Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

The Swedish noblewoman and mother of eight Birgitta Birgersdotter (1303 - 1373) founded a monastic order after the death of her husband, was canonised in 1391 and declared the Patron Saint of Europe in 1999. The dominant message of her visionary teaching stressed that penitence is essential for everyone. Birgitta wished to honour the Virgin Mary and the Holy Family and created an order of offices known as Cantus Sororum - the song of the sisters. This is what we get from Kirsti Autio, Johanna Korhonen and Hilkka-Liisa Vuori, three students of Iegor Reznikoff, who formed the vocal ensemble Vox Silentii - the sound of silence - in 1992. They strive to observe the singing instructions given by Birgitta but have ignored them in places, for example by using a drone - a fixed bottom note - to underline the simple beauty of the melody. Listening to this CD is perhaps as close as modern listeners can get to the holy simplicity of this music without a time machine. One almost feels as if one is eavesdropping on a private act of worship that one does not understand and so cannot join. As background music it is soothing but it really deserves our full concentration.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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