Capella Gregoriana: Lost In Meditation - Meditative Gregorian Chants Vol.2 CD Track Listing

A list by checkmate

Capella Gregoriana Lost In Meditation - Meditative Gregorian Chants Vol.2 (1997)
LOST IN MEDITATION - MEDITATIVE GREGORIAN CHANTS VOL.II\n\n St Augustine (354-430) was plagued by a bad conscience. This son of the pious\nChristian Monica was employed as a teacher in a number of small towns and villa-\nges dotted around the Mediterranean coast and tried out many oriental religions\nuntil he was finally converted to Christianity by Ambrosius at the age of 34. When-\never he attended a religous servous, he lamented: "I confess that I am imperfect\nand deserve to be punished because I am more moved by the singing than by the\ncause which the song serves, and I would prefer not to hear the singer." This prob-\nlem is still with us today: The discerning listener is moved by the beauty of the music\nbut at the same time, must be aware that the music is only an outer form of a much\ndeeper religous. This liturgical music of the Roman Catholic church spread from As-\nia Minor to the Mediterranean area and since the death of Pope Gregory (604 AD),\nhas been known as the Gregorian Chant or Plainsong. Plainsong is the free rhythm\nof speech; it is a prose rhythm, which of course arises from the unmetrical character\nof the words to be recited - psalms, prayers, hymns, etc. Plainsong falls into two\nessential groups - antiphonal (developed as a pure melody and alternating between\ntwo choirs) and sponsorial (developed from recitation around a dominant and alter-\nnating between a solo voice and choir). The character of the plainsong is best seen\nin the familiar psalm tone. Usually there will be an opening note or two (Intonation)\nleading to a monotone (Reciting Note) which is retained for some time and then \nmerges into a cadence. The monotone is then resumed, followed by another cad-\nence (the Ending) which closes the verse. Personal interpretation of the text, as in \nthe Lied or Opera, is out of the question. Its monotonous character is in fact striven\nafter. The text is the central point of focus which the music should not detract from\nbut rather serve to underline the word of God. Today's generation - in spite of the\nlarge number of people who are turning their backs on the church - are inthusiastic\nabout this form of music which goes back over a thousand years. Plainsong is com-\nplete in itself; it is pure melody and needs no instrumental accompaniment for it be-\nlongs to a pre-harmonic age. It is a form of music which can transport the listener to\na world free from the hectic, stress and noise.
This misc cd contains 18 tracks and runs 61min 37sec.
Freedb: fc0e6f12
Buy: from Amazon.com

Categories

Latest lists

Capella Gregoriana: Lost In Meditation - Meditative Gregorian Chants Vol.2 CD Track Listing

Category

Tags

cyList

Legal