Named All-Time Best Recording of the All-Night Vigil by BBC Music Magazine!

Gloriae Dei Cantores releases All-Night Vigil, Op. 37 by Sergei Rachmaninoff, conducted by Peter Jermihov (internationally recognized specialist in Russian and Orthodox Liturgical music). Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil is made up of texts taken from the Russian Orthodox All-night vigil ceremony. Critics praised the work as Rachmaninoff’s finest achievement and “the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church.” It was also one of the composer’s favorite compositions, and the fifth movement was sung at his funeral. Gloriae Dei Cantores is joined by members of the St. Romanos Cappella, The Patriarch Tikhon Choir, and The Washington Master Chorale. Protodeacon under the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Vadim Gan, sings the clergy exclamations as well as Dmitry Ivanchenko. Soloists, Dmitry Ivanchenko and Mariya Berezovska, from the National Opera of Ukraine in Kiev, join the choir of 77 singers for this landmark collaboration and recording.

REVIEWS:

This new recording has the essential sound of the Russian choirs, with their bass-centered sonority, and tempos which allow the music to unfold in the measured pace of a devotional service. Better yet, the text-based spiritual approach to the music...stirs at least as deeply as [the] ...Russian recordings. While referring to the texts, you will have the pleasure of seeing the gorgeously illustrated booklet, with a background on each hymn and photographs of Russian churches, countryside and icons. The result is one of the very finest recordings this work has ever received.

--Ronald E. Grames, Fanfare

A landmark recording, one that is destined to become the new standard for this work. And if you don't know the Rachmaninoff "All-Night Vigil " yet, THIS is the recording you should get to begin your acquaintance. You will have to wait a long time before something better comes along!"

-- Vladimir Morosan, Musica Russica

We are invited to lift our spirits through a deeply inspired performance of Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil. This performance rings with devotional majesty . . . The stunning surround sound comes to us through the combined efforts of Keith O. Johnson and Sean Royce Martin.

-- Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition

"Recording of the Month... A splendid achievement."

-- MusicWeb International

"An exemplary performance... a superlative recording... beyond glorious."

-- The Buffalo News

"Allow this CD to transport you right past the malls and into the season's sacred mystery."
—The Dallas Morning News (The Chants of Christmas)

"I adore well-executed choral music for the holidays, and Gloriae Dei Cantores certainly fills the bill. Sing Noel is an outstanding. . . moving release of intensely lovely seasonal music."
— Christmasreviews.com (Sing Noel)

"One of the finest crafted, best blended, and innately musical ensembles with which I have had the pleasure to work."
—Keith Lockhart, Conductor, Boston Pops

"What a refreshing musical gift this is! Those familiar with the Gloriae Dei Cantores singers know what a sterling ensemble they are; they deliver all the goods here. Seagull Seven's jazzy arrangement of "Deck the Hall" really rocks! In these and all else, the singers exude joy and cheer through artful, infectious performances that are immaculate and engaging. The rich warmth of tone is balanced by vibrancy and energy. This is musical merriment that will bring great cheer at Christmas time–or any time!"
—James Hildreth, The American Organist

"Here's a joyful and beautifully sung album of seasonal specialties ......this ensemble can claim many choral strengths, but their most remarkable attribute is their spiritual intensity and sincerity. Sound quality is beyond reproach; notes and texts are laid out in a colorful and festive booklet."
—Lindsay Koob, American Record Guide

"The choral artistry for which Gloriae Dei Cantores has become known can be heard in each selection. The ageless and profound wonder of Christmas comes alive with the singing of each word and the playing of each note."
—Wallace Cheatham, Christianity and the Arts

“I adore well-executed choral music for the holidays, and Gloriae Dei Cantores certainly fills the bill. Sing Noel is an outstanding. . . moving release of intensely lovely seasonal music.”
—Christmasreviews.com

“One of the finest crafted, best blended, and innately musical ensembles with which I have had the pleasure to work.”
— Keith Lockhart, Conductor, Boston Pops

This new release is a collection of ethereal and passionate Gregorian chants performed by Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola. The ensemble is made up of women and men who live in the Benedictine tradition and dedicate themselves to the study and performance of Gregorian chant. The three disc set includes The Chants of Mary, The Chants of Angels, and The Chants of the Holy Spirit. Each album is accompanied by full-color art booklets which give full texts and informative historical context to each chant.

