Chant: The Anniversary Edition

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This set contains the two CDs that, it must be acknowledged, just about started the Chant craze in 1994. The music was actually recorded in the 1970s and 1980s (this new set has been remastered and sounds better than the 1994-95 releases did) and was on sale in Spain and offered at the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos for some time before it became "hot." Since then, hundreds of CDs of chant and similar music have appeared, many more polished then these, but perhaps these were so special because they weren't performances: they caught actual Monks in the act of praying, and the meditative quality is undeniably real. Whatever the case, this is music for reflection, calming down, re-fueling and getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life--which may be even more needed now than they were 10 years ago. Texts are not supplied and you won't need them; it's all about reverence and mood. Doing nothing but listening to this in 25-minute chunks will allow your breathing to slow and re-energize you. Each 55-minute CD will probably put you to sleep--and this isn't meant as a criticism. --Robert Levine

Tracks:

Alleluia Beatus Vir Qui Suffert (Modo I)
Mandatum Novum Do Vobis
Media Vita In Morte Sumus
Laetatus Sum
Veni Creator Spiritus
Genuit Puerpera Regem
Kyrie Fons Bonitatis
Nos Autem
Super Flumina
Qui Manducat
Salve Regina
Salve, Festa Dies
Rorate Saeli De Super
Jacta Cogitatum Tuum
Jucundare
Veni Sancte Spiritus
Respice, Domine
Alleluia, Oportebat

Tracks:

Christus Factus Est Pro Nobis
Puer Natus Est Nobis
Ave Mundi Specs Maria
Spiritus Domini
Os Iusti
A Solis Ortus Cardine
Oculi Omnium
Alleluia, Dies Santificatus
Viderunt Omnes
Puer Natus In Bethlehem
Verbum Caro
Tui Sunt
Pueri Herbraeorum Portantes
Improperium
Tristis Est
Una Hora
Traditor Autem-Benedictus
Ubi Caritas

Amazon.com

This set contains the two CDs that, it must be acknowledged, just about started the Chant craze in 1994. The music was actually recorded in the 1970s and 1980s (this new set has been remastered and sounds better than the 1994-95 releases did) and was on sale in Spain and offered at the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos for some time before it became "hot." Since then, hundreds of CDs of chant and similar music have appeared, many more polished then these, but perhaps these were so special because they weren't performances: they caught actual Monks in the act of praying, and the meditative quality is undeniably real. Whatever the case, this is music for reflection, calming down, re-fueling and getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life--which may be even more needed now than they were 10 years ago. Texts are not supplied and you won't need them; it's all about reverence and mood. Doing nothing but listening to this in 25-minute chunks will allow your breathing to slow and re-energize you. Each 55-minute CD will probably put you to sleep--and this isn't meant as a criticism. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Superb relaxation.......2007-04-01

This is a wonderful compilation. I greatly enjoy listening to it when I'm working on painting or another activity where lower blood pressure is a must. Having two albums in one makes the deal even sweeter. If you alreaddy own Chant I and II, then there's no real value added, but with mine lost in a move, it was a great return of music I enjoy.

What a recording.......2006-12-01

Mystic,eternal, and meditative is how I would
describe these chants, a most perfect gift
for Christmas. This reissue sounds even better
than the ones released in the mid 90's.
I would highly recommend this recording to anyone.
The only rule is sit down, or lay back and enjoy.

FANTASTIC!!.......2006-01-25

BUYERS BE WARNED - this set should not purchased in lieu of the two original Chant CDs but rather as a supplement to them. Because although both the Amazon.com editorial review and one of the two reviews available for the Anniversary Edition both indicate it is nothing more than a remastered version of the original two Chant releases from 1994, a thorough check of the track listings at Amazon.com (and at angelrecords.com) demonstrates that this is not the case. The sequence of tracks is completely different and there are numerous tracks that appear on one of the original Chant CDs but not on the Anniversary Edition and vice versa. The most complete is the first of the two original discs as all but two of its nineteen tracks appear on the Anniversary Edition. Chant II has less than half a dozen of its tracks appearing on the Anniversary Edition.

