Psallat Ecclesia – Schola Solensis/ Halvor Osttveit, director – 2L multichannel SACD 070, 46:00 [Distr. by Naxos] ****:
The Schola Solensis is a female ensemble created in 1995 connected with the consecration of the Norwegian Sola Ruin Church, and specializing in the promotion and performance of Gregorian chant. We should pretty much discard notions of “authenticity ” in this instance as much of this music would not have been performed like this with the exception of female monastic establishments, but none of that matters as this ensemble is easily able to convey the spirit of the music in the most effective manner.
It is also an unusual concept album in that it deals solely with the medieval sequence, a liturgical form that developed north of the Alps sometime in the ninth century. Many thousands of these were created during the middle ages, and the term literally means “that which follows after”, referring to its position after what had become very melismatic and lengthy alleluias. They were exceptionally popular, inspiring some of the greatest chant melodies ever created, with different repertories being fashioned in different parts of Europe. Both the martyrs and the major and minor feasts benefited from these jewels, though by the Council of Trent there were new and more pressing concerns regarding the liturgy, and the august fathers reduced the repertory–drastically–to only five!
But here we have 15, dedicated to a wide variety of feasts and personages, from St. Agatha to St. Nicholas, to the still-retained Vitimae paschali laudes, recorded in sumptuous 2L surround sound, and providing a wonderful and calming chant experience–unfortunately under an hour’s worth, and surely more could have been found. An audiophile’s delight, coupled with a spiritual and mental placidity guaranteed to sooth the nerves and tingle the ears.
— Steven Ritter
