Easter at Ephesus (CD review)

Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. Decca B0022686-02.



Easter at Ephesus is the fourth album by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, and if it sells as many copies as their previous discs, the sisters will be close to challenging the Beatles for most albums sold. Maybe we'll hear them singing The Beatles Songbook next. I tease, of course. The sisters sing like angels, and they deserve every bit of respect, praise, and admiration they receive.



As the accompanying booklet describes them, "The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles is a monastic institute of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph under the authority of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. Consecrated to the Queen of Apostles, their lives are dedicated to contemplative prayer especially for priests. They support themselves primarily by making priestly vestments and tending a small farm. Professing obedience to the Church's teaching, the community

upholds a loving commitment to preserving the liturgical heritage of the Church in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and traditional monastic Office." Furthermore, "All proceeds designated by the contract either by flat fee, advance or royalties will be directed to the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, which is a registered charity. The funds will be used to assist the nuns in all aspects of their community."



Their aim this time out is the observance of Easter, the Resurrection of Christ, in twenty-seven musical selections. They describe the program in this way: "The holy season of Easter spans fifty days from Easter (tracks 1-18) through Ascension and the Feast of Mary, Queen of Apostles (tracks 19-23) and finally crowned by Pentecost (tracks 24-27). We pray that all who hear these hymns will be strengthened in their faith in the Risen Lord."



Here's the track list:



  1. Anonymous: "This Is the Day"

  2. Aichinger: "Regina Caeli"

  3. Köln Jesuit: "The Clouds of Night"

  4. Wipo: "Victimae Paschali"

  5. Traditional: "Alle Psallite Cum Luya"

  6. Anonymous: "Christ the Lord Hath Risen"

  7. Ravanello: "Haec Dies" (4 Part)

  8. Ravanello: "Pascha Nostrum"

  9. Anonymous: "Jesus Christ Is Ris'n Today"

10. Kichengesäng: "Regina Caeli Jubila"

11. Palestrina: "Alleluia Ye Sons"

12. Palestrina: "Sicut Cervus"

13. Tisserand: "O Sons and Daughters"

14. Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles: "Regina Caeli"

15. Saint Venance de Fortunat: "Salve Festa Dies"

16. Gallus: "Haec Dies" (8 Part)

17. Anonymous: "Exultemus Et Laetemur"

18. Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles: "Her Triumph"

19. Carturan: "Ascendit Deus"

20. Anonymous: "Sing We Triumphant Hymns of Praise"

21. Lassus: "Oculus Non Vidit"

22. De Corbeil: "Concordi Laetitia"

23. Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles: "Queen of Priests"

24. Herman: "Veni Sancte Spiritus"

25. Ravanello: "Confirma Hoc Deus"

26. Ravanello: "Veni Creator"

27. Lambilotte: "Come Holy Ghost"

The sisters sing some of the pieces in Latin, some in English. The composers noted above wrote most of the selections, although some are traditional, some anonymous, and some original to the choir. And, yes, they all my favorites, but if you're going to press me, here are a few I liked best: "Regina Caeli" and "The Clouds of Night" reflect the simplicity and grace of the choir. The Medieval flavor of "Victimae Paschali" takes us back to another age, as does "Alle Psallite Cum Luya," and they remind us just how long folks have been singing and enjoying these tunes. I loved the individual voices and harmonies in "Haec Dies," both 4 part and 8 part. "Confirma Hoc Deus" and "Veni Creator" also have a wonderfully grand, triumphant, yet gentle spirit about them.



As always, the sisters sing in sweet, heavenly harmony, their voices fluid and precise. You almost expect Julie Andrews to step out for a solo. And I suppose the two most striking aspects about the singers beyond their unquestioned musicality are their gentleness and simplicity. Their wholly unaffected vocals bring an added conviction and beauty to each piece they sing. They are quite remarkable.



Producer Christopher Alder and engineer Philip Siney recorded the songs for Decca Records and de Montfort Music at the Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus, December 2014. The first thing one would probably notice about the sound is the realistically reverberant acoustic of its setting. The sisters really do sound as though they're singing in a natural acoustic. No close-up studio miking here, just a lifelike a flow of voices with a pleasant ambient bloom around them. Beyond that, the voices are clear and vibrantly captured, from the softest whisper to the loudest climax. The sound is wide, full, rich, and entirely satisfying.



JJP



To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click here:

Lent at Ephesus (CD review)

Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. Decca B0019859-02.



They're back.



