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Christmas Chants
Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos
Christmas Chants
Genres: Special Interest, Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (25) - Disc #1

Recorded in 1958 at the Spanish Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, this historic recording has become a minor classic, a 25-track collection of Gregorian chants that were the first to be recorded at the Castilian monastery. ...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos
Title: Christmas Chants
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: Jade Records
Release Date: 10/15/1996
Genres: Special Interest, Classical
Styles: Holiday & Wedding, Opera & Classical Vocal
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 731383577123, 731383577147

Synopsis

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Recorded in 1958 at the Spanish Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos, this historic recording has become a minor classic, a 25-track collection of Gregorian chants that were the first to be recorded at the Castilian monastery. Part of the import of these somewhat crude recordings is their authenticity; although the traditional Gregorian chant had been corrupted by the mid-19th century, these performances were the result of exhaustive scholarship and research, including a restoration of the Mozarabic chant, an archaic style of Spanish singing. Recorded at the peak of the choir's powers--over 80 voices strong--these chants that glorify the start of the liturgic year are, even in mono, moving and inspirational examples of religious faith expressed in sound. --James Rotondi

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CD Reviews

I enjoy this album.
Mother of Five | Alexandria, VA United States | 03/14/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD primarily to have the Adoro Te Devote by Thomas Aquinas. It is an intensely moving piece of music, both in words and melody. I only had one other Silos Chant CD - Chant so I was expecting an a cappella CD - something I prefer to orchestrated. This album is done with a single note of an organ guiding the choir and I liked it. This combined with what seems to be a less modern/technically advanced recording makes it seem very real - almost like attending Vespers. This album has very thorough liner notes with technical and liturgical descriptions of the music as well as the lyrics in Latin and English - a huge plus over the Chant CD. 2 pieces on this recording overlap with the Chant album, and I'm glad to have the words.All in all a good CD."
Solid, not superb
Praedicator | Washington, DC | 11/07/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"The CDs recorded by the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos are good, workmanlike productions, but they lack the the lofty beauty of the monastery of Fontgombault--you can get their CDs in America through their daughter monastery in Clear Creek, OK (see www.clearcreekmonks.org). The monks of Silos generally have a lovely style, though I find their pronunciation often clipped and therefore distracting. There are different schools of thought, of course, on what makes for good chant. This is a very good value, but not the best expression of chant, in my opinion."