German Monks Top UK Music Charts

Published: June 17th, 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 Greig is a founding champion of the 24-7 movement and Director of Prayer for Holy Trinity Brompton, in London. He and his family live in Guildford, England, where they are actively engaged with establishing a new missional (‘Boiler Room’) community. Pete’s books include 'Red Moon Rising', 'The Vision and The Vow' and 'God on Mute'.

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