Legends of St. Nicholas: Medieval Chant and Polyphony

If you're feeling jaded at the prospect of the usual holiday fare, Anonymous 4 has a truly sublime musical treat in store with their latest release. The contemporary world has turned Santa Claus into an icon of consumerist mania, but the historical figure from whom he ultimately derives was a uniquely inspiring religious figure to medieval Europeans. Anonymous 4 has culled together music from the liturgy of the hours and other sources originally produced to celebrate the legends associated with the fourth-century St. Nicholas, who was considered the patron of sailors, unmarried women, Russia, and--ironically--merchants. As with their earlier Christmas celebration, On Yoolis Night, the quartet ethereally blends their seamless, unaccompanied vocals in this collection of chants, hymns, and readings recounting the saint's life and miracles on behalf of those in need. In addition to Latin settings, the program includes one of the oldest known English-language hymns ("Sainte nicholaes," by a contemporary of Hildegard) and a number of verse-refrain pieces thought to inspire dancing in church. Most of the musical material involves simple unilinear trails of chant, which the ensemble spins out with their trademark unanimous purity of tone. Elsewhere, as in the spiraling eddies of "Novus presul prodiit," their suave harmonies glint like a sudden shaft of light through stained glass. And it is all captured in a warm, ambient church acoustic that is balm for modern ears. --Thomas May