Ordinations at the Austrian Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz

Interview with Cistercian Brothers from Stift Heiligenkreuz

"We're not pop stars, say chart-topping monks"

From The Australian

By Iain Shedden, Music writer

BROTHER Johannes Paul and Brother Edmund are not the only monks visiting Sydney this week, but they must be the only two whose debut CD is in the charts across most of Europe.

The two young men, along with 15 others from the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz in Austria, have shocked the music industry - and the church - by becoming pop stars with their Gregorian chant music, recorded in their 12th-century monastery near Vienna.

Even more surprisingly, their success has come after they posted a home-made video of their chanting on YouTube for the benefit of tourists.

Yesterday in Sydney the brothers, who are leading a group of 40 Austrian teenagers on a pilgrimage to World Youth Day, were playing down their new-found fame.

"We don't feel like pop stars," said Brother Johannes Paul, 25. "We are monks. As monks, what we do is pray. We published this CD with these prayers. We're happy that many people have listened to it and that we have made people happy. But we don't want to be pop stars."

The monks' CD, Chant: Music For Paradise, came about after Father Karl Wallner from the monastery entered their video in a talent quest organised by record company Universal.

The CD, released in Australia last week, entered the British charts at No7 and topped the Austrian charts when it was released in May.

They can count the Pope among their legion of fans; the pontiff visited the monastery last year to hear them chant.

"The Pope is very devoted to the ancient forms of Christian prayer," said Brother Edmund, 24, "especially the Gregorian chants that we practise in our monastery, so he wanted to come and pray with us."

Unlike most musicians, the monks' day-to-day devotion begins with prayers at 5.15am.

"Life in the monastery is very beautiful," Brother Edmund said. "We dedicate that life completely to God in a harmonious way. With these beautiful ancient chants, we express this life."

Money raised from the CD will be used for the monastery's theology training program.

"We have a papal college for theology students, many from Third World countries, so the more CDs we can sell, the more we can support these students," Brother Johannes Paul said.

The brothers' main source of excitement this week, he added, was "to celebrate our faith and to see the Pope".

"So far (this week) we've only seen him in the newspaper," said Brother Johannes Paul.

"MONASTERY OF SOUND"

I received the following press release from Dominic Gilmore with Universal Music:

UNIVERSAL-SIGNED YOUTUBE MONKS RELEASE DEBUT ALBUM

CHANT: Music For Paradise
(VIDEO below)

Released on 19th May 2008

The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz are delighted to release their debut album with Universal Music following an incredible few months in which they were signed to the music company after submitting their demo via a YouTube link. The monks subsequently recorded their unique sound with amazing speed and will release Chant: Music For Paradise on May 19th.

Universal Music, the largest record company in the world who are better-known for promoting the music of Eminem and Amy Winehouse, launched their search for sacred singers in February through adverts placed in UK religious press. The adverts prompted an incredible response with over 100 entries pouring in from religious organisations around the world.

On the closing day for entries Tom Lewis, A&R Manager of Universal Classics and Jazz (UCJ), received a YouTube link from the Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, based in the Vienna woods in Austria. Mr Lewis was immediately bowled over by their sound, saying "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.”

The Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, who count both young and old among their number, reside in the oldest continually inhabited Cistercian monastery in the world, and put their selection down to divine intervention. They had been due to record an album last year but cancelled plans because of a prestigious visit to their monastery by Pope Benedict XVI. So when a friend in London spotted the advert on the closing date he encouraged them to hurriedly submit their entry via YouTube to ensure instant consideration.

By Easter the record giant had signed the Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, considering them to be the most accomplished singers of Gregorian Chant, and just a week later recording began. The monks were equally pleased to record their first ever commercial album, as originally planned, in order to bring their voice, and the spirit of their peaceful monastic existence, to a wider audience. Dating from the 7th century A.D., Gregorian Chant is the earliest form of music to be written down but, more importantly, to the monks it is their form of prayer.

Gregorian Chant has recently been popularised by the Xbox game, Halo, driving demand for a 21st-Century recording of the ancient music and reaching out to a whole new generation who don't remember the mid-90s success of Enigma and the Benedictine Monks of Silos. UCJ Managing Director, Dickon Stainer, said of the initiative, "Our aim is to reach singers from outside the X-Factor generation and bring the spirit of the cloisters to the outside world.”