"Three of the finest chant CDs have been released by Gloriae Dei Cantores. Be transported to a timeless place of eternal beauty."
—Kansas City Star
Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola has been praised by the New York Times for "expert renditions of Gregorian Chant" and "excellence of interpretation" by Fanfare Magazine. Their daily singing of Gregorian chant brings this vibrant and living form of sung prayer to life in these three stunning SACD's. These ancient chants still speak volumes today in this essential collection by the Schola that sets the example time and again. . . Not even the most seasoned monastic group delivers it better than the Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola.
—American Record Guide (About The Chants of Angels)
"This is yet another superb production from a source that sets the example time and time again. Do delve into the clear, cool waters of Gregorian chant – and this is a perfect place to start."
—Audiophile Audition (About The Chants of Mary)

Ms. Patterson is a true choral alchemist, and never fails to draw truly golden sound and beautifully nuanced singing from her hard-working musicians. Sacred illumination is their mission, and they achieve it with spiritual sincerity and power."
—Lindsay Koob, American Record Guide

"Is it possible for a mixed choir of 44 voices to sing late Renaissance and early Baroque Flemish, Italian, German, and French anticopolyphony in an artistic, historically informed manner? Probably not very often – that is, unless the mixed choir in question is the Gloriae Dei Cantores. For them, the answer is an emphatic affirmative. This group sings with the clarity and control of a carefully drilled chamber ensemble a fifth their size. Phrasing, intonation, articulation, blend, and color are precisely thought out and perfectly executed."
—The American Organist

"This is quite an astonishing competitor to such celebrated ensembles as The Sixteen . . . This disc will greatly enlarge most collections of Renaissance motets with rare pieces of outstanding worth, sung with skill and devotion."
—J.F. Weber, Fanfare

"The singing of these chants by this professional ensemble is wonderful. The sound of the women's voices is particularly striking because of their light and brilliant timbre."
—Loewen, American Record Guide

"The chants are sung by women and men in alternation with occasional octave-singing climaxes. The solo verses are expertly sung. The singing is characteristic of a group that sings chant as a daily service of worship, yet under the influence of Dr. Berry the interpretation leaves nothing lacking that a professional ensemble would bring to the task. This is an unusual presentation that will appeal to many chant enthusiasts."
—J.F. Weber, Fanfare

On their recording Sacred Songs of France, the first disc in a three-volume French choral pilgrimage, the acclaimed American choir Gloriae Dei Cantores takes listeners on a journey from the earliest days of organum in the Middle Ages to the delights of seventeenth century polyphony. This fascinating collection samples the musical genius and spiritual art of celebrated composers such as Josquin des Prez, and their lesser-known compatriots including Dulot, Goudimel and Mouton. Scholars will appreciate this disc for the generous survey it provides, while choral fans will love the grace, beauty and remarkable clarity of this glorious music.

