Search - Magna Canta :: Enchanted Spirits

"Enchanted" chants

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/27/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Agnus Dei. Sancta Maria. Spiritus Sanctus. Magna Canta (rough translation: "Great Songs") gives a trip-hop spin to old hymns in "Enchanted Spirits, in the manner of Enigma and similar bands. It doesn't add much to the actual songs except some beats, but it's an interesting listen.



It opens with the atmospheric "Aethera Et Terra," a wavering, sweeping song that is more electronica than Gregorian chant, although it has Latin singing (by both sexes) woven through it. The trend follows, although the electronic influences are a bit more toned down, in songs like "Hymn," the airy "Recordari," and the eerie, stately "Spiritus Sanctus."



Not that there aren't some missteps -- for example, there's a techno beat version of "Agnus Dei." You'll either love it, or be made dizzy by it. And "Offizium" and "Gregoria" are so heavy on the electronic dancebeats that it sounds like drunken monks going clubbing.



It's a fairly interesting listen, and it's definitely a sound you won't find on most Gregorian Chant CDs. The German band does a solid job of mixing electronica with Gregorian chants, much in the vein of the band Enigma. Magna Canta does, however, manage to sound earthier and darker than the earlier band, which is a good thing.



Most of the songs are fairly ordinary chants and songs, with electronic pop overlaid over them. The sharper, louder songs are overdone; the ones that are more ambient, soft and trippy suit the stately vocals better. And it makes the chants and hymns sound graceful, not like religious techno.



The Magna Canta Chorus offers both male and female vocals for the songs, though not really at the same time. Some songs open with male chanting, some with female. However, they're both rich vocals. Occasionally there's a spoken single vocalist, although it's a bit unsettling to hear, in a song called "Hymn," a oman murmuring, "Can't stop thinking 'bout you/something's touched me inside/pictures of a love I knew/can't forget the memories I shared with you." Not terribly hymnlike, but it's pretty in its own way.



In "Enchanted Spirits," Magna Canta strays too far into dancepop turf in some of these trip-hop chants, but the overall collection is a pleasing, pretty one."

Very suprising!

E. A Solinas | 03/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I haven't heard anything like this in a very long time. Although, you can hear a little mix of Enigma and Delerium on track 8, Magna Canta still has their originality. The chants are melodic masterpieces and do everything to make the listener competely satisfied. I highly recommend this cd to anyone who listens to Enigma, Delerium, Mythos, Amethystium and so on."

Great album, but one thing puzzles me

T. Dole | Vancouver, BC Canada | 04/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Magna Canta - Enchanted Spirits is a fantastic gregorian chant album but one thing puzzles me. There's another album, available in Europe called "Gregorians: Sadness Chapter Part IV" and has a number of the same songs on it as the Enchanted Spirits CD. So, What's the group's real name? Magna Canta or Gregorians? If you try searching for "Sadness Chapter Part IV" you won't find it on the US or Canadian versions of Amazon as it is an import. Another thing to note is that the Gregorians disk has 17 songs and the Magna Canta disk has 12 songs. The songs that are the same on both disks are:

Hymn

Agnus Dei

Sancta Maria

Gregoria

Alleluia

As well as a few others that are slightly spelt differently."