“SONS OF THUNDER: MUSIC FOR ST. JAMES...

“SONS OF THUNDER: MUSIC FOR ST. JAMES THE APOSTLE FROM CODEX CALIXTINUS.” Sequentia. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472-77199-2. A generous selection (almost 74 minutes) of 11th-Century chant and Aquitanian polyphony from the pilgrimage repertory at Santiago de Compostela forms this disc--too generous, perhaps, for non-specialists. The supple singing honors current mainstream ideas about how this music was performed, and clearly separates the chant from the polyphony in performance practice. Otherwise the set remains largely undifferentiated, despite texts that cover a wide range of styles, forms and spirits. The sound has a reverberant gloss that is not inappropriate but that suggests the recording studio more than the cathedral.