NEW CLASSICS:
Canty is Scotland’s only professional medieval music group and was formed by Rebecca Tavener in 1998, the 900th anniversary of the birth of Hildegard of Bingen. The group comprises the regular female singers with Cappella Nova, Scotland’s leading early music vocal ensemble. Together with regular collaborator, harpist William Taylor, they explore a unique repertoire combining Medieval music and contemporary works written specially for them. Dedicated to the patron saint of Ireland, this new album features a programme of fifteenth century Irish plainsong, written about St Patrick and released to coincide with St. Patrick’s Day. The apostle of Ireland was born under Roman rule in either the north of England or southern Scotland in the year 387 and died in Ireland, possibly on 17 March, in 493. This beautifully-produced album includes musical highlights for First and Second Vespers, Lauds & Matins, telling the miracle stories and legends of Ireland’s Patron Saint. The material has been especially researched and edited for Canty, and is recorded here for the first time. With texts newly translated from the original sources, this is a major addition to the early sacred music repertoire. The CD booklet contains much information about the music as well as full texts in Latin and English.
Un-named reviewer

CLASSICAL NET:
This CD is a portrait of the Irish patron saint, St. Patrick. Or rather, it's a collection of pieces – almost 40 items from medieval Offices comprising two Vespers, Matins and Lauds – exemplifying ways in which liturgical works a century after the Saint's death reflected common understanding of his life and significance.

We actually know very little about St Patrick: that he was not Irish; that he was born towards the end of the fourth century CE in Britain of a family organized under the influence of the waning Roman empire and probably subject to Irish incursions and the predations of pirates; the latter apparently enslaved him into Ireland, from where he escaped, spent some time in France before returning to Britain. By 432 he had taken up missionary work in Ireland and had been consecrated as Bishop. It seems as though his work converting the local aristocracy to christianity and overcoming persistent tribal dangers quickly became legendary. He was aided by an effective pragmatism, and by skills at organization. After his death (probably in 461), these qualities, and his great piety, contributed to a widening and at times mythic reputation. But St Patrick's has come to have a "reach" greater than across Ireland… he is also patron saint of Nigeria, Montserrat, excluded people and engineers.

The Office for St Patrick consists of a collection of Propers sung at Matins and Lauds (night-time and at dawn) and during the first and second Vespers in the evening. Because Matins were the most extensive part of the service (lasting over two hours), we necessarily get excerpts on this CD. They're taken from manuscripts held at Trinity College Dublin (chiefly TCD 79, 80). They are of fifteenth century origin. Significantly, the Office presented here is the only known extant such liturgical work from medieval Ireland. That would be reason alone to want this well-produced CD if it weren't for the skill and spontaneity of the performers on this CD; they make it a delight.

Canty is a Scottish group with both an affinity to the celtic world of St Patrick and a desire to emphasize the Caledonian connections which can be proved (or assumed) for St Patrick. Furthermore, the arrangements – with improvised celtic harp, for example – necessarily draw on what Rebecca Tavener, Canty's director, suggests was the "influence [… of] centuries of secular bardic practice". She writes, "We feel there is no reason to suppose that this most Celtic of instruments might not have been in use in the performance of an indigenous chant repertoire for several centuries." The music on this CD, though, is not folk or "crossover" in any sense. It has necessarily been put together with a degree of speculation. The chant is mostly sung with equal notes; the voices are all those of women. Drone has only been added when Canty felt that it actually added something. The text, in other words, has been allowed to dictate the overall sound. And, however familiar we may be with these texts from many a liturgical setting, this is all to the good. It aids clarity, expressiveness and impact.

