Wondrous and liturgical sounds and moods meld on this album with the cantoral sax of Jan Garbarek and the incantations of The Hilliard Ensemble. The pieces are a mix of church themes ranging form modern artist like Arvo Part to songs of ancient past by Armenian mystic Komitas, and the melding of songs and spirits is, well, inspirational.
Voices and reeds gasp to the agonizing Armenian “Ov Zarmanali” with a mix of chorus and sax obligatos for the Latin “Dostoino Est” . Polyphonic voices plead on “Sanctus” and are declarator with a male lead for “Procurans Odium”. Garbarek’s soprano is solemn to the liturgical “Procedentum Sponsum” with unison voices hovering during the leader’s won “Allting Finns.” A journey into another musical era and timeless dimension.