Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Anchoress

Home
Catholic
Benedictine Voices: Angels and Saints Debuts at #1

Benedictine Voices: Angels and Saints Debuts at #1

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 8:57 pm by Elizabeth Scalia

Benedictine Voices: Angels and Saints Debuts at #1 2017-03-02T20:57:49+00:00 Elizabeth Scalia

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

So, Katrina is in one of her hissing moods, tonight, and I have decided that what she needs is to listen to the incredibly sweet tone of the Benedictines of Mary, whose latest album, Angels and Saints at Ephesus has debuted at #1 on the Classical music charts.

Why am I doing this? Because that’s just the kind of gal I am, and also because “music hath charms to soothe the savage breast”, and for soothing the savage there is almost nothing better than this stuff. I don’t know if it’s because the Prioress at Ephesus was a professional musician (possibly) or because these ladies sing together for six hours a day, day-in/day-out (very likely) but these particular nuns have a tone that is pure and uplifting, without ever being saccharine-sweet.

That these Benedictines are debuting at the top of the charts suggests to me that many people got a lot out of their first release, Advent at Ephesus, which was spectacularly successful, and that they were hungry for more:

This is the second album from the Benedictines of Mary that has reached No. 1 on Billboard Magazine’s Classical Traditional Music Chart. Last November and December, the Sisters’ debut album, ADVENT AT EPHESUS, with De Montfort Music/Decca, spent six weeks at #1 on Billboard’s Classical Music Chart, and the Sisters ended up as the #1 Classical Traditional Artist of 2012, according to Nielson’s Soundscan.

Angels and Saints at Ephesus gives us those glorious bell-like tones on hymns and songs (in Latin and in English) that celebrate, well, angels and saints — which means they are appropriate to any time of the year and any day, and any mood, really. Feeling a bit somber? “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence.” Feeling Joyous? Check out track #7, Jesu Dulcis Memoria.

This album contains one of my top-five favorites of all chants, the ancient and warm Jesu Corona Virginem (Track 16) and it is done to perfection, but I am also very intrigued by “A Rose Unpetalled”, (Track 13) which is the only piece composed by the nuns, set to a poem by Saint Therese of Lisieux. It is so particularly lovely that Christopher S. Morrissey discusses it at length in his very comprehensive review of the album.

The Benedictine motto is “ora et labora” (“pray and work”) — and outside of rising at midnight for Matins (they rise at 4:40!) these Benedictines out of Gower, Missouri live out the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict pretty old school. Benedict’s rule stated that a monastery should be as self-sufficient as possible. Nuns are a lot tougher than they sound while chanting; these Benedictines grow much of their own food, milk their own cows, sew vestments, bake bread and of course record these wonderful albums — but all of those things are peripheral; they are contemplative and prayerful but necessary work meant to support their real work, which is the Opus Dei — “the Work of God” which is the Divine Office — chanted in full solemnity, and to which, says Benedict “nothing is to be preferred.”

Chances are none of these nuns are over-interested in the worldly success of these albums, but the recordings will no doubt be a providential boon to them in their building plans (they hope to build a public chapel). I’m very glad they’re making these CD’s, but even happier to know they are out there, praying for all of us.

Previous Post

May 17, 2013

Obama Channels Leslie Chow: "Not my pro'lem!"

Next Post

May 21, 2013 "The Whole World in Her Hands": A Gyno-Maniacal War on Men? - UPDATED

