Anglican chant--a harmonized form of liturgical chanting, primarily of psalms--isn't like anything else in music. Although it's closer in style to speech than traditional monodic Gregorian chant, the harmonizations-and thus the requirement for a particular type of singing ensemble--removes it from the impersonal and functional to the realm of a more artistic, performance-conscious purpose. To sing Anglican chant--and especially to sing it properly--you need a choir of mixed voices who have mastered the myriad aspects and subtleties of phrasing, inflection, articulation, tonal balances, dynamics, and the often debatable rules of pointing, not to mention the necessities of coordinating with the supporting--and sometimes ornamented--organ accompaniment. Outside of British record shops or cathedral gift stores, you rarely see a recording of real live Anglican chant--certainly not on this side of the Atlantic-so it's refreshing to discover that the very fine Massachusetts based Gloriae Dei Cantores, known for its many Gregorian chant recordings (among many other choral-music projects), has undertaken a three-volume series to explore, and hopefully expose new listeners to, this exceptional, unique, and affecting body of liturgical music.

There are 22 psalm settings covered here, by a wide range of composers writing in predominantly traditional styles--in other words, this volume doesn't contain any of the more recently composed or harmonically "adventurous" settings some listeners will be familiar with. What we do get is the essence of Anglican chant sound and style--and thanks to the superb efforts of this very sensitive, responsive choir, its knowing director, and a pair of first-rate organists, we experience something of the uniquely expressive power inherent in this manner of psalm-singing, which in its most accomplished form allows phrases to flow and important individual words their full presence and meaning.

I was happy to hear several of my favorite settings--especially the Wesley for Psalms 42 and 43, the Goss for Psalm 11, and Aylward for Psalm 138--as well as many beautiful unfamiliar ones. I only wish that the choir and organ were recorded in a more favorable--that is, less noisy--acoustic. Perhaps a bit more distance, or a slight dampening or reconfiguring of the live, resonant space would help. At any rate, it's a treat to hear this music so well realized and enthusiastically sung (supported by some very nice organ work). I'm looking forward to volume 2!

This disc is unusual - 21 of the more gentle Psalms sung end to end in Anglican Chant! Here are no joyful Psalms like 27, 98, 100, or 148-150, though those chosen are a delight to hear. The chant tunes used represent a fine variety, some familiar to virtually every Anglican director, some entirely new, at least to me. (Not incidentally, the Gloria Patri is added only occasionally - 21 times might be a bit much.)

First, intonation and diction are of the highest order. I tried playing the disc in my car during my otherwise tedious 90 mile commute between houses, and understood every word. Some attention is given to varying dynamics between Psalms, though not within any given Psalm.. And that brings me to my disappointments. Every line marches so many paces to the right and then so many paces to the left, with an occasional drop on a final syllable - there is virtually no attention to accented and unaccented syllables - it becomes a very mechanical approach to chant. It is, of course, their choice to keep the organ in the background and mostly just playing the vocal parts. But having long had the creative accompaniments and registrations of Clive Driskill-Smith and the organ scholars at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, in my ears, I long for the organist to take an integral part in the performance.

The 32-page liner is, indeed, admirable. After some introductory essays, we have a series of articulate meditations on the Psalms sung. In that sense, this recording could be especially helpful for private prayer and meditation.