However, this complaint aside, I love the Anniversary Edition. Although the track sequence is different from the original Chant CD and I find myself expecting certain chants to follow others, I will in time get used to the differences.

Moving on, this is not complicated material. There is no polyphonic, raucous, symphonic accompaniment. There are no rowdy, raging guitar riffs from the likes of Pepper Keenan or Jeff Loomis. There are no ultra-funky looped drum beats, booming bass, or rapped socio-political venom from the likes of the Ice Cube or Public Enemy. There is neither a Cecilia Bartoli nor a BB King to sustain things by sheer virtuosity. There are only the exquisitely simple, melodic sounds of monks singing/chanting in Latin in a great, grand hall with nary a trace of echo to be heard. This is gorgeous, sublime, invigorating music to soothe the sores of the soul and heal the hardened heart. The raw honesty and utter conviction of the `performers' on these two discs drive these pieces home with a power that more practiced and polished performers dare not dream of. Even with no transcription or translation of the chants inside the booklet, this is music to be enjoyed by everyone.

My recommendation is to procure Chant: The Anniversary Edition immediately and be thankful that such simple and supremely powerful music exists to bring some light into our seemingly ever-darkening world.

Thanks for reading.

Please ignore the other review on this product!.......2005-07-21

The other reviewer obviously does not realize that this is a re-release of both Chant I and Chant II. They have also been remastered. I highly recommend purchasing this 2-CD set because the quality is better than the originals, and the price is usually better than buying the first two separately. I wouldn't be without this in my music collection. Please do no let the ignorance of others keep you from experiencing this beautiful, ethereal music.

It sounds like all the other chant cd's out there.......2005-03-16

There is nothing special about this CD - buy Chant 1, save 5 bucks, and call it good

Om Namaha Shivaya: Deluxe Tenth Anniversary Edition

Average customer rating:

OM in MACHINES
Contain the original 43' album version AND a 17' Bonus track
Very good CD with a powerful OM chant...
The Best Healing Music
Those wanting an "eastern" sound experience, look elsewhere

Om Namaha Shivaya: Deluxe Tenth Anniversary Edition
Wings of Song , and Robert Gass
Manufacturer: Spring Hill
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation | New Age | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Alleluia to Pachelbel Canon in D/Kyrie
Bliss: Om Namah Shivaya II
Enchanted: The Best of Robert Gass & on Wings of Song
Chant: Spirit in Sound
Songs of Healing

ASIN: B000006Q4B
Release Date: 1996-08-07

Tracks:

Om Namaha Shivaya
Om

Customer Reviews:

OM in MACHINES.......2007-06-10

Hey did you know that if you set up some microphones surrounded by fans, fridges, and one or two of those old Champion juicers you can create your very own droning OM chant and best of all it's free! :-) OM is everywhere!All of you who suffer from tinnitus already know that!

Contain the original 43' album version AND a 17' Bonus track.......2007-05-25

The information below is incorrect - this deluxe version contains the original 43' Om Namaha Shivaya. It also contains a bonus track - a 17' Om, which was specially recorded for this release.

The deluxe version also includes the extended liner notes, with articles from Robert Gass, Deepak Chopra, and Don Campbell.

I hope this clarifies things.

Very good CD with a powerful OM chant..........2007-03-31

I bought this CD for the very high quality OM chant which is asynchronous and done with many voices. While this track is only about 17 minutes, it is simple, beautiful and seems to come from a very deep space. I am a meditation instructor and I have shopped around for a CD with this quality OM chant. This is the best I have found so far. I like the Om Namaha Shivaya chant less, but this is more a matter of taste than anything negative about it in itself. I really don't think you can go wrong here for the price and my experience is that the second track is deeply relaxing and helps one get into connection with a deep place of silence and connection.

