CD cover: Cantate Domino.
The Vatican has not been quite the same since Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church. As Pope Francis, he broaches topical issues from climate control to various aspects of sexuality, albeit with more caution than some might like.
Most visibly, the Pontiff has relinquished
his cumbersome, gas-guzzling Popemobile, turning to a humbler, fuel-friendly Fiat 500L as his chariot of choice.
The canny Francis has also opened the doors of the Sistine Chapel to the microphones and engineers of Deutsche Grammophon, to catch one of the world's oldest choirs in music written centuries ago for performance in this very venue.
It's certainly a shrewd and eminently marketable initiative, as folks count down the shopping days to Christmas; and the recording company has waxed enthusiastically about reaching a global audience beyond the traditional confines and boundaries of classical music.
The Vatican meanwhile takes care to remind us that this music is, first and foremost, a "fertile, important and effective tool in evangelisation".
