The Lily & The Lamb: Chant & Polyphony from Medieval England
The disc's title refers to Mary and her son, the Christ, which is the general theme of the  medieval chant, polyphony, and poetry that forms this program. The selections are ordered around  three 13th century "sequences" that describe Mary's experiences at the foot of the cross.  You can get deep into the mechanics and musicological aspects of this fascinating music, or you  can just listen. This is music that speaks to everyone, and the mere sound of these voices, whether  in their incredibly pure and perfect unison or multi-colored polyphony, can touch places within that  otherwise rarely resonate. There's also something reassuring about connecting in this way with  struggling souls of the distant past whose cares and hopes were much like ours. They survived  largely due to their faith and its proclamation through music such as this.--David Vernier