Chants for Passiontide

SINCE 1833, the research and study of Gregorian Chant by the Monks of the Abbey of St. Peter in Solesmes, France, has focused on making this sung form of prayer the finest possible offering for God, to whom it is addressed six times a day at the Abbey.

These recordings include the moving Gregorian chants and prayers for the night before Jesus' Passion, when he gave the "mandate" to love one another as he has loved us and includes Ubi caritas and Pange Lingua and the two Gregorian chant offices of Maundy Thursday--the Office of Tenebræ and the Ceremony of Foot-washing. Tenebrae of Good Friday includes all three nocturnes of the office of Matins and the antiphons and psalms of Lauds the Good Friday liturgy of the hours, sung in the dramatic style appropriate to the night before the Savior's Passion.

"Paraclete Press offers a superb list of outstanding Christian music which is magnificently performed by the monks of Solesmes. Each of these highly recommended exceptional recordings is flawlessly produced and showcases centuries of devotions, chants, celebrations, and the glorification of God."
-Reviewer's Bookwatch

"This disc is a marvelous evocation of Holy Thursday's Tenebrae and foot-washing ceremonies, important for understanding the evolution of chant interpretation at the home base of chant restoration. Some of the antiphons have never been recorded before."
-J. F. Weber, Fanfare

"This recording... claims high regard.... Here the justly famed choir of St. Peter's Abbey, Solesmes, directed with inspiration by Dom Jean Claire, offer Tenebrae and Lauds for Maundy Thursday and also the music for the Ceremony of Foot Washing. The music is utterly magnificent and the singing of this great choir is thrilling beyond words. Buy this disc if you expend your last pence; it's better to starve to this music than to live without it."
-Classic CD

Contains 3 CDs:
Maundy Thursday
Christ in Gethsemane
Tenebrae of Good Friday