This Christmas, give the gift of music – the earliest, purest music of the church. Gregorian chant lifts us out of the ordinary stresses of life and invites us to contemplate the timeless and unchanging love of God. The Chants of Christmas presents some of the most beautiful Gregorian chants, including the Christmas Day Mass. Avoid the commercial frenzy of the season and enjoy this beautiful collection of peace and tranquility. This CD features the well known Introits: Dominus dixit and Puer natus, as well as the Christmas Day Mass and the Antiphons to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"The Christmas collection offers four different masses that celebrate different parts of the nativity story: anticipation of the holy birth, the traditional hour of Christ's birth, the dawning of Christmas Day, and the Missa in Die that ties it all together. Each mass differs in character and mood, according to its purpose. The Christmas Day mass is the most joyous of the lot. Two sets of medieval Marian antiphons are included, even though they are not strictly a part of Christmas liturgy...Plainchant, despite its outward simplicity, is not easy to sing properly. It has no set rhythm; the melody line follows the flow of the language, and dynamic variation follows its meaning. Coherent phrasing is a constant challenge, requiring much practice and close attention to the texts. Not even the most seasoned monastic group delivers it better than the Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola, a group that specializes in Gregorian chant. They sing in daily services and appear often in concert with (and as part of) the Gloriae Dei Cantores. Like them, the Schola singers are renowned for their smooth sound, rhythmic flexibility, and intense sacred sentiment."
—Lindsay Koob, American Record Guide
"In The Chants of Christmas, the ancient Gregorian melodies deliver a mystical aura that envelops the listener, and the mesmerizing impact is equally effective during the holiday season and throughout the year....the professionalism of this ensemble is self-apparent. The delivery is crisp and balanced, and the intonations move seamlessly as the chants rise and fall. When Gregorian chants are beautifully executed, as they certainly are here, the product provides a magic carpet ride of relaxation, yet stimulation. For me, this music provides the ideal backdrop for contemplation on a cold December night--or any night of the year, really. Every chant has a featured cantor who opens the piece before others join in. There is a lovely balance of male and female chants. Kudos to the Gloriae Dei Cantores Schola for their superb work on The Chants of Christmas. The talent required to deliver the tone quality and control demonstrated here is downright divine!"
—Carol Swanson, Christmasreviews.com
"This recording...is a remarkable success. The music consists of the Mass Propers for the four Masses of Christmas (including the vigil Mass) along with the four final antiphons of the Office in both solemn and simple melodies...Textually, these chants follow the latest edition of theGraduale Romanum, and the final antiphons are taken from the Antiphonale Monasticum, a better edition than the Liber Usualis. As a program it's cohesive, yet it combines familiar chants with the less frequently recorded Vigil and Dawn Masses. About half of the pieces are sung by the men, the rest by the women, with no octave singing; the verses of all the Mass pieces (except for the Offertories) are sung by solo cantors of uniformly high ability. The engineering is expert, favoring clarity. The notes are informative, with texts and translations printed."
—J.F. Weber, Fanfare

Nothing heralds the majesty of Christmastime quite like the brilliance and radiant beauty of music for brass instruments. On this remastered reissue of a classic holiday favorite, the Gabriel V Brass Ensemble presents a special collection of music for Christmas written by a variety of masters of the genre including Rolf Smedvig, Anthony DiLorenzo, Morten Lauridsen and William Berry. From the overflow of joy in J.S. Bach's Wie will ich mich freuen to the cinematic soundscape of DiLorenzo's Baltazar (A King's Journey) to the rosy-cheeked romp of Leroy Andersen's Sleigh Ride, each piece adds new luster to your celebration of this glorious season.

REVIEWS:

This chant schola, made up of members of the choir on Cape Cod, has recorded chant under Mary Berry and Richard Pugsley. For their two latest discs, the members of the schola divided the programs among themselves and took turns preparing and directing the chants. Seven men of the schola are on the latest disc, while seven women join them for the earlier disc. In the first (but newer) disc, the 24 selections range from the most familiar Marian chants to three unrecorded pieces. The latter include the responsory Benedicta et venerabilis , the Assumption hymn O prima Virgo prodita , and the antiphon Beata es Virgo Maria Dei genitrix , as well as only the second recording of the responsory Repleta est Spiritu Sancto . The familiar chants include the four final antiphons, distributed through the program in pairs (simple and solemn settings).

