Herbert Howells - Stabat Mater - Te Deum - Sine Nomine

Completely cinematic and agonizing Anglican church music by English organist Herbert Howells. 2014 cd on Naxos.

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Sergey Rachmaninov - Nocturne: Rachmaninov Vespers & Byzantine Hymns (La Tempête, Simon-Pierre Bestion)

For those who might have heard Byzantine and Orthodox hymns, they will notice the difference with the lowest vocal tones used by chanters in Orthodox churches, with a low-tone droning voice called "iso." Especially Russian chanters are quite well-known for their guttural voices. This awesome rendition of Rachmaninov's vespers and the All-Night Vigil rocks so much. Essential. 2022 cd on Alpha.

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Arvo Pärt - Kanon Pokajanen (Cappella Amsterdam directed by Daniel Reuss)

 

I think there are three or four different recordings of Kanon Pokajanen; this is probably the most recent one. It's really one of Arvo's best works, actually many choir melodies on this one could be black metal or d-beat riffs. 2016 cd on Harmonia Mundi.

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Merula - Sleep

Possibly the best release of 2020 so far, and one that fits the deathly future we are all awaiting this coming winter with the unforgiving onslaught of covid. This is a rendition of Tarquino Merula's religious anthem "Hor ch’e tempo di dormire." The first version is a tape recording of a soprano singing it with birds in the background, and the second one is an unnerving cover in English with a death-folk/dark ambient vibe. It's very depressing and I can't really listen to it throughout, but it's extremely highly recommended. 2020 tape on Men Scryfa.

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Enahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou ‎– Éthiopiques, Vol. 21

An Ethiopian nun playing solo piano who released music to raise money for orphan children. This is one of the few records I've played to my partner that she likes, so I guess it must be good enough. She plays really passionate - yet mostly calming - gospel/blues/modal jazz tunes, which is shocking given that she's not African-American. Highly recommended stuff. 2006 cd on Buda Musique.

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VA - Gregorian Chants (A Collection Of Chants And Liturgies From The Monasteries Of France)

Sometime ago I had referred to Gregorian chants tape I had bought in Manchester that was chewed up and a reader asked that I rip it as it was. So I took it out on Easter Sunday and it seemed to be playing properly but now that I split the tracks from track 12 onwards there is chewing up. Some of the chants are amazing though and very dark, so you can check it out. 1993 tape on Music Club.

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Chœur des moines de l'abbaye de Bricquebec/De Cîteaux/Sept-Fons/de Timadeuc - Salve Regina (Deathspell Omega fans take notice)

For the obligatory festive album courtesy of your beloved half-Christian/half-Shia Lebanese jackass, a gift for the church-goers who love Deathspell Omega. Since I first heard Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice, I've been haunted by the Gregorian choir chanting throughout but more prominently at the hair-raising outro of track 1, the unforgettable "First Prayer." I'd done some research over the years, without any success at all, and only very recently did I manage to find where that sample came from. Discussions in the Metal Archives forum talked about a Jewish chant, while others mentioned it was a Russian Orthodox hymn, but none was the case. It is a French monastic choir going by the name Chœur des Moines de l'abbaye De Cîteaux, which is run by Trappist monks in Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux near Dijon, and the hymn is "Magnificat Verbum caro factum est (Antiennes)." Now all of you children of Satan can rejoice at hearing this impeccable hymn in its full glory. As a fan of Catholic aesthetics, Gothic architecture, and all the blood, fire, and sin committed in the name of sweet little Jesus, I can't help but love the recordings in this cd (the hymn "Salve Regina" which has given the cd its name is not Arvo Pärt's composition), as they have a very devotional quality, given that they are sung by monk pros and not just choirs of good calliphone artists, and the recording has a quite lo-fi aspect that makes it even more mystical. Since these chants were recorded inside the churches, bells are occasionally heard to ring, thereby ascribing an even more cult feeling. Features recordings by four choirs of monks in France: Chœur des moines de l'abbaye de Bricquebec, Chœur des Moines de l'abbaye De Cîteaux, Chœur des moines de l'abbaye de Sept-Fons, and Chœur des moines de l'abbaye de Timadeuc. 2004 cd on Studio SM on the Eternel Gregorien series. Everyone have fun during these days; fuck consumerism, fuck shop owners, and fuck the festive opening of shops on Sundays that is done at the expense of the rest of workers.

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