Our first release from Pluscarden Abbey is out now! The Liturgy of Easter is a remastered recording originally made between 2010 and 2011.
The meticulously remastered release of Gregorian chant was recorded by the monks of Pluscarden Abbey, Scotland - the only medieval British monastery still being used for its original purpose.
The monks at Pluscarden pray together in Latin through Gregorian chant several times each day of the year, as a core part of their worship. This album features the music they sing at Easter, a particularly important occasion for Benedictine monks.
All music was sung and recorded by the monks of Pluscarden Abbey in 2010 and 2011. The CD includes a 32-page booklet with full text and translation, and commentary on every piece, written by the monks.
Find it at:
The monks' singing shows a high level of musical as well as spiritual sensitivity. The almost perfect ensemble of the Choir is impressive, even in those pieces involving the whole community. The monks' joy and spiritual fervour are almost palpable.
--Sr. Bernadette Byrne OSB, Choir Mistress, St. Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde, in the Ryde Chronicle Christmas 2010
This is beautiful and intelligent singing... expressive and moving (in both senses of the word), never too slow. It has the ring of truth. Buy this disc and listen to it. Holy Week will be there for you.
--Christopher Francis, review in the bulletin of the Association for Latin Liturgy
The CD is accompanied by a wonderfully informative booklet, in marked contrast to many a heavily marketed chant recording. The Pluscarden monks incorporate into their interpretation the work of recent chant scholarship, though this is done naturally and not as a self-conscious academic exercise. Their singing generally exhibits that light energy and springiness that are essential for good chant performance, giving the line a sense of momentum. The abiding impression of the CD is of a community at prayer; it is as if the listener is invited to join the monks and re-connect with the ancient chant of the Church, as it intensifies the message of those powerful texts that concern us at the most solemn moments in the liturgical year.
--Richard Jones, review in Music and Worship, the magazine of the Society of St. Gregory