You, too, can discover the power, beauty and authenticity of The Monks of Norcia when De Montfort Music and Decca/Universal Classics release their major label debut recording, Benedicta: Marian Chant from Norcia, on June 2--featuring classic and never-heard-before chants alongside new compositions.
Unassuming there in Italy, the Benedictine Monks of Norcia is comprised of 18 men, half American citizens, half a diverse group of men from all over the world. A truly international community (with a median age of, surprisingly, just 36), the monks are united not by bonds of blood or talents or even dogma, but by their common search for God.
Their devotional incantations were not heard in Norcia for nearly 200 years, that is, until 1998 when Friar Cassian Folsom, Prior settled with his community back in the birthplace of St. Benedict. An erstwhile voice major at Indiana University in Bloomington before taking the cloth, Friar Folsom explains: "Music is essential to the monastic life...chant is part of the air we breathe."
In late 2014, the monks agreed to be recorded on location at their monastery by Aim Higher Recordings. Produced and engineered by the Grammy-winning team of Christopher Alder and Jonathan Stokes, respectively, Benedicta: Marian Chant from Norcia follows other successful recordings from De Montfort/Aim Higher (who, together, accounted for three of Billboard's Top 5 Classical Traditional Album Imprints last year alone).
Benedicta: A Marian Chant from Norcia itself, consists of songs devoted to life of Mary, including previously unrecorded works and an original piece, "Nos Qui Christi Iugum."
And unto us, Classicalites, watch this one being born.
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