Conmoissuers of plainchant recordings will need no introduction to the choir of the Munsterschwarzach Benedictine Abbey, whose interesting researches into the contents of some os the earliest surviving chant manuscripts have given rise to several impressive records. This CD provides a useful sampler of their styles by way of two Christmas masses, the first of which is presented complete with Ordinary chants, the second confined to the Propers. Closely recorded in a relatively unreverberant building, these are not perhaps the most magical of performances, and I was disappointed by the level of background hiss that has been allowed to find its way on to the disc (the LP version is no better in this respect). But these are small points; the readings of the music are unfailingly intelligent, the chants for this great feast are of course amongst the best in the whole repertory, and it is a treat to have such obscure versions of them available on Compact Disc.'