On An Overgrown Path

Authentic performance is conventionally defined as played on original instruments and in an original style (without vibrato etc), but performances in 'authentic' surroundings can add an equally valid frisson . Norwich Priory became a Benedictine Monastic Priory five years after its foundation in 1096, and the Norman groundplan is the most authentic of any English cathedral. Among many glories the cloisters, which unusually for a dissolved house remain intact, are outstanding. They were burnt down in 1272, and subsequently rebuilt with an unusual covered upper story for the monks to use for work and contemplation in winter. (It is a common mistake to think cloisters were simply used by monks walking in silent, contemplative circles. Together with the Chapter House and church they were a central point for the monks, used for working, reading and writing. When I arrived to stay in the Benedictine L'Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux I didn't know the etiquette of monast...

'That inner spirit has been embodied very vibrantly in Benedictine monastic life and liturgy. This helps to explain the paradox of a music which when sung really expresses the spirit of silence; which with almost wordless vocalization really attempts to express the very word of God; which with the action of singing really is meant to be a vehicle of contemplation' - Abbot Marcel Rooney, O.S.B. The glories of Gregorian Chant, or "the mysticism of the octave" as Abbot Rooney describes it, have drawn me back again and again to the Benedictine L'Abbaye Sainte-Madeleine at Le Barroux near Avignon in France. The monastic community at Le Barroux are orthodox Catholics who celebrate the Holy Offices eight times a day in plainsong which respects the scholarship of Solesmes . This glorious liturgy is one of the reasons why I have stayed at the Abbey as a guest of the monks quite a few times over the years despite my discomfort with other aspects of Catholicism . As a resul...

So the French referendum has rejected the EU constitution, and the pieces of the jigsaw that make up Europe are once again thrown up into the air. Political bloggers such as Clive Davis are better qualified than me to analyse the implications of the "No" vote, but I cannot let the result pass without some personal comment. In a few days time I depart for my annual extended stay in France. It is a country I love, but also find deeply puzzling. The "No" vote seems to be more of a vote of no confidence in the Chirac government than a rejection of the new EU constitution. France is a fascinating mixture of traditionalism and extremism, and this is nowhere better illustrated than in the French attitude to religion. Although the national constitution makes France a secular state, Catholicism is still a strong force in society. I had written the post below a few days ago ready to upload while I was on the road south to the Vaucluse next weekend, but I am posting it today ...

Benedictine Abbeys and music are inextricably linked. The great churches of the Romanesque period were created to send columns of plainsong soaring upwards and in the 20th century none other than Iannis Xenkais was project director for the monastery at La Tourette in France. The stunning images featured today show another great new Benedictine Foundation, the new Cistercian-Trappist monastery of Nový Dvůr in Bohemia. The inspirational building is the work of British architect John Pawson . The design of Nový Dvůr combines references from the original baroque farm on the site with entirely new architecture. Although contemporary in style John Pawson's design follows St Bernard's twelfth century architectural blueprint for the Order , with an emphasis on the quality of light and proportion, on simple, pared down elevations and detailing. Nový Dvůr is the only Trappist monastery in the Czech Republic and is a sister house of Sept-Fons Abbey near Marseille in France. This buil...

Classical music is reassuringly resistant to mass marketing techniques such as TV advertising. But there is one notable exception - Gregorian chant, which is tailor-made for the mind, body and spirit market , and as a result responds well to promotion. Plainsong has a long history of charting, starting with Angel records 1993 recording made in the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain, an album that reached number three in the Billboard pop chart and which has now sold more than four million copies worldwide. Over the years major labels have repeatedly returned to what has been termed "monk rock" to generate classical album sales; Decca's CD with the nuns of L'Abbaye Notre-Dame de l'Annonciation at Le Barroux just failed to reach number one in the UK Christmas 2011 classical chart , and in the last few months Sony Masterworks have given Gregorian a trans-Atlantic flavour with a new album cut at The Monastery of Christ in the Desert near Santa Fe. ...

My love of Gregorian Chant started years back when I first stayed in L'Abbaye Sainte Madeleine at Le Barroux in France and heard the Benedictine monks singing the Holy Offices according to the scholarship of Solesmes . Once you've heard plainsong at 3.30 in the morning during Matins you never forget it! The two photos here were taken by me a few weeks ago when I visited the monastery again. On this Sunday's Overgrown Path programme on Future Radio I will be playing a twentieth century Requiem which is closely based on the Gregorian original. Composers from Victoria to Ligeti have set the Requiem Mass, but the non-restored Gregorian funeral chants of the Roman Rite are rarely heard. To rectify this I am starting my programme with the Introit, Kyrie, Dies Irae, Sanctus and Agnus Dei from the Gregorian Mass for the Departed sung by the monks of l'Abbaye de Fontgombault in central France. The recording I am playing is on the invaluable Art & Musique label. Unfor...

