Discography of Dom Jean Claire directing the monks of Solesmes

Extract

Dom Jean Claire succeeded Dom Joseph Gajard in 1971, the year before Dom Gajard’s death.He continued the programme of recordings with Société française du son, the French branch of Decca, which used the London label in America. It became part of the International Pelgrims Group about 1977 and went out of business about 1979. Dom Gajard had begun to remake his monophonic recordings in stereo (Epiphany/Dedication, Easter, Christmas), a plan that Dom Claire continued with his first two LPs. The last years of Dom Claire’s IPG recordings were the quadraphonic era, and Dom Claire once recounted to me his delight when the Decca engineers played back the ‘Times of Distress’ recording, which simulated a procession around the church. This effect was doubtless created electronically, since the recordings were made in a small room.