Recent releases of plainchant

Extract

Another reissue of Decca's long series of recordings made at the abbey of Solesmes is good news. Accord is a French reissue label of the Universal group (formerly PolyGram) that earlier had reissued about a dozen CDs that matched each original LP in content. The first five reissues were listed in A Gregorian Chant Discography, and five more were reported here in 1994 (nos. 19 to 23). Now, duplicating the contents of at least seven of those earlier discs, a new programme has begun with the cooperation of the monks of Solesmes to arrange the chants according to the liturgical year. Titles have been brought up to date, such as ‘Sixth Sunday of Easter’ and ‘chant d’entrée'. New digital transfers made from the original tapes provide superb sound. The first twelve discs have appeared in eight packages (two or three discs in some cases), and we can expect as many as another dozen discs to come.