Schola Hungarica / Dobszay, Laszlo / Szendrei, Janka - Crux Gloriosa (CD)

Mono- and Polyphonic Liturgical Chants in Honour of the Holy CrossVeneration of the Cross disseminated through the Eastern and Western churches: believers approached it with wonder and love, and asked for its protection. The liturgical celebration of the Cross was first and foremost linked to Good Friday, but later the Cross was given two feastdays of its own: first on 14 September (the Exaltation of the Cross) and later on 3 May (the Invention of the Cross).The different eras of veneration of the Cross are clearly reflected in the feastday chants. The oldest chants address Christ, giving thanks for redemption and praising the cross as the tool of redemption. Another group tells the story of Constantine the Great who, the night before the decisive battle with his co-emperor, had a vision telling him 'in this sign will you be victorious'. The chants also include the story of how three crosses were found on Calvary; which of the three was Christ's. A third group of chants praises the sig