Visit to the Sepulcher

In the 12th century, the story of the visit of the three Marys to the tomb of Jesus was set to music and performed at dawn on Easter at the Abbaye St. Benoit de Fleury in central France's Loire Valley. Performed over ensuing centuries in various British and European churches, the manuscript was preserved at the library at Orléans during the French Revolution. Resurrected on the site of its original performance at the Abbaye, Visit to the Sepulcher features soloists and the choir of the Washington Cathedral dressed in costumes inspired by medieval art making their entrance as the bells of the church chime the hour of dawn. Sung in the original Latin (with English translation available via the closed captioning option), this eloquent and moving 1980 PBS special (with narration by Alexander Scourby) is presented here in a beautiful newly digitized version. Recommended in general, this should be considered essential for music collections. Aud: C, P. (J. Reed)