Pax ӕterna - ReviewsGregorian Chant accompanied by improvisations on the piano does not seem like a very promising prospect…but be prepared for a surprise!

“The monks in choir began to sing. They imitated with their voices the timelessness of heaven. Mildly they mocked, among the sounds of the ebb, the urgencies and ambitions of men.”

These words in George Mackay Brown’s Magnus spontaneously rise to my mind as, through the timeless echo of the monks’ voices singing Our Lady’s Magnificat, rivulets of fluid sound weave their way, gradually building up to form a great joyful tide. With Gloria 15 the tide becomes crashing breakers evoking the image of the Pantocrator who dominates history. In Parce Domine the breakers become the relentless beating of insistent supplication knocking at the door of Divine Mercy. The three Gradual Psalms flow like a stream through the verdant meadows of meditation; but the dark and threatening Psalm 139 speaks of treachery and danger, and the gathering clouds of the Passion. By contrast comes the gentle trickle of arpeggios sweetly running through Psalm 132 like the melting snows of Mount Hermon or the fragrant oil on Aaron’s robe.

Not all pieces are equally successful. If you have experienced the profound silence that accompanies Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, and Benediction, the abrupt opening chords and the slightly syncopated jazzy modulations that form the sound backdrop to the Laudes Divinæ come as something of a shock. One might also question their musical suitability for a chant that is essentially a smooth litanic recitatif. The perpetuum mobile effect of the accompaniment to Psalm 90 (not Psalm 4 as indicated in the booklet), though in itself ravishing, possibly misses the characteristic quiet and night-time peace of the Hour of Compline.

Dare I suggest a favourite? Perhaps Psalm 113A which, as though by a stroke of magic, seems to carry us back through the mists of time, evoking deep communal memories that forged a people in newly found freedom and divine election. Here as elsewhere, an unmistakable Celtic influence can be heard in the modality and musical poetry of the piano part. Another influence – that of jazz – is discernible in the subtle interplay – at times playful, at other times provocative – between the two musical partners.

What we have here is a daring and imaginative project in which the live convergence of two completely different musical genres results in the astonishing creation of an altogether new form. The result is provocative, exciting, spiritually uplifting, and witnesses to the “eternally regenerative process of music as it develops through the ages.” (James Macmillan)
Sr. Bernadette Byrne, Choir Mistress, St. Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde

"The CD with Tom Donald is a revelation. Very original and very subtle. Much more than an odd experimentation of putting two worlds – chant and piano – in one room and see what happens. It’s a dialogue done with a due respect, taste and a high level of musicality. Congratulations!"
Dr. Giedrius Gapsys, Musicologist, Professor of École de Chant Grégorien de Paris. 

"Pax Aeterna grows in interest each time I hear it. It’s impressive how the piano improviser Tom Donald stuck with his 15-year dream to find the monks to set it in motion. Plain Chant has its own beauty, language, and tones to suit the moods of each text it sets. It is timeless, mystical, beautiful and, above all, prayerful: sung here so positively and effortlessly by the six-monk schola. Tom has been sensitive to the sentiment of each piece, in its varying colours and texture. His piano improvisation, recognising the prayerfulness of the words and modes, has collaborated well with the monks, achieving a most successful outcome. This recording deserves our support and attention."
Maureen Woodhead, musician, teacher of singing and of piano.

https://tomdonaldofficial.bandcamp.com/album/pax-aeterna

To listen to more of this Album, please click on the link below.

PaxAeterna - The Monks of Pluscarden Abbey - Tom Donald