Search - Braslavsky, Renard, Rowe :: Alma Anima

Towards a New Gregorian Chant

Geoffrey Shiflett | Los Angeles, CA | 02/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A wonderful blend of the ancient and modern. Catherine Braslavsky, Thierry Renard, and Joseph Rowe start with Gregorian Chant, add musical instruments (and musical inspiration) from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India, and flavor the mixture with their own interpretation of plainchant. The result is sublime. The title loosely translates as "Soul Nourisher" and, after listening, you'll understand why.This is not traditional Gregorian Chant and if you're looking for massed male voices sans accompaniment, you'll be disappointed. Only two thirds of the recording are actually Gregorian; the remainder are the artists' own compositions. For the most part, Braslavsky's voice is the only one you'll hear while Renard and Rowe provide a spare musical backdrop with oud, djembe, tampura, cello, etc. The Eastern influence is striking.Music aside, the recording itself is excellent. I was fortunate enough to hear these three artists perform in Paris at the St. Pierre de Montmartre cathedral in 1999. I can put "Alma Anima" on the player, close my eyes, and find myself magically back in St. Pierre de Montmartre.If you listen to this CD and enjoy it, you'll probably want to get Braslavsky's "Un jour d'entre les jours" (Al Sur ALCD 208) in which she teams with Renard and Rowe and adds Steve Shehan and Gilles Andrieux. On this CD, the mix is reversed with 2/3 of the recording devoted to their own compositions and 1/3 to Gregorian chants. Joseph Rowe told me that he thought the sound quality of this recording was even better than "Alma Anima". I'm not sure I agree but you'll have to be your own judge."