The Best Healing Music.......2006-01-25

This CD is simply one of the best healing music available. I have used it in my hospice work, in seminars, to soothe my children to sleep. It is filled with a beautiful, spiritual energy that words cannot describe.

Those wanting an "eastern" sound experience, look elsewhere.......2005-04-07

[...]

I bought this CD a few years back, after hearing the second track, "Om," at a new age bookstore. When I got home and listened to the first track, a very western-sounding rendition of Om Namaha Shivaya, I was very disappointed in the disc, but I kept it for the "Om" track, which I sometimes use for relaxing music; and occasionally for meditation, when I'm feeling particularly agitated, and having trouble settling my mind down (although I usually meditate w/o music).

[...]

If you want something a lot more idiomatic, I highly recommend a CD called, Sacred Chants of Shiva: From the Banks of the Ganges, on the Heaven on Earth Music Label. In addition to five other tracks of chants about Shiva, this excellent disc concludes with a 31-minute rendition of Om Namaha Shivaya. Both the vocals and instrumentation are a lot more idiomatic than the Robert Gass version. [...]

Miserare - The Sixteen 25th Anniversary Edition

Average customer rating:

BEATS FOOTBALL
Share the Miserare

Miserare - The Sixteen 25th Anniversary Edition
Allegri , Lotti , Palestrina , Harry Christophers , and The Sixteen
Manufacturer: CORO
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Masses | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Motets | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Psalms | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Renaissance (c.1450-1600) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
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Renaissance: Music for Inner Peace
The Voices of Angels
The Flowering of Genius
Victoria: Requiem 1605
Victoria: Devotion to our Lady

ASIN: B00008ZZ27
Release Date: 2003-06-01

Tracks:

Antonio LOTTI: Crucifixus
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA: Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Gregorio ALLEGRI: Miserere
Giovanni Pierluigi da PALESTRINA: Missa Papae Marcelli

Album Description

In 2004, Harry Christophers and The Sixteen will celebrate 25 years of music making. To commemorate this milestone, CORO has released a handsome, slip-case edition of their original recordings. The haunting tones of Allegri's Miserere are unique and instantly recognizable even to those who know little sacred choral music, and features an other-worldly treble solo. No connoisseur of the choral arts will want to be without this recording of Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli. Along with his Stabat Mater it combines exquisite contrapuntal poise with a translucent setting of the words, whereby music and text complement each other to the detriment of neither. The chromaticism and blossoming cadences of Lotti's eight part Crucifixus have made it a work loved by both choirs and listeners.

Customer Reviews:

BEATS FOOTBALL.......2007-05-18

There I was sitting in the car - listening to the football: Derby V Southampton. Saints were winning - thank you God. I was also waiting for my two lads who were in a boxing session.

I turned the radio to Classic FM - and there is was: The Sixteen Miserere. I was mesmorised....spell - bound by the interconnecting harmonies and the truly inspirational melodies. I was hooked and listened to the whole piece.

I eventually turned back to the Football. We lost on penalties. But I had discovered a musical phenomenon and bought the CD.

Share the Miserare.......2007-03-28

This is one of those choral recordings that makes you slow down and say "wow" at the conclusion.

A Feather on the Breath of God [20th Anniversary Special Limited Edition]

Average customer rating:

Hyponotic music from an early great composer
One of my favorite albums of all time.
Luminous
Heavenly
Short, but still the very best of Hildegard of Bingen. Buy It.