The singing is clear, crisp and very communicative. Each singer is clearly traveling in the same direction, on the same journey, as the others are – and as is William Taylor, the harpist. There is a clear and well maintained sense of purpose in the articulation of each of the texts. The style is relaxed. The unison singing very beautiful. The recording made with an appropriate amount of intimacy and delicacy without ever breathing at the listener. At times the music, most of which is plainchant and simple cantus firmus, is redolent of Hildegard. Although not imbued with her ecstasy – quite – such pieces as the Magnificat antiphon Sis pro nobis sancte Patrici [tr.10] have a rarified refinement that does stop one in one's tracks in that way. But the attack and engagement of Canty is a long way from that of Anonymous 4 in their "11,000 Virgins" or "Origin of Fire" performances. The singers of Canty (who have also a recording of Hildegard on Dorian 93232 , by the way) are softer, more feminine and more confident, almost. Because of this, they convey a humility and reverence which aptly fits the gentle and assured nature of the music.

So what we hear is segments of the Office. But this is enough to convey the majesty, conviction and peculiar mystery of this music, much of it slow and meditative – the sinuous and reflexive Egregius Christi miles responsory [tr.16], for example, you wish would never stop. This also means we get ample variety and an excellent idea of what such services might have meant to celebrants five hundred and more years ago. This CD is not about atmosphere, though; it's a valid and well-executed collection of spare yet tuneful, melodically inventive and sophisticated music that is sure to please all lovers of early choral music. The CD comes with an attractively-produced booklet with texts in both Latin and English and a useful introductory essay. Recommended both for the rarity of repertoire and completely successful execution.
Mark Sealey

MUSICWEB:
Canty are a four-strong all-female group who have, with some justification, been compared with Anonymous Four. Their first CD, of music by Hildegard of Bingen and from medieval Scotland, was released on the Dorian label; two more recordings of medieval Irish and Scottish music followed on the ASV Gaudeamus label. Felix femina (CDGAU360) approximates the contents of a Ladymass, described by GPu as “a well-conceived and executed CD” – see review. GH was equally impressed with Flame of Ireland, music associated with St Bridget.

Now they turn their attention to a reconstruction of the music for First Vespers, Matins, Lauds and Second Vespers for St Patrick's Day. They are joined, as before, by William Taylor playing a wire-strung clarsach or Gaelic harp. With minor reservations, this new CD deserves the praise which my colleagues gave to those ASV recordings.

St Patrick is, of course, much better known to the world in general than St Bridget, so the CD should have popular appeal, not least to the Irish community in the US. Recordings of chant appear to be flavour of the moment again, but I wonder how many potential buyers there will be for this reconstruction. The earlier ASV recordings already seem to have been deleted – at least I cannot find them on offer at online retailers – I hope the new CD fares better. Felix femina is still available from iTunes, as is this new CD.

The unobtrusive accompaniment of the clarsach will probably add to the appeal of the recording, but the use of any instrumental accompaniment to the chant of the office is highly controversial. Perhaps it was employed in convents where the nuns were not up to chanting the office without assistance – which is hardly the case with Canty. Not everything is accompanied – the first antiphon is, the next few are not and the clarsach does not reappear until track 7, the responsory Magni patris sunt miranda – so the performers could be said to be hedging their bets so as not to offend those musicologists who insist on unaccompanied performance. Though I tend towards the Christopher Page school of thought – the instruments on his excellent Gothic Voices recordings, slowly being reissued at budget price by Hyperion Helios, very restricted – I was not disturbed by the instrumental accompaniment here.

The singing is excellent, quite the equal of Anonymous Four on their very fine Harmonia Mundi recordings and preferable to a similar Telarc album Angeli – Music of Angels, to which I gave a guarded review some time ago (CD-80448 – see review). If the Telarc CD made excellent music for relaxation, this Canty recording does the same but with a sharper eye to authenticity. Music for relaxation may not be the prime purpose of the recording, but it will be an excellent by-product. Even if you don't want to go beyond that, the CD should appeal, though I should remind you of another excellent recent recording of plainsong: Chant, Music for Paradise (Universal UCJ176 6016) another CD which can be appreciated at a variety of levels, including relaxation – see review.

