Codice Calixtino (Siglos XII-XIII) Antifonario Mozarábe (Siglo IX)

Released in the early 1970s by the Erato label, this recording showcases the Gregorian chant tradition preserved by the Benedictine monks of the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain. The album draws from the Codice Calixtino, a 12th-century guide for pilgrims on the Way of St. James, and the 9th-century Mozarabic Antiphonary, reflecting the deep historical continuity of liturgical music in the Iberian Peninsula. It was produced during a period when the monastic community gained international attention for their scholarly and rigorous preservation of medieval musical forms.

The recording is defined by the austere and atmospheric vocal performances of the monks, who sought to capture the authentic modal structures of medieval chant. By emphasizing the meditative, monophonic purity of the compositions, the monks and the Erato production team provided listeners with a window into centuries-old monastic life. The record was received as a significant musicological document, credited with bringing the contemplative power of early sacred music to a broader modern audience long before the chart-topping success the monastery would later experience in the 1990s.