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Women
in Chant: Gregorian Chants for the Festal Celebrations of the Virgin
Martyrs and Our Lady of Sorrows marked
the first full Gregorian Chant album to be recorded by a choir of American
Benedictine nuns. The response of the public to this CD was immediate
and overwhelmingly positive, revealing the deep hunger in today's world
for the ancient music of the Chant.
Click
one of the Chant selections below
to hear an introductory segment of the piece.
Virgin Martyrs can be purchased at the new Regina Laudis Shop.
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a women's community we wanted to choose music that reflected
what we in our own way are actually trying to live. We found
our models in the the Virgin Mary and the Virgin Martyrs, whose
music is anthologized here for the first time. Mary, Mater
Dolorosa, the Mother of Sorrows who stands at the foot of
the cross, will always represent the highest
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example
of consecrated feminine love, love that can go to the limits
of suffering for the beloved. With Mary as their model, many
courageous women of the 3rd and 4th centuries left family, status
and wealth, risking torture and even death to claim the right
to follow Christ. Such women were the Virgin Martyrs: St. Lucy,
St. Agnes, St. Cecilia and St. Agatha. These young women, who
dared to love Christ as their spouse, also loved particular
human people - their mothers and sisters, friends, husbands,
townsfolk and even their persecutors. Their music reflects this
complex mixture of innocence, passion, courage and love. A biography
of each saint is included in the CD booklet.
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making of Women in Chant: The Virgin Martyrs reflects
the gifts of many dedicated professionals working together in
collaboration, most especially Dr. Theodore Marier, conductor,
and Mr. Tom Pomposello, producer. Dr. Marier, who worked with
the Abbey Choir for over 30 years, was internationally recognized
as one of the world's
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Masters of Gregorian Chant. He brought all his gifts as Chant
scholar, instructor, and director to this recording, for which
he worked closely with Grammy award-winning Producer, Tom Pomposello.
A celebrated Blues guitarist and music historian, Tom realized
in Women in Chant his long-standing dream to bridge the
gap between secular and sacred music. |
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distinctive sound of the choir, directed by Reverend
Mother David Serna, Prioress, O.S.B., embodies the
spirituality at the heart of the Regina Laudis Community. Its
single corporate voice is made up of many voices that nevertheless
retain their own warmth and individuality. The same principle
of corporate participation informs the other aspects of the
production as well. The 48-page
booklet, containing photographs of the abbey and a brief
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of its history was written and designed by the nuns. The Latin texts
of the Chant pieces with original translations by members of the
community are also included. |
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CD ends with the Blessing of the late Reverend
Mother Benedict Duss, O.S.B., first Abbess and Foundress
of Regina Laudis. For this booklet she granted an unprecedented
interview to Tom Pomposello entitled "Why Gregorian Chant?"
Anyone who cares about Chant will want to read her direct and
intimate reflections gained from 50 years of contemplative experience:
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You
are singing the praise of God, the Word of God that originated
in the Holy Spirit. You are not the author, only the medium,
a corporate medium. So you take in the Word and possess it in
order to release it. You have to be really at peace in order
to do that successfully. When I hear the Chant, I hear people
at peace together.
Rev.
Mother Benedict Duss, O.S.B., Abbess Emerita
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