Most of the music for Apostle of Ireland has been specially edited from two manuscripts in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, TCD79 and TCD80, transcribed by Dr Ann Buckley, whose two-page description of these sources in the booklet greatly adds to the value of the notes and to the authenticity of the recording. The Magnificat on the final track is chanted to an excellent setting, quite different from the normal tone, which adds to the attractiveness of the recording.

The lavish and informative booklet is let down only by a weird typo which turns the title of the first antiphon, Veneranda imminentis diei back to front as Veneranda entisimmin. I could have done without the photograph of Canty in their natty green tabards embellished with Celtic crosses – though of Irish descent, I don't go much on that sort of thing – but I did like the paintings by Maria Rud, combining elements of the modern and the medieval, which embellish the front and back of the CD.

The translations, by Senan Furlong, OSB, are accurate and idiomatic, though the combination of the modern (has) and Book of Common Prayer (hath) wording is discordant at times. As a bonus additional to the excellent singing, putting all these texts together will inform you about the life of Patrick, including his famous banishment of the serpents from Ireland (Exultent filii matris eccelsie, track 8) – unfortunately, the story is mythical: there never were any snakes in post-Ice Age Ireland. You'll also find on track 7 the supposed revelation of Purgatory to Patrick; though this was hardly an established doctrine in Patrick's day, medieval literature abounds with accounts of sinners who repented after being granted a vision of ‘St Patrick's Purgatory'.

With excellent recording, this CD may be strongly recommended. At whatever level you listen, you will find spiritual nourishment here – I guarantee that you won't think the 78 minutes too long.
Brian Wilson

AUDIOPHILE AUDITION (USA):
Canty is a woman's group a la Anonymous 4 that is here offering a special disc devoted to plainchant featuring texts from the feast of St. Patrick. There are a variety of sources, some quite ancient and others much more recent, the oldest dating back to 1200 (there is only one Irish office devoted to the saint in existence). This certainly reflects ancient usage in some instances; others, such as the inclusion of a verse about Purgatory, would be highly suspect for a saint from the fourth century.

The offices included on this disc are first and second vespers, matins, and lauds. Matins, in the east as well as the west, contains the most richly varied music and is the longest service content-wise also. We are treated to a loaded program—38 tracks of music that is probably not heard too often in its liturgical context outside of those few places that actually celebrate the saint with any sense of decorum and splendor. It is hard to categorize it; Roman, Ambrosian, and Sarum elements flood the ears when listening to this, and some of the melodies were known (according to the notes) to be in use in Medieval Scotland as well, often employing popular melodies in a sort of parody fashion, though not as sophisticated as the composers we know who made complex parody masses and other works. The one controversial element to this performance may indeed be the inclusion of the wire strung clarsach, an Irish harp, discreetly used in some of these pieces, improvised to great effect by William Taylor. The notes suggest that because of a “growing body” of evidence in iconographical sources that harps were used in Celtic religious houses that this music may have been accompanied in such a manner; I am a little more reserved about this statement. While it is true that the Irish church went its own way for several hundred years, the ban in east and west for nearly 1000 years on instruments being used in church is a rather powerful bulwark that overwhelming evidence needs present itself to overturn it.

The sound is clear and concise, nicely warmed by the light resonance surrounding the singers. This is an affectionate tribute well worth the time, especially for chant lovers.
Steven Ritter

MID WEST RECORD:
We’re a little late for St. Paddy’s Day but this recording wasn’t. Pulled from 15th century musics dedicated to Patrick himself, the female vocal ensemble doesn’t give you a variation on “Riverdance” here, this is real Celtic religious music for those that want to really get down and kiss the old sod. In the pocket for any self respecting yuppies that ever dug any chant or liturgical music, this is an out of the way set that rewards the listener looking for a real and deep listening experience with music that is genuinely from another time and place.
Chris Spector