at Stift Heiligenkreuz: Gregorian "Chant" leads Cistercian Monks straight into the charts

Within just a few months, the Cistercian Monks of the Stift Heiligenkreuz Monastery have shot to International fame. After sending an email with links to some of their recordings, Universal Records almost instantly offered them a deal, recording the music to the monks’ “Chant” in just three days. Two weeks after its release, the collection of 29 pieces of Gregorian chant has now shot to the upper regions of the charts in Germany, charting at number five and making history in the UK. Nestling in between stars like Madonna and Amy Winehouse, “Chant” landed at nine in the British Pop charts, while topping the classical department – an unprecedented event in the annals of the music business, even taking into consideration the major success of “Canto Gregoriano” by EMI a couple of years ago. Father Karl Wallner, selected by Stift Heiligenkreuz as the only official spokesperson denied speculation that this could turn the singers into a veritable commercial act – or even a “boy group” of sorts: “We are certainly not going to be pop-stars. Why should the CD change our lives? After all, what is recorded on the CD is nothing more than what we do from dawn to dusk: sing, praise, meditate…”

“Chant” is the direct result of Universal’s search for an ensemble of Gregorian singers. Monks of the Stift Heiligenkreuz Monastery disovered the label’s call for entries and quickly contacted Wallner in order to participate in the competition. For them, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to gather the financial means needed for a new recording project – a thought they had been toying with for years, but which was thwarted because of the prohibitively high costs involved. Somewhat reluctantly (he hadn’t even heard of Universal), Wallner obliged, mailing the aforementioned link to the record company on the very last day of the deadline. Upon hearing the music, Tom Lewis, the Development Manager of UCJ was awestruck – to him, the race had been decided. 

Of the sessions, Wallner remembers: “The days of recording were unusual for us, but also a deeply religious experience. The recordings were done in the Church where our relic of the True Cross is kept. In the midst of the microphones and other paraphernalia, we always kept the reliquary in sight, and we faced the tabernacle, where the Blessed Sacrament is kept. We always sang facing the altar - towards God. Thus the recordings were not just musical productions but rather continuous prayer.”

While the chart success of Gregorian Chant and the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz remain a mystery to some, it has to be said, of course, that the promo campaign for “Chant” was anything but mediaeval. With Youtube clips and even a digital single on offer, it actually resembled the likes of the very pop stars the monks are now enjoying the company of. And yet, it does seem as though each generation of record buyers truly needs its Gregorian Chant recording – boding well for the future of these ancient chants.

Homepage: Stift Heiligenkreuz
Homepage: Mini Page for Chant
Homepage: Universal Classical

By Tobias Fischer, published 2008-07-24

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