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Remaking" Ourselves 'Remaking' America 9/10 Mindset 9/11 trials Abortion ACORN Adoration Advent Advent 2008 Advent 2009 Advent 2010 Alternative Energy Alternative Media America American Catholic Church American Church American Genius Ameridolatry ANCHORESS BOOKSHELF Anglican-Roman Reconciliation Answers & Questions Anti_Semitism Archbishop Hilarion Ayn Rand Bad Mass Barack Obama Baseball Benedict Benedict & Islam Benedict in UK Benedict XVI Benedictine Bill Whittle Birth Control Blogs and Blogging Blogs and Blogging Bloodless Coup Bobby Jindal Bookchat Breitbart Bride at every wedding... Bride at every wedding... Buckley Bullies Bush Bad? Bush Good Buster Capitalism Catholic Fiction Catholic Vocations Catholicism Celibacy Chaput Charitable Stuff Chesterton Chile Chris Christie Christians in Exile Christine O' Donnell Christmas Christmas Gift Ideas Church Hates Science? Church hates women Communion of Saints Compline Conclave 2013 Confession Constitutional Stuff Conversion Crisis & Opportunity Critical Thinking Crooks and Liars Crucible of Faith Cuba Culture of Life Culture of Life/Death Culture of Treason? Dancing Death Dialogue re Islam Dick Meyer Divorce and Remarriage DOJ Domestic Terrorism Dominican Order Don't try me too high Dowd Dumb Democrat moves Dumb GOP moves Economic woe Education Egregious Harry Reid Elder Son Elder Son's Sweet Girlfriend Elderly Election '10 Election '12 Election '16 Election 2004 Election 2006 Election 2008 Election 2010 Election 2016 Elena Kagan Elitism Embryonic Stem Cell Research End Times? English language Enhanced Interrogation Erosion of Rights Eucharist Euthanasia Exorcism Extraordinary Synod Facebook Faith Faith and Reason Faith Friday Faith Perspective Faithful Friday Fascism Again Fascism in America Fatima FCC Feminism Film First Things Forgiveness Fr. James Martin Francis and Islam Francis in America Frassati Fred Thompson Free Speech? Freedom of Worship FutureChurch Global Pandemic GOP Congress Haiti Head Covering Health Care Here and Queer Hermits Heroes Hitchens Holy Spirit Holy Week '09 Holy Week '10 Hoo-Hah & BS Hoo-Hah & BS Icons Illegal Immigration In The Arena Interviews Interwebz Iran Uprising Iraqi Christians ISIL ISIS Islamic State Islamification/Islamofascism Islamification/Islamofascism Isra-El It's all about me! Me! ME! James Burke Jerry Lewis Jesus Christ Joblessness John Boehner John McCain John Paul II John XXIII Juan Williams Just Words Katrina/Rita King is a Fink Latin Mass Leadership Lectio Divina Lent Lent '08 Lent '09 Lent 2010 Lent 2011 Limbaugh Listen to Lizzie Litigious Society Liturgy Liturgy of the Hours Mainstream Media Manliness Marriage Mary Media Excess Medical Merton Michelle Obama Mighty John O' Connor Misc. Miss Ella Missionaries Mitt Romney Monasticism My brother S My Irish Aunties Mystic Monks Nanny Statism Nature NEA Neri New Media Newman Noonan Notre Dame NPR Stuff Nun News Obama Bad? Obama Good? Obama White House Oil Spill Online Retreat '08 Online Retreat Days Oratory Orthodoxy Our Hillary! Parenting Passionists Patheos Patheos Book Club Patrons Paul Ryan Penance Penn Jillette Philosophy PJTV Podcasts Poetry Politics-free zone Pop Culture Pope Emeritus Pope Francis Prayer Predictions Priesthood Pro-Life Public Sector Unions Purgatory Questions about Catholicism Quotes of the Day Quoting the News Race in America rants Recipes Remarried Catholics Reposts by request Retreat thoughts Rome Rudy Giuliani Russia Saints Sarah Palin Scandal Scott Brown SCOTUS Scriptural stuff Secularism Send in the clowns Serving up hot links Sexuality Sherrod Shroud of Turin Sisters and Nuns Social Entrepreneurship Social Media Social Security Socialism doesn't work Sports and Faith Stem Cells Strange Gods Suffering Synod Tea Parties Tea Party Terri Schiavo The 9/11 Commission The Catholic Answer The Constitution The Desert The Fourth Estate The Pelosi The Perpetual Adolescents The Rosary Third Party? Timothy Dolan Touch of evil TSA Tsunami TV/Pop Culture/Music TV/Pop Culture/Music Twitter Uncategorized Unemployment Unintended Consequences US Military Vaginal Musings Vatican Vespers video faves Vile Joe Biden Voter Fraud War by Litigation War on Terror War, What it good for? Why can't weeee be ... World Youth Days Year of Faith Year of the Priest

Select a Month August 2016 July 2016 April 2016 March 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which foreign woman married King Ahab and promoted Baal worship in Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Tamar Rahab Jezebel Athaliah