Yesterday I pointed out that Norman Lebrecht was wrong in saying that French pianist Jean-Rodolphe Kars had entered a monastery in 1981 and had not been heard of since. But in a fascinating twist reader Leo Carey, who sparked my recent Hans Schmidt Isserstedt post , has reminded me of another French pianist who did indeed disappear into a Benedictine monastery. Thierry de Brunhoff was born in 1933. His father was the writer and illustrator Jean de Brunhoff (1899-1937) who was famous for creating the Babar the Elephant books. When he was nine years old Thierry de Brunhoff became a pupil of Alfred Cortot at l'Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. Brunhoff's father had died when he was just three and he was encouraged as a pianist by his mother who had also been a pupil of Cortot's. He was a favourite pupil of Cortot and his career developed in the early 1960s to include acclaimed recitals and records, notably of Schumann. Some of his recordings from this period remain availa...

In the glamorous world of contemporary architecture ecclesiastical buildings lack the media appeal of the more spectacular art galleries, museums and concert halls. But despite this low profile recent years have seen the creation of some very exciting new churches, and Le Corbusier's monastery at La Tourette with its detailing by Iannis Xenakis, and Egon Eiermann's Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin have already featured in these pages. Both these magnificent buildings were the result of well funded commissions to high profile architects, but not all projects are as fortunate. I have already featured the inspirational Church of Reconciliation at Taizé built to a very limited budget in 1962 by the German organisation Sühnezeichen , a group of architects formed after the Second World War to build symbols of reconciliation in places of war-time suffering. And here today, in my words and pictures, is the story of another sacred building which was completed triumphantly aga...

After much posting about online distribution platforms and file downloads here is a refreshing story about an internet free record label. On recent visits to France I picked up some very interesting CD’s from Arts & Musique which appears to be a small independent label specialising in organ, plainchant and related repertoire. Oeuvres Mariales (AM/CD 107/39801) is a very enterprising CD which combines some rare organ music with plainchant celebrating the Virgin Mary. The recording is made in the Benedictine Abbey of Notre-Dame in Fontgombault (see picture above) to the west of Poitiers. The Abbey is linked is part of the congregation of Solesmes which has contributed so much to the scholarship of Gregorian Chant. The organ at Fontgombault is a new instrument which took ten years work to build with the work shared between M. Michel Jouve, an organ builder from the Jura, and the monks themselves. The Bendictines have a strong tradition in organ building. In the 18th century the Ben...

I have been having a friendly debate with fellow blogger Will Benton on the merits of Officium , the best-selling ECM CD made by choral group with the Hilliard Ensemble and jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek - seen above. Will thinks Officum's mixture of medieval polyphony and jazz improvisation represents dumbing down, I think it is a valid destination on the overgrown path of music exploration. A new viewpoint was given on this debate when we saw the Hilliards and Jan Garbarek performing music from Officium and its companion CD Mnemosyne in Norwich Cathedral last night in the opening concert of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival . Increasingly I find the performance space for a concert is as important as the repertoire or performance standard. Norwich Cathedral Priory was the perfect foil for the soaring music, with the Norman roof of the former Benedictine Abbey gently reflecting and prolonging the wonderful sounds. The five performers (plus sparing percussion for a ...

In my post Serendipity and Collaborative Filtering I tried, somewhat clumsily, to explain what On An Overgrown Path was all about, and wrote ..."the site will really work if it triggers more postings that open up Overgrown Paths from some of my own postings". Image from Ruth Phillips web site : Today brought a fantastic example of one of those overgrown paths opening up. I received a message in response to my posting on the Gabrielli cello works from Meanwhile, here in France which is a really excellent blog run by the fine cellist Ruth Phillips, who is also a teacher, and pioneer in music therapy. Ruth also has her own web site for her various activities which is well worth visiting. She also (lucky lady) lives in the Vaucluse, a few miles from L'Abbaye of Ste Madeleine visited in Pliable's Travels . Ruth's husband, the artist Julian Merrow-Smith, also has a wonderful web site , and to make it a clean sweep for the bloggers has his own artist's studio blog...

One New Year's resolution was to make On An Overgrown Path a bit more spontaneous, and a bit less like an online version of the Discovery Channel. So in line with that New Year's Day saw a visit to the church of St Peter Mancroft Norwich for the traditional all Bach organ recital played by their Organist and Master of Music Kenneth Ryder. St Peter Mancroft is in the heart of Norwich, and the present church dates from 1390 when it was attached to the former nearby Benedictine community of St Mary in the Fields. The magnificent 14th Century church is now juxtaposed against the striking 20th Century Forum building which houses Norwich Library and other amenities. The organ is a large three manual Werkprinzip instrument built by Peter Collins in 1984, which is wonderfully suited to music of the baroque period. Fascinating that within a week The Overgrown Path has taken me from the magnificent remains of the Cluniac Priory at Castle Acre , in remote North Norfolk via Vespers at t...

I've just returned from France, the whole trip was very stimulating. I tried to make it a pilgimage (personal rather religous) and travelled light (relatively - I took seven books!) with just a rucksack and used public transport - which is very good in France. I got a lot out of my time at Ste Madeleine, but equally learnt a lot from being close to the French people, and on my own which meant I was closer to the local people. Once again I'm afraid I was left wondering what we are doing wrong in Britain, the French education system seems to be so much better, their town centres are so much more civilised and safe, and the absence of rubbish tipping (fly tipping) by the edge of public roads was noticeable compared with England. It was also interesting to see numbers of young people at Mass in Nimes on a Sunday. (By the kind of serendipidity that this site was created to exploit I was reading Patrick Humphries' Nick Drake - the biography (see A troubled cure...for a troubled ...