Universal Music's previously reported mission to find a group of monks to record an album of Gregorian chants has ended with success, and the signing of a group of Austrian monks recently visited by the Pope. As previously reported, the major put adverts in various religious publications, including the Catholic Times and The Catholic Herald, in a bid to find some suitable monks, and over 100 interested parties reportedly responded. The winning monks submitted their entry via YouTube (go see http://tinyurl.com/22vrt4), and are now about to head into the studio to record their debut album.
Confirming the signing of the monks of the Stift Heiligenkreuz monastry in the middle of the Vienna Woods, Universal Classics A&R Manager Tom Lewis told reporters: "They are, quite simply, the best Gregorian singers we have heard. They make a magical, evocative sound which is both immediately calming and deeply moving".
On the perceived public demand for Gregorian chants, which Music Week reckon may be in part down to the use of such chants on the soundtrack of X-Box game 'Halo', Lewis adds: "Whenever people hear the sound of Gregorian Chants, they seem to identify with it and immediately react. 'Enigma' is a classic example. It is also appealing in this time of increased anxiety. People find it calming and spiritual".