Interview with Gregorian singers Chris Tickner and Richard Collier

Has the Gregorian project influenced your ideas about music in general?
Chris: Yes, it has certainly changed mine. I was a little dubious when the project was first mentioned, it seemed a slightly odd concept.
And now, 10 years later, I thought that it would be time again to do something comparable. But now with a different concept. In those days we took traditional gregorian chants and composed music. This time we took a choir, which already existed and told them to perform our composition in their style.
Richard: It's certainly not like anything we've ever done before.
Chris: ... but the reaction when we toured last year was spectacular, and it has changed my mind completely. And having completed the second album, - [to Richard] I'm sure you'll agree - last week doing the film work in that incredibly spiritual setting in Ireland, it brought everything into sharp focus that it really is a worthwhile project both musically and spiritually.
What are the best venues for this kind of music?
Chris: Well, one that springs immediately to mind for me is Saint Martin in Venice. It has such a rich history, a wonderful, wonderful building with fabulous acoustics, and a long musical history as well. [To Richard] What do you think?
Richard: My first choice is going to be Notre Dame de Paris. One, I'm a francophile; two, I love Paris, and it it's just a fantastic building.
Chris: Well, another one that springs to mind for me, is York Minster. I have sung there in the past, and it's so ... the stained glass brings the whole Gregorian concept very much to life.
Richard: And if we're monks, then of course we've got to do Saint Peter's in Rome.
Chris: Yes, and then back to Canterbury ...
Richard: ... then back to Canterbury ...
Chris: ... just to complete the trip. [Laughter]

How would you describe your personal experience with the interpretation of popular hits in an ancient singing style?
Chris: Popular music and the church have been allied for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. So, this is just a modern extension of it, with a bit more technology. [To Richard] I don't know, what do you think?
Richard: Everybody thinks of Mozart being old music. Well, Mozart in Mozart's time was popular. Palestrino in Palestrino's time was popular. Gregorian in our time, that's popular, too.
Chris: Yes, I think it can come across in any style really, as long as it's done with the right attitude and it's not too frivolous and it's not bubble gum music, which I loathe and despise. No, I think this does have a purpose and it's done with a good attitude musically.
Richard: Our attitude to performing the music is as important as anything. If we go out there thinking that it has a spiritual side to it, then I think that's conveyed to the audience.
Chris: The sound has to be right, doesn't it?
Richard: Absolutely. That's the first thing! When we go into the studio, that's the first thing that's sorted out. The first thing that has to be concentrated on is getting that right sound - actually sounding like monks rather than operatic singers or even pop singers, even though this is pop. It's pop in the vein of church music.
Chris: It is, yes.
Richard: That was the starting point.
Chris: Yeah, and we're all involved in church music in our own way, so... Well, it's not that easy to slot into it when you're singing pop songs, of.... two or three years ago you heard that in a disco, and then you have to do this mental switch. But once done, it was very satisfying, I have to say that. I've been involved in it so long now, and I really enjoy it.
Richard: [to Chris] It's worth it, isn't it?
Chris: Oh yeah, absolutely.

Tell us about the shooting of the Ireland special.
Richard: Alright, the last ...
Chris: [to Richard, laughing] You were the one that, you tell the story!
Richard: The last day's filming - we just had four days, four very, very long days, filming for fourteen hours a day - and on the last day, I had to film the solo sections of one of the songs. I was told I was going to be on a boat. Fine, I was asked if I got seasick. 'No, not at all, not a problem.' What they didn't tell me was that this was going to be on a not very large, traditionally made sailing boat, and I was going to be at the front of it while it was actually sailing with a camera man, a sound man, a make-up lady all cramped up in front of me... And they were going to sail up and down in a force 7 gale! And they're going up and down, and the wind's blowing, the rain's going, and they're going, 'Keep going, keep going! Yes, yes, we'll do that one again. Just turn around and come back!' And I'm going, 'For three hours, I'm pinned to the front of this boat ...'

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