The excellence of interpretation is not surprising, for the first members of Gloriae Dei Cantores spent some time at Cambridge studying chant with Mary Berry in the 1980s, and she came to Cape Cod for many summer sessions until her lamented passing. Her influence has endured in the skillful semiological interpretations of these chants. All of the hymns are sung complete and the graduals include the repeat of the respond. It would be hard to single out a few pieces for special praise, but the sequence Stabat mater , which ends the program, is superbly executed through its five-minute length. The verses of the offertory Ave Maria , too, are expertly rendered; not only is this one of the most frequently recorded chants, but it is also one of the most frequently recorded offertories with verses.

In the other disc, released a year ago, the 18 selections include another three first recordings, the hymn Festiva vos , the antiphon Angelis suis , and the alleluia Benedicite Domino . The hymn Custodes hominum has only its second recording. The offertory Immittet Angelus is recorded with all three verses for the first time, and the offertory Stetit Angelus has its single verse. This program has few of the most familiar chants. The two scholas, men and women, sing most of the selections separately, joining to alternate in the verses of hymns and only rarely concluding a chant with octave singing.

The recordings, among the first Super Audio productions on this label, were made in the new Church of the Transfiguration, which the ecumenical community built on the grounds of their complex. The surround sound provides a nice sense of space around the singers. Since thematic programs focused on chants of the Blessed Virgin and the angels are so common, these discs are notable for containing some unusual selections. While I have always approved the schola’s chant recordings, these two discs attain a new height of excellence, the best chant singing of any American choir. The booklets are attractively printed, too. Both discs will grace any chant collection.

FANFARE: J. F. Weber

Each year at Christmas, Gloriæ Dei Cantores celebrates the "dawn of redeeming grace" with a traditional candlelit Service of Readings and Carols, retelling the stories of Christ's birth that stir us with memories and hopes for peace and love. Just for a time as you listen to these carols and stories, let your heart fill with gratitude for our many blessings, and with goodwill toward others. Gloriæ Dei Cantores offers this recording with a prayer that the joy of the season brings you renewed hope and a fresh sense of wonder!

Nothing evokes Christmas like bells – ringing from a church steeple, accompanying a sleigh ride, or adorning evergreens. In this best-selling album, reissued at mid-price just in time for the season, the Christmas spirit is joyfully expressed through beloved carols performed on six-and-a-half octave set of Malmark handbells. The Gloriae Dei Ringers include old favorites in new arrangements, as well as original handbell works.

The Bells of Christmas is a new edition of the bestselling holiday recording, Hear them Ring. Featured are beloved favorites such as Away in a Manger, March of the Kings, and In the Bleak Midwinter arranged by some of today's best known handbell specialists and composers.

Described as "dynamically explosive" by the American Record Guide, the Gloriae Dei Ringers perform a diverse and expanding repertoire of original handbell compositions as well as classical arrangements. The Gloriae Dei Ringers, a sparkling and sonorous performing ensemble of young musicians, have dazzled audiences around the world including the US, Russia, Siberia, Italy, Finland and Switzerland.

"These virtuosi of metal and mallet positively palpitate with imagination and their arrangements are the ne plus ultra of shimmering, quivering pulsating pulchritude. The arrangement by Frances Legge Callahan summoning up twangy sonorities and pedal notes, a delicious range of colors including plucking and martellato effects. There are eleven players in this plucky Massachusetts group directed by Richard K Pugsley... they use 79 Malmark handbells (of 6 1/2 octaves). Twas Christmas Eve receives a rather suggestive reading that ends in Renaissance dignity whilst the witty coloration of The Twelve Days of Christmas is full of pitch extremes and glittering sonorities, like stars exploding. Away in a Manger is saturated in impressionistic ostinato; if you think handbells are inflexible creatures listen to the dynamic variance cultivated by these patrician East Coast ringers. They wouldn't rouse a butterfly's eyelids with the spectral quiescence of their Malmarks. A Flight of Angels is rhythmically novel; the sound of mallet on bell is distinctive as elsewhere the piping of shepherds in Shepherds, Watching is conveyed through simplicity and delicacy. Altogether their ensemble is metaltight, the sonorities they conjure full of lithe and pleasurable novelty."

