German Monks Top UK Music ChartsPete Greig - 17 Jun 2008
Two German monks who visited the 24-7 Boiler Room community in Ramsdorf, near Leipzig, are now topping the British music charts! Their CD of Gregorian chants simply called ‘CHANT – music for Paradise’ has been a surprise hit with eighteen ‘Five Star’ reviews on Amazon.
‘It’s really funny to see these guys in the British album charts alongside Radiohead and The Zutons,’ says Markus Laegel, leader of the Ramsdorf community. ‘They are from a monastery called Stift Heiligenkreuz and when they came to see our community they were really interested in the way 24-7 Prayer blends ancient monasticism with the modern world’.
Mind you, the monks themselves remain focused on prayer rather than publicity. They refuse all press attention and don't perform in any traditional public arenas apart from their own monastery. Some scholars believe that the Gregorian plain song musical style actually originated as an attempt to emulate the sounds of the monks singing in tongues together in the chapel. Whatever you think about that, we reckon it’s great to hear the scriptures being sung as a source of peace and tranquility in a musical genre so often dominated by New Age mediocrity. Now where did I put my Latin-English dictionary?
Pete is a best-selling author, pastor and bewildered instigator of the 24-7 Prayer movement which has reached more than half the nations on earth. He is also the Senior Pastor of Emmaus Rd, Guildford, England, an Ambassador for the NGO Tearfund, and teaches at St Mellitus Theological College in London. For 7 years Pete served with the senior leadership team at HTB and Alpha International. Pete's publications include 'Red Moon Rising', 'God on Mute', ‘The Prayer Course’, and 'Dirty Glory'. He loves art galleries, live music and knocking down walls.
Pete tweets regularly @petegreig
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