured in a warm, ambient church acoustic that is balm for modern ears. --Thomas May

Tracks:

Intonent hodie
Exultemus et letemur
Gaudens in domino
Seint Nicholas was borne in the citee of Patras
Confessor dei nicholaus
Cantu mirro, summa laude
Sainte nicholaes
Whanne the bisshop of the citee of Patras
Nicholai presulis
Cum quidam fluctuantia
Novus presul prodiit
Sainte nicholaes
All the province of Seint Nicholas suffered...
Plaudat letitia
Salve cleri speculum/Salve iubar presulum
Sainte nicholaes
A worschipfull man hadde thre doughtres virgines
Fulget nicolaus
Ex eius tumba / Sospitati dedit egros
Gaudens in domino
And whanne oure Lorde lust to take Seint Nicholas...
Psallat chorus/Eximie pater/[Apatur]
Nicholae presulum
Nicholaus pontifex

Amazon.com

If you're feeling jaded at the prospect of the usual holiday fare, Anonymous 4 has a truly sublime musical treat in store with their latest release. The contemporary world has turned Santa Claus into an icon of consumerist mania, but the historical figure from whom he ultimately derives was a uniquely inspiring religious figure to medieval Europeans. Anonymous 4 has culled together music from the liturgy of the hours and other sources originally produced to celebrate the legends associated with the fourth-century St. Nicholas, who was considered the patron of sailors, unmarried women, Russia, and--ironically--merchants. As with their earlier Christmas celebration, On Yoolis Night, the quartet ethereally blends their seamless, unaccompanied vocals in this collection of chants, hymns, and readings recounting the saint's life and miracles on behalf of those in need. In addition to Latin settings, the program includes one of the oldest known English-language hymns ("Sainte nicholaes," by a contemporary of Hildegard) and a number of verse-refrain pieces thought to inspire dancing in church. Most of the musical material involves simple unilinear trails of chant, which the ensemble spins out with their trademark unanimous purity of tone. Elsewhere, as in the spiraling eddies of "Novus presul prodiit," their suave harmonies glint like a sudden shaft of light through stained glass. And it is all captured in a warm, ambient church acoustic that is balm for modern ears. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

Classical heaven.......2007-01-06

I had never heard about Anonymous 4 until i read a review in the Dallas News.
Excellent! Grab a book, a cup of coffee and this CD and you will be in
heaven. Perfect harmonies, spiritually uplifting.....I even put this on after a stressful day (I am a teacher) and I melt into a blessed slumber.

wonderful.......2005-12-12

a previous reviewer made the comment that this must be what angels sound like. a more true statement has not been made. this is a wonderful cd. the music is amazing. if you're looking for a peaceful sound, this is it. enjoy.

Excellent Alternative to 'Good Saint Nick'........2005-11-10

'Legends of St. Nicholas' and 'A Star in the East' are both collections of medieval Christmas music. Both are based heavily on Latin chants. The first has some old English lyrics and the second is based on both original Hungarian material and material imported into Hungary from Greece and other centers of Eastern Christianity.

If you are considering one or the other, I find the 'Legends of St. Nicholas' to be the more diverse of the two, as it has chant, polyphony, and even some solo voices. The Hungarian selection seems just a bit too much like all the other material done by Anonymous 4.

To be sure, both are done with a typically exceptional high quality voice and recording technique, so you will not go wrong with either recording.

Both are highly recommended!

dream becomes flesh when i hear them........2001-05-02

I often make collections of early music that combine vocal and instrumental peaces that gives the ultimate pleasure for my ears. like time has stoped for a second... i feel like im diving into a world of total beauty when i hear those 4 angels "chanting" if there is heaven then "anonymous 4" are there for the soundtrack my wish is that someone will convis them to make an album with some instruments added like harp and other autenthic tools(hi hi). in short buy this disk its a treasure!!!(and its one of their best ones too.)

Anonymous 4 is Synonymous 4 Eloquence and Style.......2001-01-26

I first sampled music from this CD last year in the "Free download" section here at Amazon. I enjoyed the music so much I purchased the CD.

Anonymous 4 has a very eloquent sound and style. Their sound is like a smooth flat rock skipping along on a placid lake, and it carries you along with it. This music has nice harmonies and a clear fully rounded sound. The CD itself contains 69 minutes of music that you can listen to while reading, studying, or whatever.

The music's story is developed around the legend or story of St. Nicholas. The CD comes with a booklet that describes this legend and gives a brief history of how it developed. All the songs are performed in a type of Medieval chant in the Latin language.

This is a very nice CD, sample the songs above and see for yourself how eloquent Anonymous 4 sounds.

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