Music for the spirit and the soul

Chipman,
I'll go in search of the "officium" disc right now. Thank you for the recommendation. I lived in Paris years ago, and my wife and I lived in Florence about three years ago. And when there are enough zeros again in the bank account, we will be living in Europe again, at least for most of the year.

Thanks to everyone for all of the recommendations. I'm printing out this page in order to keep a checklist of must-buy discs.
All the best,
Howard

This will surely do it:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B000026BTH/002-6878552-7284822?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Chipman,
Just kill me with a visual of that evening in Paris! I will never listen to this disc again without thinking of that experience.

And I'll sign off now to go in search of the other two discs. Thanks to Jax2, I was introduced to the astounding Sibil-la disc, as well as my all-time favorite:
Anouar Brahem: 'Le Pas du Chat Noir'. His 'Astrakan Cafe' is also a winner.
All the best,

Howard

Yes, Chipman, I blame Marco for sending me two of my desert island discs (Sibil-la and 'Le Pas du Chat Noir' by Anouar Brahem). As well, he was kind enough to offer methadone-laden talks in order to quell my audio addiction to the point where I may have finally settled into audio nirvana. Oh, but I did see a pair to interconnects I want to try....

And I used to live in Paris, Chipman, so stop teasing me with descriptions of Figueras-filled evenings that are only going to make me jealous!

All the best,
Howard

Many thanks to those who recommended
Hillard Ensemble: "Officium" and "Morimur"
Just received them, and they are absolutely phenomenal. Now, if I could just move my system into a big hall. Or better yet, a cathedral.

El Cancionero de Medinaceli
1535-1595
Hesperion XX
Jordi Savall

Just bought this one as well. It is described on the CD cover as the music of Philip II of Spain, which is quite varied stylistically. What an uplifting CD!

It just never ends...

I nearly forgot. This is more of a vocals record, but you cannot hear the voice of Virginia Rodrigues (on 'Sol Negro') and not be moved to the core. An astounding Brazilian singer.

I think someone may have mentioned this before--sorry, I'm too lazy to reread all of the posts--but the music to "Tous les Matins du Monde" (orchestration by Jordi Savall) is extraordinary as well.