Lament relative to the quality of liturgical music in the English-speaking Catholic world is almost universal. In particular, parishes have little serious repertoire to draw upon for the Marian feasts of the liturgical year that an average choir could sing. In this album, English Catholics should find reason to let their soul rejoice along with the Blessed Virgin. Classic Marian texts have been superbly translated into English. And yet, the beauty of this album transcends a verbal poetics. The music is properly attuned to the joyful gravity of the texts. Parishes adopting this Polish Dominican music will re-discover the gift of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the liturgical life of the Church, letting her fiat become our own.

I first encountered Polish Dominican music during my conversion to Catholicism. The sung prayer accompanied my journey discovering Christ. These recordings and the downloadable scores have brought this awe-inspiring music into our home and have been a constant companion to prayer, the soundtrack to our everyday lives and a guide to living out the Liturgical Calendar. Eva|Ave is a beautiful addition to the Dominican Liturgical Center repertoire. This collection of Marian meditations are perfect for the Christmas season and Ordinary Time. Whether listening to these moving pieces to guide prayer or in the background of busy family life, this album orients my whole being toward Grace and Holiness.

This album gives voice to the deepest hope our hearts long to express. Sacred music like this invites us to turn from the struggle and monotony of life to glimpse the eternal. Like the Virgin Mary, beauty gives unfailing witness to the enduring mercy of God.

We love listening to the music from the Dominican Liturgical Center in Krakow. This music finds the sweet spot for liturgical music: not overdone, not overly embellished, but also not too simple. It is harmonically interesting and layered, yet pure and honest in nothing but four vocal parts. For us, as lovers of the Mass, it conveys the earnestness of a soul yearning for God that is perfect for the celebration of the heavenly liturgy. It is a much-needed salve for congregations tired of modern, secular-style music and turned off by stuffy organ tunes (the moldy oldies!). We wish there were more choirs and choir directors in American churches emulating this style of liturgical music. Thank you so much for sharing it with the world!

This musical style is fresh and accessible, yet it echoes tradition and transcendence. It maintains this regardless of whether it is sung by a full, grand choir with organ or a simple, reverent a cappella choir. We experienced this first-hand: whether in the awe-inspiring Polish Dominican basilica or in the humble chapel for our wedding, the music gives way to the spirit of truth.

This type of simple, Scripturally-rooted, and liturgically-centered music belongs in every parish that believes that beauty is „not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an attribute of God himself and his revelation” (Sacramentum Caritatis).

Prior to hearing this both/and mix of tradition and modernity, chant and hymn, liturgy and devotion, I thought that the music of the Church consisted only of Gregorian chant, a few traditional hymns, and a modern canon of hymns that serves more devotional than liturgical purposes. The music of the Dominican Liturgical Center shows that we can embrace the beauty of tradition without limiting ourselves to only Gregorian chant and a few hymns. Most importantly for me, as a non-musically trained lay-person, this music is easy to sing and easy to pray with.

Eva | Ave continues in this Polish Dominican liturgical music tradition of dynamic, simple, and beautiful music with a welcomed additional focus on music to celebrate Our Lady’s feast days. I pray that this album may bring more people to see the beauty of the Church’s music and to embrace their roles as full participants in the liturgy.