01	Sicut Cervus (Palestrina)						02:27
	02	Ave Maria (Josquin Desprez)						06:08
	03	Justorum Animae (Lassus)						02:05
	04	Jesu Rex Admirabilis (Palestrina)						01:48
	05	Exultate Deo (Palestrina)						02:18
	06	Exultate Justi (Viadonna)						01:59
	07	Jesu,Dulcis Memoria (Victoria)						01:56
	08	Ave Verum Corpus (Byrd)						04:23
	09	Psalm 90 (Sweelinck)						02:10
	10	Psalm 96 (Sweelinck)						01:57
	11	Hodie Christus Natus Est (Sweelinck)						02:57
	12	O Maria Virgo Pia (Conductus)						02:47
	13	Tu Pauperum Refugium (Josquin Desprez)						03:16
	14	O Sacrum Convivium (Tallis)						02:54
	15	If Ye Love Me,Keep My Commandments (Tallis)						01:48
	16	Hosanna To The Son Of David (Gibbons)						02:20
	17	O Quam Gloriosum (Victoria)						02:16
	18	Selig Sind Die Toten (Schuetz)						03:42
	19	Heu Nos Miseros (Leo)						03:04
	20	Exaltabo Te (Palestrina)						02:25
	21	O Sing Joyfully (Batten)						01:37
	22	O Magnum Mysterium (Victoria)						03:39
	23	Laudate Nomen (Tye)						01:19
	24	Cantate Domino (Hassler)						01:35

Beyond Chant, Mysteries of the Renaissance


Recorded 20-bit
Dolby Surround
Timeline of Renaissance composers on back cover of program booklet

Complete texts of musical selections

"O Magnum Mysterium" (Oh Great Mystery) begins one of the masterpieces heard on this album, spelling out the spiritual inspiration behind all sacred Renaissance music.

"I think that as our modern lives get more and more noisy and cluttered we yearn for a more peaceful and transcendent world. Perhaps that explains the recent interest in the antique music of the church: the music heard in the old basilicas, cathedrals and monasteries of Europe.

"This particular recording came into being because of the remarkable reaction to the two Renaissance works on our first CD, 'Mysteries Beyond' (formerly 'Ave Maria'). Many of our listeners said 'let's have a whole album of Renaissance music'"

- Dennis Keene, from the booklet notes

Amelia S. Haygood, President and founder of Delos International, has this to say about the title "Beyond Chant":

"In our 22 years of making classical recordings, we have centered our efforts on presenting American artists and composers to as wide an audience as possible. Of late we have tailored some releases, and sections of program booklets on selected titles, to young people.

"While we were working on this project of Renaissance music with Dennis Keene, whose intense commitment to the highest musical standards is immediately obvious to anyone having even casual contact with his work, the phenomenon of 'crossover,' pop-oriented interest in recordings of Medieval chant was just beginning to cause a stir in the marketplace.

"While our working title for this recording had been 'Mysteries of the Renaissance,' we decided to add a phrase reflecting a topic much discussed during the sessions: the ways in which Renaissance music 'took off' from chant. We discussed how we might lead some of the pop-oriented young who were interested in the meditational aspects of chant to the beauty of the Renaissance, in hopes that they might find some of the solaces they had heretofore experienced in chant. Thus our title became 'Beyond Chant: Mysteries of the Renaissance.'"



Press commentary on Dennis Keene and The Voices of Ascension
"Probably the finest professional chorus I have ever conducted"
- Margaret Hillis

"Dennis Keene is the finest young conducting talent in the choral world today."
- Gregg Smith

"Sheer musical excellence... Mr. Keene drew an intensity from his singers that effectively tapped into both the meditative and ecstatic currents of the music."
- The New York Times

"The music on this CD is exquisitely beautiful and the performances are as good as you're going to hear anywhere."
- Buffalo News

"There's a wonderful new American chorus - the Voices of Ascension. Beyond Chant: Mysteries of the Renaissance contains singing of superb accuracy, balance and blend."
- The Denver Post

"A wonderfully satisfying cross section of Renaissance music."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Complete Contents

Palestrina: Sicut Cervus
Josquin Desprez: Ave Maria
Lassus: Justorum Anim?
Palestrina: Jesu Rex admirabilis
Palestrina: Exultate Deo
Viadana: Exultate Justi
Victoria: Jesu, Dulcis Memoria
Byrd: Ave Verum Corpus
Sweelinck: Psalm 90
Sweelinck: Psalm 96
Sweelinck: Hodie Christus Natus Est
Conductus: O Maria Virgo Pia
Alessandra Visconti, Kathy Etherington, sopranos
Josquin Desprez: Tu Pauperum Refugium
Tallis: O Sacrum Convivium
Tallis: If Ye Love Me, Keep My Commandments
Gibbons: Hosanna to the Son of David
Victoria: O Quam Gloriosum
Schutz: Selig sind die Toten
Leo: Heu Nos Miseros
Palestrina: Exaltabo Te
Batten: O Sing Joyfully
Victoria: O Magnum Mysterium
Tye: Laudate Nomen Domini
Hassler: Cantate Domino

Total Playing Time: 63:00


About the Ensemble

VOICES OF ASCENSION has come to be recognized as one of the world's finest choral ensembles. Its concerts and recordings receive unalloyed critical acclaim. Artistic Director Dennis Keene has assembled a group of New York's finest professional singers and blended them into a richly satisfying ensemble that is unique in its command of choral music from every period and style.

In addition to the annual New York concert series, Voices of Ascension has been featured in conventions of major American music organizations. For the American Guild of Organists, Maestro Keene assembled the enormous forces needed to perform and record the rarely heard Berlioz Te Deum in 1996, and to mark the centennial of Maurice Durufle, Voices of Ascension was invited to perform his Requiem for the final concert of the 2002 national convention in Philadelphia. The group's ninth Delos International recording is forthcoming.

"The Voices of Ascension Chorus and Orchestra, conducted by Dennis Keene, presents some of the most consistently polished and satisfying choral performances in New York City."
-The New York Times
"Probably the finest professional chorus I have ever conducted."
-Margaret Hillis
"The choral sound of the Voices of Ascension represents the finest in American choral music."
-Stereophile
"Voices of Ascension, certainly one of the finest (some might even say the finest) adult choral ensembles anywhere."
-The American Organist, 2002
Artistic Director Dennis Keene
DENNIS KEENE is an internationally renowned conductor. Through his concerts and recordings with the Voices of Ascension, his regular guest appearances as conductor and clinician, and his work as Artistic Director of the Dennis Keene Choral Festival, he has emerged as one of the preeminent figures in choral music today.

Recognized early as an exceptional organist, he earned a doctorate at The Juilliard School and won its coveted Dethier Prize. Dr. Keene went on to study conducting at the Pierre Monteux School, as well as organ in Paris with Marie-Madeleine Durufle, wife of the composer Maurice Durufle.

Maestro Keene's complete retrospective of Durufle's works in 1989 spurred the creation of Voices of Ascension. His many recordings of choral works have become the standard for first-ranked ensembles worldwide.

"Dennis Keene is the younger leader most widely touted to pick up the mantle of Robert Shaw."
-The New York Times
"As for Dennis Keene, there isn't a better choral conductor around …"
-The Washington Post
Contact Us
Ascension Music, Inc.
12 West 11th Street
New York, NY 10011-8695

(212) 358-1469
(212) 254-8553 voice and fax
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
Daniel N. Colburn II, Executive Director