Friar Alessandro: Voice From Assisi

9 October 2012, 10:32 | Updated: 6 November 2012, 09:36

A friar's personal take on some favourites from the choral canon. Album of the Week, 8 October 2012.

"Music matters to me because it's a direct line to God." Listening to Friar Alessandro speaking about his album gives a clue about the intensity and emotion behind the song choices. A selection of of choral favourites, like Fauré's Cantique De Jean Racine, and Franck's Panis Angelicus, given a personal twist by a Friar, who has taken a vow of poverty and devoted his life to his faith.

The songs may be well known, and performed in churches on a large scale with a congregation or large choir, but there's an intimacy behind the Friar's performance which makes the music deeply haunting. Each track on the album, whether in English, Latin, French, or Italian, has something of a prayer-like quality to it.

It's almost impossible not to have a personal response to these heartfelt pieces of music - whether based in religious faith or not - but Friar Alessandro has captured his and recorded it, to share it with the world.