A Feather on the Breath of God [20th Anniversary Special Limited Edition]

Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Sacred & Religious | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Hymns | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Hildegard von Bingen: Canticles of Ecstasy
Hildegard von Bingen: Voice of the Blood
Luminous Spirit
Vision: The Music of Hildegard von Bingen
The Origin of Fire: Music and Visions of Hildegard von Bingen

ASIN: B00004XPJS
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Tracks:

Columbia Aspexit - Emma Kirkby
Ave, Generosa
O Ignis Spiritus
O Ierusalem - Emma Kirkby/Robert White
O Euchari
O Viridissima Virga
O Presul Vere Civitas
O Ecclesia

Amazon.com essential recording

This is the record that started the Hildegard craze back in 1982--and you need only listen to Emma Kirkby glide and soar through Columba aspexit (the opening hymn) to understand why. Gothic Voices performs the music very simply, either alternating soloists and unison choir over a drone or using a single unaccompanied voice. The singers render Hildegard's extravagant poetic imagery and melody not with the rhythmically fluid, ecstatic approach favored by Sequentia, but with equalist rhythm and a calm, meditative quality. Gothic Voices' straightforward approach is less likely to send you into a rapturous trance than is Sequentia's, but in the hands of such fine singers as Kirkby, Margaret Philpot, and Emily van Evera, Hildegard's extraordinary texts and melodies are captivating--and clear enough to linger in the memory as melodies rather than just sensations. This record is still Hyperion's bestselling title by far--try it and find out why. --Matthew Westphal

Customer Reviews:

Hyponotic music from an early great composer.......2007-03-10

The Abbess Hildegard of Bingen wrote hypnotic, haunting music a thousand years ago (she lived from 1098-1179). The notes from this CD state that: "This recording draws upon Hildegard's large collection of music and poetry. . .which she continued to enlarge and enrich throughout her life. It contains some of the finest songs ever written in the Middle Ages. . . . The songs are conceived on a large--sometimes a massive--scale; it is in superabundance that Hildegard found herself both as poetess and composer." Hers is a very different style of music from what we are used to today. And the voices of Emma Kirkby and "Gothic Voices" (a group) appear to capture the spirit and soul of this music well.

Kirkby has a crystalline clear and clean voice. In "Columba aspexit," Kirkby and supporting voices paint a musical tapestry that is hypnotic (a common phrase that can be used across the songs). In "Ave, generosa," Kirkby sings the hymn solo and without any instrumental backing. An enchanting piece. Three tenors from "A Gothic Voice" essay "O ignis spiritus." Their voices meld together well and their take on this has a spiritual element. A final example (no need to mention each of the cuts on the CD). . . . "O Jerusalem" features both Kirkby and some members of "A Gothic Voice." The voices play off one another well. Another nicely done work.

This is a good introduction to ancient but interesting music. Kirkby once again shows her skills off to good effect, with an assist from "A Gothic Voice."

One of my favorite albums of all time........2007-03-06

This is the best Hildegard von Bingen recording I have heard. It features the marvelous English soprano, Emma Kirkby.

This is an older recording. I first bought the album on vinyl. I bought it again on CD. Now it is in heavy rotation on my ipod. This is simply one of the best pieces of vocal music ever recorded, any age, any genre.

Enjoy.

Luminous.......2006-11-27

Landmark recording of the early Kirkby glorying in this beautiful music. Ears that can do East and West may like to sample 'Shruti' by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay - a similarly evocative and remarkable recording.

Heavenly.......2006-11-15

This CD is a Masterpiece. I often play this before I go to sleep. If you want a CD that will totally relax you and clear your sole then you can't go past this great piece of work. The music and voices are Heavenly. I really admire Hildgard and her work. She was very ahead of her time. I very highly recommend this CD to anyone who loves beauty.

Short, but still the very best of Hildegard of Bingen. Buy It........2005-12-20

'A feather on the breath of God' is a performance of eight 'Sequences and Hymns' by Abbess Hildegard of Bingen' which has been lauded by Gramophone Magazine as a 'Best of' in the year it was released.

I have heard two other performances of Hildegard of Bingen compositions and to my amateur ear, these are the best. With soloist Emma Kirkby plus the instrumental backup, they are certainly more interesting than the a capella treatment by the Anononymous 4.

Very highly recommended.

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