CHRIST IN GETHSEMANE - Two Gregorian chant offices of Maundy Thursday- the Office of Tenebrae and the Ceremony of Foot-washing- are presented here, sung in the dramatic style appropriate to the night before the Savior's Passion. "This recording... is utterly magnificent and the singing of this great choir is thrilling beyond words. Buy this album if you expend your last pence; it's better to starve to this music than to live without it." (Classics CD) "This album 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." (Fanfare) "Setting the standard for Gregorian performance." (American Record Guide)

Known throughout the world as the leading masters of Gregorian chant, the monks of Solesmes present a 2-album set that includes “Learning about Gregorian Chant” and “Gregorian Chant Rediscovered”. “Learning About Gregorian Chant” simplifies and clarifies the world of chant for those to whom Gregorian chant is a mystery. The combination of a clearly understood text (read by Sarah Moule) with the fluidly sung examples (sung by the Benedictine monks of Solesmes) convinces the listener that Gregorian chant is open to everyone for enjoyment and prayer. The clear and concise presentation on this recording will make it a valuable resource for educators, musicologists, students of music and those who wish for a basic understanding of chant. "It is a marvelous, brief explanation of the various types and styles of the chant, going from its early, simple forms of recitation to the elaborate, soloistic forms. Dom Saulnier's historical explanations of the origins of the texts and their use in the service is especially interesting as is their development along the way into today's usage have always been amazed at the depth of his knowledge as to the whole history of chant performance and to hear his brief and very meaningful comments is a real pleasure. . . I need hardly say that the recordings of chant from the abbey are, to my mind, still the finest on the market, thanks to Dom Claire and it is good to hear them brought out again for the American public. For anyone interested in what the various forms of chant are and where and why they were used this is a wonderfully concise and informative recording." (Dr. Robert Fowells, Los Angeles Gregorian Schola (founder), California State University)

"A marvelous, brief explanation of the various types and styles of the chant, going from its early, simple forms of recitation to the elaborate, soloistic forms. Dom Saulnier's historical explanations of the origins of the texts and their use in the service is especially interesting as is their development along the way into today's usage have always been amazed at the depth of his knowledge as to the whole history of chant performance and to hear his brief and very meaningful comments is a real pleasure. . . I need hardly say that the recordings of chant from the abbey are, to my mind, still the finest on the market, thanks to Dom Claire and it is good to hear them brought out again for the American public. For anyone interested in what the various forms of chant are and where and why they were used this is a wonderfully concise and informative recording."
—Dr. Robert Fowells, Los Angeles Gregorian Schola (founder), California State University
"A very useful tool for helping people to understand what Gregorian chant really is, how it was created and for what purpose. The combination of spoken explanation (in plain English!) and the carefully chosen sung examples is the best way to begin one's acquaintance with Gregorian chant. When you finish listening to this CD, you will have a wonderful sense of just how rich and diverse is this artistic and religious treasure of Western civilization."
—Fr. Columba Kelly, OSB, St. Meinrad Archabbey
“Solesmes sets the standard for Gregorian chant performance.”        
—American Record Guide

Solesmes' He Was Placed in the Tomb contains the Gregorian Office for Holy (or "Great") Saturday, the evening service that observes the time Christ spent in the bonds of death; it is signified by the lighting of the candle of Paschali... This performance of the Office is by the Monastic Choir of St. Peter's Abbey in Solesmes, presumably from their own edition, which has been the Vatican standard since 1903... This one of the very last recordings of the Solesmes choir as led by it's longtime director, the late Dom Jean Claire, who retired shortly thereafter. The choir is in excellent voice; the pacing of the chant is as it should be and the acoustic in the Abbey Church at Solesmes is warm and bathes the voices in a benevolent ambience. This office consists of four Nocturnes, Lauds, and Vespers, with the pieces toward the ends of the Nocturnes being the most captivating within the office, particularly the Mode 4 and 5 Responsory at the end of the first Nocturne and the breathtakingly beautiful Responsories in Modes 8 and 4 that conclude the Second Nocturne. "As a representation of the Holy Saturday service in Gregorian terms, this is about as liturgically accurate, and as well performed, as it gets. Outside of it's purely religious context, Solesmes' He Was Placed In The Tomb would be an excellent album to accompany late-night reading or other nocturnal, quiet activities. " (AllMusic. Com)

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. In ‘Christmas- The Night Office Vigils’ we hear the beautiful Gregorian chants of Vigils that the monks sing to celebrate the birth of Jesus at the same time of night he was born in Bethlehem. In ‘Christmas- Midnight Mass and Mass of the Day’ the monks include Introits, Graduals, Alleluias, Offertories, Communions, Responses, Sequences, Hymns, and Tropes from the Midnight Mass and the Mass of the Day. Previous releases by the Monks of the Abbey of St. Peter in Solesmes have been well received. “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.” (Bookwatch)

“The most famous and ‘authentic’ recordings of Gregorian chant for generations have been those made by the Solesmes monks.”      
—The Boston Globe

“The music is utterly magnificent and the singing of this great choir is thrilling beyond words…it’s better to starve to this music than to live without it.”       
—Classic CD

“Supremely ethereal.”        
—USA Today

This album includes 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. It includes Ubi caritas and Pange Lingua. This recording reflects the unmatched authenticity which characterizes the exquisitely gracious and moving performances of Gregorian chant by the Monks of Solesmes. "Paraclete Press offers a superb list of outstanding Christian music which is magnificently performed by the monks of Solesmes." (Reviewer's Bookwatch) "Setting the standard for Gregorian performance." (American Record Guide) In the late 19th century Pope Leo XIII charged the Abbey of Solesmes with the restoration and preservation of Gregorian Chant according to the original 10th-11th century manuscripts. The care and zeal with which the monks undertook this mission quickly extended the Abbey's influence beyond Europe.

“The success of Gregorian chant in the past century, and the centered richness of prayer it brings to all of us, is almost singularly due to the herculean efforts of the Benedictine Monks of Solesmes, France.”
—New Liturgical Movement

“The music is exceptionally inviting, engaging listeners’ ears with beauty and elevating their thoughts no matter what their spiritual or religious beliefs and doctrines may be.”
—TransCentury Communications
“The most famous and ‘authentic’ recordings of Gregorian chant for generations have been those made by the Solesmes monks.”      
—The Boston Globe

A rich experience of the church's liturgical year through Gregorian chant. This release delivers a stirring collection of Gregorian chants, celebrating "Ordinary Time" - the season of the liturgical year between the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord and Lent, and from Pentecost Sunday until the beginning of the Advent season. Ordinary Time is the thread of the liturgical year, commemorating each Sunday with the Resurrection and the Paschal mystery. Expertly sung by the world-renowned monastic choir of Solesmes, France, this Gregorian chant recording enables listeners to participate in a rich experience of the church's liturgical year. "This recording has remained a touchstone of chant singing... It's elegance, it's utter rightness once more becoming evident." (Fanfare)