What promises are being made in the CD cover image here? |
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Most noticeable in musical medievalism has been the popularity of chant
from the mid-1990s onward, launched with the Benedictine Monks and
continuing with the thriving of such groups as Anonymous 4, Sequentia,
and others. Much of this is "ambient" music, effective because it creates
a mood rather than demands the listener to hear an understandable text,
or follow a beat, or register a tune. So it works better than elevator
music -- slow string versions of "Hey Jude" -- where we still "know" the
song. Chant usually works perfectly well as background music, and may
subliminally convince us that we are virtuous and focused.
Legitimate chant, on the other hand, has also been "jazzed" up with a world-beat and electronic instrumentation. |