Lent at Ephesus is the fourth or fifth recording from the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, each of them a best-seller. A press release I read about the present album said that it had sold more copies than any piece of music in the history of the planet about eight months before Decca released the disc. Or something like that. I believe it reached the top spots on the record charts its first week of circulation. The Benediction sisters are very, very popular.



And well they should be. Their voices project a purity and innocence that would be the envy of any professional ensemble. What's more, this time out they provide a more-varied program than ever, still highly spiritual but with a greater diversity of composers, from fourteenth-century hermits to Gregorian Chants to traditional hymns, sung in English and Latin and whatever. Better yet, their new disc delivers more material than ever, this one providing twenty-three tracks and clocking in at over seventy-eight minutes, very nearly the limit for a compact disc. That's almost twice the music of their previous albums and a very generous offering, indeed.



Anyway, you'll recall that, as they note in the booklet insert, "the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles is a monastic community located in rural Missouri. Consecrated to the Queen of Apostles, their lives are dedicated to contemplative prayer especially for priests. They support themselves primarily by making priestly vestments. Professing full obedience to the Church's teaching, the community upholds a loving commitment to preserving the liturgical heritage of the Church in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and traditional monastic Office."



As I said about them in a past review, they "possess voices of the sweetest purity. While there may be no obvious virtuosos among them (or if there are, they would be too modest to admit it), as a group they continue to sing like angels, their voices harmonizing with celestial precision." They continue in this manner throughout Lent at Ephesus (Lent being the annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter). The Sisters further tell us that "St. Benedict reminds us that the life of a monk ought to be a continuous Lent; a life centered around the Cross of Christ. Lent is the season in which we are invited to give our lives to the Lord as He gave His own for us." Nevertheless, whether you are a religious person or not, the Sisters present the songs on the album in such movingly passionate a manner, they would be hard even for even the most-unrepentant sinner to resist.



While individual listeners will have their own favorite numbers among the nearly two dozen offerings found here, of course, I couldn't help pick out a few of my own to share. The first few tracks, "Jesus, My Love," "Christus factus est," and "God of Mercy and Compassion," all reflect the kind of purity and innocence the Sisters' voices convey. There is a simple grace about their presentation that is quite affecting. "Hosanna to the Son of David" is more ambitious, and the harmonies are heavenly.



And so it goes, each track as lovely as the others. The choir's articulation and intonation sound spot on, yet they never appear stuffy or pedantic in their approach. Their voices always float gracefully, and they gently caress the ear. This may be the best album the Sisters have yet made.



Blanton Alspaugh produced and edited the music and Mark Donahue engineered, mixed, and mastered it for De Montfort Music and Decca Classics. They recorded it at the Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus in November, 2013. Maybe it's the miking, but the Sisters sound as though they're in a much bigger hall than they probably really are in. In any case, the room resonance complements their voices, helping them sound rich and smooth while doing nothing to impair their definition. Indeed, the sound is quite flattering, a welcome treat from some vocal recordings that can sound bright and forward. Here, the voices are natural and lifelike, with a touch of depth and dimensionality to put the listener further into the acoustic environment.



JJP



To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click here:

Angels and Saints at Ephesus (CD review)

Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles.
Decca B0018437-02.

Because recorded
liturgical music like chant has largely been the province of monks over the years,
record companies have given rather short shrift to their female counterparts.
The folks at De Montfort Music, Decca Records, and the Sisters at the Priory of
Our Lady of Ephesus (the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, a monastic
community located in rural Missouri) are clearly changing all that. When they
made their first album, Advent at Ephesus,
they surprised most of the music-listening world by producing a best-seller. There is no reason why this second album, Angels
and Saints, shouldn't probably do the same.

The album's back
cover describes the sisters thusly: "Consecrated to the Queen of Apostles,
their lives are dedicated to contemplative prayer especially for priests. They
support themselves primarily by making priestly vestments. Professing full
obedience to the Church's teaching, the community upholds a loving commitment
to preserving the liturgical heritage of the Church in the Extraordinary Form
of the Mass and traditional monastic Office. This is their second recording
with De Montfort Music and Decca Records."

The Sisters
possess voices of the sweetest purity. While there may be no obvious virtuosos
among them (or if there are, they would be too modest to admit it), as a group
they continue to sing like angels, their voices harmonizing with celestial
precision.

