Pope Benedict XVI: Alma Mater

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Not many debut recording artists have the courage to make a concept album. But it would be fair to say that Pope Benedict XVI has ideological weight behind his Alma Mater, formed around the chants that have been intoned in St Peter’s Basilica for centuries.
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The Pope’s Christmas album, released on November 29, is the first record to feature a singing pontiff and is likely to give the likes of Bob Dylan, Sting and Tori Amos — all hoping for seasonal success this year — a run for their money. Alma Mater could be an even bigger hit than Abba Pater, a 1999 record featuring John Paul II, Benedict’s successor, reciting the rosary to music.
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The basic nucleus of the album may be austere and uncomplicated but not much else about Alma Mater is simple. It cannot be ignored that each of the participants was in a different place when the music was recorded: the Pope was preaching around the world, intermittently being recorded by Vatican Radio; the choir was in St Peter’s and the orchestra pouring out a veritable vat of syrupy effects (our Royal Philharmonic) was in Abbey Road studios.
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The result is not quite an unholy mess but it comes close. Surprisingly, it is the lead vocalist, once nicknamed “God’s Rottweiler”, who impresses with a baritone that never barks and whose fatherly cadences cleave to his multilingual prayers with a gentle authority. Only when he actually sings (fleeting phrases in the Regina Coeli) do you experience that slightly distressing effect of standing in a pew next to the elderly relative who really should not be hooting along quite so loudly.
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Read more: entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article6911641.ece
 
I love Pope Benedict 😃 I knew it was love when he was speaking to the crowds of young people in New York, chanting, We love you! We love you! and he said in hesitant english, I love you too!😃
 
I have it. Got it at Barnes and Noble too. It’s really nice, but hard to describe. It’s all about Mary - alma mater means “nourishing Mother”. Theres songs and then Pope Benedict says something in either Latin, Spanish or other language about mothers and Mary. It’s really touching and beautiful. Check it out!👍
 
I got it too. Put it right next to my JPII Rosary cd. I’m keeping a collection of all these recordings by popes. I love them. They give me peace.
 
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