Many of the tracks begin with a monotone plainchant (in French), apparently acting as a sort of introduction to the subject matter of the passage. Many also are accompanied by either harp or by medieval organ (both of which may be seen in photographs of Mme. Lamandier's performances). The tracks themselves include a number of heretofore unrecorded passages from Isaiah, including passages of special interest to Christians (such as Isaiah 40:1-14). Most of the passages are not even found in Mme. Haik-Vantoura's melody-only score Message biblique intégral.

The lyric booklet provided with the CD (a most welcome addition) has texts in Hebrew (copied straight from the Letteris Edition), French and English. It includes an introduction to Isaiah the prophet in French by Michel Vauthrin (Cloître Saint Martin), an introduction to the art of cantillation and the background of the Book of Isaiah by Esther Lamandier, a description in French of the Collégiale Royale Saint Martin de Champeaux and the Cloître Saint Martin, a resume (with concert photographs) of Esther Lamandier's career, and charming medieval illuminations.

Interestingly, in the lyric booklet the English translation of Isaiah 40:3 reads "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness..." (King James Version), while the French translation reads in effect "A voice cries: In the desert..." (translation by Michel Vauthrin). This long-standing difference in punctuation between the Septuagint and the New Testament on the one hand and the Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinic sources on the other is something that the te`amim ought to be able to resolve. So which punctuation is correct? The first option is more rhythmically balanced verbally and more naturally sung melodically -- yet Mme. Lamandier leans toward the latter option despite the melodic-verbal leading.

Several new CDs and CD-ROMs, plus Latinized Hebrew-English booklets for some of the original recordings, are available from King David's Harp, Inc. (e-mail). You may download and print this order form in order to obtain these recordings and CD-ROMs (see this page). You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print these files (click on the button on the above left).