BBC news recently reported that a group of Cistercian monks will join rank with Eminem and Amy Winehouse under the Universal Music record label. Recently, the label placed advertisements in magazines and on the internet seeking a group of “sacred singers” to record a Gregorian chant album, and the search turned up an Austrian monastery dating back to 1133 that produced what Universal executives have described as “beautiful, beautiful music.”
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BBC news recently reported that a group of Cistercian monks will join rank with Eminem and Amy Winehouse under the Universal Music record label. Recently, the label placed advertisements in magazines and on the internet seeking a group of “sacred singers” to record a Gregorian chant album, and the search turned up an Austrian monastery dating back to 1133 that produced what Universal executives have described as “beautiful, beautiful music.”
After hearing about the competition through friends in London, the monks submitted a video audition via YouTube, and despite hundreds of other applications, they came out on top. According to Universal representatives, the monks “feel it’s an opportunity for this music that’s obviously special to them to be heard.”
This will not be the first time the historically haunting sound of Gregorian chant has broken into the popular sector; in the 1990’s it scored with the release of records featuring the singing by German producers, Enigma.
While the antics of other Universal recorders have come under scrutiny and legal attacks, the monks consider their music “part of spirituality and life,” and insist that all profits be reinvested in training future monks.
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