Luminous Spirit Chants of Hildegard von Bingen
This might just be the Hildegard CD you're having if you're having only one. Unlike CDs by the better-known Sequentia and Gothic Voices--all superb and highly recommended--here we get Hildegard sung by one voice, that of the lovely Rosa Lamoreaux, whose natural, warm, unaffected, but dramatically involved presentation keeps the listener riveted. She is supported by Tina Chancey and Scott Reiss (known collectively as Hesperus), who entwine the vocal lines with music for recorders, hammered dulcimer, vielle, viola da gamba, and other instruments--as well as performing three solos. Recorded in a soft-focus acoustic, this disc surrounds you with delicacy, devotion, and elegance--much the way Hildegard might have wanted it. Highly recommended to all lovers of beautiful music.--Robert Levine