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I am looking for a CD to listen to while driving. I would like to know if anyone has a favorite. I am NOT looking for Christian music. I would like something like the Litany of Saints, or a recorded Mass, or perhaps the Rosary. Something that will truely make my car a church on wheels

Anyone know of any, or have a favorite to suggest?

Chad,

I am entirely brain-dead at the moment, and cannot for the life of me remember the name of the group, but our occasional poster, Prof. J, Michael Thompson directed/directs a group that has made some lovely recordings of a variety of liturgical services.

I'm also quite fond of music from Taize - it's sorta meditational chant, if you will - it invites one to participate rather than just sit back and listen.

Hope this helps,

Sharon

Chad, you simply must get the latest Christendom Choir CD--"Unto Us a Child is Born."

I would also recommend anything from Santo Domingo de Silos or Solesmes or Fontgombault. REAL chant, not that Taize stuff .

Also, there is a great CD that has Palestrina's Masses "Papae Marcelli" and "Aeterna Christi Munera", as well as Allegri's "Miserere". It is AWESOME.

In Christ,

LatinTrad

Dear Chad:

Stay tuned. There's a group at a certain large parish in a certain large mid-western US city that is coming out with a Lenten/Holy Week CD, or so I hear....

Yours,

hal

Aw, Garsh darn it, LatinTrad preempted my suggestions. He has great taste.

Seriously, though, I'd recommend the following on the Latin side:

* the Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos; "Chant" or their subsequent "Soul of Chant". I recommend the "Soul of Chant" in particular - a beautiful compilation of several different Mass ordinaries.

*The Naxos Disc of Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli, with several extras. I frankly think this is THE great ordinary of the Latin rite. The performance is an Oxford concert performance, and I have my stylistic quibbles, but overall it's an excellent (and cheap!) intro to polyphany.

It's Naxos catalog number 8.553238 PALESTRINA: Missa Papae Marcelli

I'm not so familiar with the Eastern side, but Naxos again has a wonderful recording of the Divine Liturgy, and of Vespers by the Novospassky Monastery Choir in Moscow. As typical of Russians, the choir is outstanding.

They're
8.554150 Russian Divine Liturgy and
8.553123 Russian Chant for Vespers

The nice thing is these recordings are easily available. You can get them online at amazon (or at naxos.com!) or at your local Borders.

Further suggestions, anyone?

Best,

Marcus

The CD "Russian Vespers" from the Monks of Chevtogne in Belgium is wonderful. It is distributed as "Russische Klostervesper" by Koch-Schwan. I've even seen it at Barnes and Noble. The monks have several recordings which are all beautiful (the Feast of the Cross I especially like) and you can see them at http://www.monasterechevetogne.com/

Also Rachmaninov's Vespers is quite beautiful and has been done by many choirs.

There is another CD called "Mysteries of Byzantine Chant" which is a great introduction to Greek-Byzantine chants as well, with a wonderful semadron roll at the beginning to start off. I don't have that CD in front of me but it might be on Philips.

Chad,

For quick fix for your car, if you have a CD burner, go here, to Valaam. Well go here anyway and just listen. http://www.voskres.ru/pesni/music/brval.htm

The first two on the top left are awesome. But, you can't beat a complete CD

Anything by Thomas Tallis...or try Ralph Vaughn Williams' "The Lark Ascending", not liturgical but sublime and transcendent. Or for that matter, Eric Satie's "Three Gymnopades".

"I would like something like the Litany of Saints, or a recorded Mass, or perhaps the Rosary. Something that will truely make my car a church on wheels."

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Chad:

You mention that you would like to find recordings that are either Catholic or Orthodox.

There is a series of recordings from The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN (www.litpress.org [litpress.org])with the title "Music for..."

These contain liturgical music (chant, anthems, and hymns) from the East and from the West.

1. Music for Advent
2. Music for Advent II
3. Music for the Feasts of Light
4. From Christmas to Candlemas:
Music for the Feasts of Light II
5. Music for Lent
6. Music for Lent II
7. Music for the Paschal Triduum
8. Music for Easter
9. Music for Easter II
10. Music for the Year of Matthew (Ord.Time)
11. Music for the Year of Mark (Ord. Time)
12. Music for the Year of Luke (Ord. Time)
13. Music for the November Feasts
14. Sing the God of Ultimate Justice:
Music for End Time
15. O Bread of Life: Music for Eucharist
16. Rejoice Unwedded Bride: Music for the BVM

Then there are recorded services:

17. How Awesome This Place:
MP & EP for the Dedication of a Church
18. In Honor of St. Patrick:
chant for Vespers and Mass of his feast
19. Away in A Manger:
Evening Prayer of Christmas


And if you're looking for solely Eastern music,
there are four services recorded all in prostopinije sung in English, and available from Byzantine Seminary Press, Pittsburgh (the link is available here on the front of this website):

20. The Matins of the Resurrection

21. Have Mercy on Me, O God:
The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete

22. Great Vespers & Litija, St. Nicholas

23. Annunciation of the Theotokos:
Vespers and Matins

These recordings were designed to do just what you desire: to turn your car/home/wherever into a church.

(Prof.) J. Michael Thompson
Byzantine Catholic Seminary
Pittsburgh, PA

Chad,

Go to Conciliar Press's website and you will find MANY Eastern Christian cds (including the beautiful music from the Benedictine Monastery at Chevetogne in Belgium)

www.conciliarpress.com [conciliarpress.com]

The monks of Valaam now also have a CD in English as well as Slavonic.

Like Chevtogne, every recording they do is absolutely heavenly. They have continued to use some very ancient Slavic Znamenny chants which are difficult to find elsewhere. My favorite from them is still the "Chants of Valaam" CD which my wife purchased for me at the local Orthodox bookstore. Some of the Valaam CDs are distributed by Conciliar Press at the address Brian gives above.

Yes, the Valaam CD's, "Taste the Fountain of Immortality" (English) and "Chants of Valaam" (Slavonic) are awesome! Boston Byzantine Choir has some good CD's out as well.

If you want something really unique, Light and Life www.light-n-life.com [light-n-life.com] sells a CD entitled "The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch--Liturgical hymns of Lent and Good Friday." I believe the chants are in Aramaic.