"Sound in Spirit" is a totally new direction for this Bay Area-based 12-man group, in that it is the first Chanticleer recording to be conceived as a total experience-there is no silence or space between tracks. Ideally it should be listened to without pause. It is the first to add outdoor ambient sounds and to incorporate "overtone singing." The music extends from ancient sacred chants to music composed at the recording sessions themselves; all as seen through the creative eyes of composer/arranger Joseph Jennings and Chanticleer, his "Orchestra of Voices." There are 14 "cuts," beginning with Jan Gilbert's "Incantation" (from NightChants), and ending with Gilbert's "Grace to You" (from NightChants). In between are Nectarie Viahul's "Axion Estin," Jennings' title tune and "Night Spirit Song," Carlos Rivera's "Motet for 12 Singers," the Jennings-arranged "Beata" plainsong, de Victoria's "O Sacrum Convivium," Gilbert's "NightChant," Jackson Hill's "In Winter's Keeping," Giacinto Scelsi's "Gloria in Excelsis Deo," Sarah Hopkins' "Past Life Memories," Patricia Van Ness' "Cor Meum Est Templum Sacrum" and others. "Sound" is a surprising, moving, eclectic piece that takes us to places of meditation, wonder and mystery. A beautiful, very special CD from Chanticleer that needs to be listened to again and again to be fully appreciated. |
