Friday, November 14, 2008

Carthusian Chant: An eternal song

This is part of a trailer of Into Great Silence. There is something especially touching and striking, or is it ominous?--I'm not sure how to put this--in this recording, very rare, of Gregorian Chant from Carthusian chant books. Professionals would never sound this way, which is one reason this is so different and so great. There is a definite speech-pattern to the way they sing. The spacing between phrases follows isn't scripted at all. It is just restful. The undulation in the phrases is something that parish scholas work on week after week but here it is so embedded that you don't have a sense that is practiced at all. See if this has a strange effect on your heart. It certainly does something to me.

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