Medieval Music for St. John the Baptist from the Royal Convents of Sigena (Hospitallers) and Las Hueglas (Cistercians)

The liturgical pieces on the new Raumklang CD “Cantrix” tell of the life of St. John the Baptist, patron of the Order of Malta, which this year celebrates the 900th anniversary of its official recognition by the Pope as a sovereign order. The veneration of St. John was widespread in Europe and Byzantium in the early Middle Ages. His particular role as the herald of the Redeemer and his kinship with Christ and the Virgin Mary made him a popular subject in music and the visual arts.

With the present program, ensemble Peregrina & Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett bring to life again the tradition of the singing nuns from the royal convents of Sigena (Hospitallers) and Las Hueglas (Cistercians). The pure, clear women’s voices are accompanied by the instrumental improvisations of virtuoso vielle player Baptiste Romain and Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett (harp). The CD “Veiled Desires,” an often tongue-in-cheek program about the lives and loves of the nuns behind the monastery walls – a “masterpiece” (WDR TonArt) – which was nominated for the ICMA, appeared in 2012, likewise on Raumklang.

A co-production with the Swiss Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta