Recordings by the Schola Hungarica generally bring a breath of fresh air and often highlight new and interesting aspects of the chant. ''Easter's Herald'' is no exception, with chants from Hungary showing unusual versions of familiar pieces. The sleeve-note cites mainstream Central European sources: a manuscript from Pray and a noted missal from Esztergom. The date and source of one piece, the wonderful Praeconium Paschali, or Exsultet, must surely be attributable to a Hungarian service-book compiled during the reign of King Caroberto, certainly before 1342, the year of his death and that of Pope Benedict XII, for both of whom special mention is made.
The disc begins with the unusual sound of the Holy Week rattle, which replaces the ringing of bells from Maundy Thursday until Easter. Here, the rattle serves as introduction and postlude to the Tenebrae responsory Sepulto Domino, sung gravely by the men's voices. The bells ring out during the Easter Gloria—a variant of Gloria I
The Schola Hungarica achieve variety by reserving certain chants for the men alone, others for the women, and some of the simpler chants for the children. Occasionally there is a combination of all three, and a few simple polyphonic settings of the Easter Vespers are also introduced.
The Ambrosian chants of Advent and Christmas are tackled in much the same way. The children play a large part here, singing a selection of short, mainly syllabic, antiphons, notably those inserted between performances of the well-known O-Antiphons by the women's voices. At the other end of the scale, the astonishingly florid and extensive vocalizations, adorning many of the chants, are thrown off with apparent ease and panache, almost carelessly, by the adult singers.
Much of this andent and fascinating repertoire is likely to be unfamiliar to the average listener though he will probably recognize the Ambrosian Gloria and the Communion hymn Te laudamus Domine omnipotens. He might also recognize the underlying melodic structure of another hymn Intende, qui regis Israel, one of the few claimed to have been composed by Ambrose himself in the fourth century. Listeners acquainted vith the Gregorian propers for Christmas may also recognize the splendid Ambrosian counterparts of Lux fulgebit and Tecum principium.
There's a directness, an objectivity about the singing which I find rather to my taste. And since this is a record that opens up a whole new area of chant, it is well worth investing in.'