— Jonathan Woolf, Musicweb-international.com

"The Gloriae Dei Ringers perform with a set of 79 bells covering 6 1/2 octaves. They are based in Massachusetts, but have toured in both eastern and western Europe, including Russia. This disc consists of arrangements of familiar Christmas carols as well as some original compositions for hand-bell choir by composers such as Donald Allured, Dale Jergenson, and Judy Hunnicutt. The performances are virtuosic, considering the teamwork essential to coherent ensemble in this medium. The program displays the wide variety of sounds that can be obtained from the bells through such techniques as plucking, martellato playing, and striking with mallets."

— William Gatens, American Record Guide

"From the Red Kettle Santas to the midnight call from the steeple, bells are a part of Christmas. This recording of Gloriae Dei's 11 musicians with their six-and-a-half-octave handbells goes beyond the usual arrangements of carols to transcriptions weaving dissonances and descants, the very highest and lowest tones, even the use of mallets on the bells to produce an intriguing and beautiful concert. In Twas Christmas Eve,Paul McKlveen pairs Let All Mortal Flesh with God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. A Flight of Angels is Dale Jergenson's composition specifically for the bells, as is Donald Allured's Bellfest."

— Patricia Nakamura, The Living Church

Paraclete Press, rooted as it is within liturgical renewal and reform, has provided us with wonderful resources for personal reflection and congregational renewal. "
—The Very Rev. Dr. Donald P. Richmond, Obl.OSB., Forward in Christ

"The singing of Gloriae Dei Cantores and the playing of the Skinner organ at [the] Church of the Transfiguration, Orleans, Mass., enhance the rich text of 20 psalms...Especially helpful is the accompanying booklet that explains Anglican psalmody and includes brief meditations that place each psalm in historical context. An accurate, balanced, pleasing musical aid to meditation on God's love and faithfulness to all generations."
—The Living Church

Anglican chant--a harmonized form of liturgical chanting, primarily of psalms--isn't like anything else in music. Although it's closer in style to speech than traditional monodic Gregorian chant, the harmonizations--and thus the requirement for a particular type of singing ensemble--removes it from the impersonal and functional to the realm of a more artistic, performance-conscious purpose. To sing Anglican chant--and especially to sing it properly--you need a choir of mixed voices who have mastered the myriad aspects and subtleties of phrasing, inflection, articulation, tonal balances, dynamics, and the often debatable rules of pointing, not to mention the necessities of coordinating with the supporting--and sometimes ornamented--organ accompaniment. Outside of British record shops or cathedral gift stores, you rarely see a recording of real live Anglican chant--certainly not on this side of the Atlantic--so it's refreshing to discover that the very fine Massachusetts-based Gloriae Dei Cantores, known for its many Gregorian chant recordings (among many other choral-music projects), has undertaken a three-volume series to explore, and hopefully expose new listeners to, this exceptional, unique, and affecting body of liturgical music.


There are 22 psalm settings covered here, by a wide range of composers writing in predominantly traditional styles--in other words, this volume doesn't contain any of the more recently-composed or harmonically "adventurous" settings some listeners will be familiar with. What we do get is the essence of Anglican chant sound and style--and thanks to the superb efforts of this very sensitive, responsive choir, its knowing director, and a pair of first-rate organists, we experience something of the uniquely expressive power inherent in this manner of psalm-singing, which in its most accomplished form allows phrases to flow and important individual words their full presence and meaning.


I was happy to hear several of my favorite settings--especially the Wesley for Psalms 42 and 43, the Goss for Psalm 11, and Aylward for Psalm 138--as well as many beautiful unfamiliar ones. I only wish that the choir and organ were recorded in a more favorable--that is, less noisy--acoustic. Perhaps a bit more distance, or a slight dampening or reconfiguring of the live, resonant space would help. At any rate, it's a treat to hear this music so well realized and enthusiastically sung (supported by some very nice organ work). I'm looking forward to volume 2!
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com