The recording places the liturgical origins of Cistercian chants at its centre. Wolfgang Seifen develops freely shaped organ tableaux from their melodies, ranging in form from the Baroque suite through German Romantic fantasy and fugue to symphonic conception.
The alternation of chant and improvisation gives the pieces their inner dramaturgy: the schola’s concentrated lines meet tonal intensification, counterpoint and the organ’s broad arcs. The result is a programme that does not present Gregorian chant as a historical exhibit, but makes it audible as a contemporary musical language.