From what I read
in the accompanying booklet, the Sisters chose each of the seventeen selections
on the program to enrich their (and our) spirituality. As they say, they are
"called to embrace a liturgical spirituality" because their lives
"literally revolve around Christ as a many-faceted jewel.... The feats of
the angels and saints reflect the light of world in their own way, reminding us
to follow them.... These interspersed feasts are especially commemorated in song.
The saints and angels are honored either in hymns written for them or, in many
cases, hymns written by the saints themselves. Thus, we have a variety of
composers represented from saints to clergymen to laypersons. No matter the
author, the songs are deeply moving, some sung in English, some in Latin.

Whatever the
occasion, the Sisters blend their voices in a most celestial manner, and it's
hard for a person not to feel moved by the beauty and commitment they bring to
their singing. As for favorites, it's impossible.  Nevertheless, I felt particularly taken by
the tranquility of "Duo Seraphim" and "Veritas Mea"; the
part singing in "Jesu Dulcis Memoria," and "Ave Regina";
and the simplicity of the late Medieval Sequence "Emicat Merides."

The program ends with
a number that on its own could well become a best-seller: "Dear Angel Ever
at My Side." It has all the ingredients for popular culture status in its
sentiment, sincerity, and powerfully gentle presentation. If you liked the
Sisters' first album, you'll surely like their second one as well.

At little more
than forty-three minutes, the disc doesn't provide much material for a Decca
classical album. However, maybe Decca figured it was really a crossover
product, and the pop fans among its audience wouldn't expect as much. Or maybe
the Sisters just ran out of breath. Who knows. In any case, you know it's a
good album when the worst you can say about it is that there isn't enough.

DeMontfort Music
recorded the Benedictines of Mary at the Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus in
February, 2013. The venue seems fairly reverberant, so expect a richly resonant
sound. Still, there is an exceptionally good clarity to the voices, even if
they are sort of enshrouded by a veil of room reflections. The resonance tends to
make the singing all the more comforting. Besides, we might have foretold to
hear a chorus performing in a church setting to sound about the way we hear the
sisters on this disc, so all is well.

To listen to a
brief excerpt from this album, click here:

JJP

Advent at Ephesus (CD review)

Benedictines of
Mary, Queen of Apostles. Decca B0017837-02.

Because recorded liturgical music like chant has largely
been the province of monks over the years, record companies have given rather
short shrift to their female counterparts. The folks at De Montfort Music,
Decca Records, and the Sisters at the Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus (the
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, a monastic community located in rural
Missouri) hope the present disc may help rectify that situation.

The Sisters’ voices are sweet and pure. There are no
outstanding virtuosos among them, perhaps, yet as a group they sing like
angels, their voices harmonizing with a celestial precision.

The Sisters sing sixteen selections that celebrate various
Feasts, Meditations, Offices, Masses, and Holy Days of the Church. With these
selections, we find some songs in Latin, some in English, some Gregorian chant,
some traditional, some anonymous, some dating as far back as the Fifth Century,
most from Medieval and Renaissance times.

Among the hymns you’ll hear are “Come thou Redeemer of the
Earth,” “Angelus Ad Virginem,” “Gabriel’s Message,” “Hayl Mary,” “O Come, O
Come Emmanuel,” “Benedixisti Domine,” “Maria Walks Among the Thorn,” “O Come
Divine Messiah,” “Vox Clara,” “Like the Dawning,” and other such numbers.

It’s a wide and surprisingly diverse collection of
devotional psalms and anthems the Sisters sing, with one thing in common: a
single purpose in praising the Lord. Although the individual tracks are
relatively brief (two-to-three minutes apiece) and the disc’s total playing
time of just over forty-eight minutes may seem short measure, the songs do tend
to have a similar spirit and feeling throughout, despite their variety, so
maybe the album’s length is just about right for optimum listening pleasure.

The main thing is that the Sisters maintain a high musical
standard, and the performances are the very ideal of serene contemplation. It’s
all quite beautiful; you might even say heavenly.

According to the accompanying booklet, Decca and De
Montfort Music recorded the disc at the Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus in
October of 2012, which seems remarkable given that I received the product in
November, the very next month. The acoustic is appropriately reverberant for a
liturgical setting, so expect the room reflections to amplify and smooth out
the voices somewhat. Given the dozen or so persons involved, the stereo spread
sounds a bit constricted left to right, affording them plenty of distance from
the listener yet without sacrificing much in the way of clarity. The distancing
tends, instead, to add to the resonant nature of the presentation, increasing
the realism.

And to hear a brief excerpt from this album, click here:





JJP