On September 30...The new Gregorian album, “Masters of Chant Chapter VIII” will be released. Worldwide, Gregorian has sold more than five million albums and have thrilled over a million concert-goers with their lavish stage productions and beautiful harmonies, that never fail to mesmerize and enchant,

This year (2011) has been the most successful touring year ever for Gregorian, with many concerts performed. In October, the group will head to China for their first appearances in that historic country. Six performances are planned. At the end of November, the Christmas tour in Germany will commence. The Christmas tour has been specifically designed for those who want to experience Gregorian Masters of Chant LIVE in a sacred setting.

Since the last CD has shown “The Dark Side” of Gregorian? Frank Peterson and his production team at Nemo Studios will return to the origins of Gregorian with the new “Masters of Chant Chapter VIII” album. They will be presenting songs like “Pride” (U2), “The Rose” (Bette Midler) “Wake Me Up When September Ends” (Green Day) and “Streets of Philadelphia” (Bruce Springsteen) among other selections.

It's another happy Autumn for Gregorian fans, world-wide!

The "Dark Side of the Chant" tour, which finished its intial run on 24 March 2011 in St. Petersburg, Russia will continue later this year.  The "Masters of Chants" will give more concerts in Germany and dates for France and Slovenia are also being planned.  In December, the group will tour Germany with a Christmas show.

Tickets.

Which songs is still secret, Frank Peterson and his team have this time chosen to envelop them in the Gregorian garb. We are very excited :-)

Gregorian also announced at the official site that will follow in November, more concerts of "The Dark Side Of The Chant" tour including Slovenia, Hungary and Ukraine. A date has already been set and that at 06 November in Paris. Tickets are available here .

Ab April 2011 wird der komplette Gregorian CD-Backkatalog - jeweils ergänzt durch eine Bonus-DVD mit Live Musik, Interviews, Behind The Scenes Material - wiederveröffentlicht. Die Boxsets welche den Beititel "Anniversary Edition" tragen werden werden Monatlich Veröffentlicht.

Masters Of Chant (Anniversary Edition) (CD+DVD) (t.b.a.)

Masters Of Chant Chapter II (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

Masters Of Chant Chapter III (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

Masters Of Chant Chapter IV (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

Masters Of Chant Chapter V (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

Masters Of Chant Chapter VI (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

Masters Of Chant Chapter VII (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

Christmas Chants (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

The Dark Side (CD+DVD) (Anniversary Edition) (t.b.a.)

Gregorian is currently touring in Europe! Please see the “Dates” section on the homepage.

Tickets für die Weihnachtstour 2001 gibt es hier.

Termine der Weihnachtstour 2011:

26.11.11 Hamburg, Kulturkirche

28.11.11 Schwerin, Schelfkirche St. Nikolai

29.11.11 Magdeburg, Johanniskirche

01.12.11 Berlin, Passionskirche

03.12.11 Leipzig, Ev.-Luth. Kirchengemeinde St. Petri

08.12.11 Ludwigsburg, Friedenskirche

10.12.11 Würzburg, Ev. St. Johanniskirche

13.12.11 Bochum, Christuskirche

Weitere Termine in Vorbereitung!

Davor jedoch wird der Chor ab dem 25. Januar 2011 seine Zelte am Timmendorfer Strand aufschlagen und im MARITIM Seehotel Timmendorfer Strand proben.
Und so kommen die Anhänger von Gregorian am 29. Januar 2011 um 19:00 Uhr in den Genuss, das absolut erste Konzert im Saal MARITIM des MARITIM Seehotel Timmendorfer Strand erleben zu dürfen.

In einer Zeit, die kaum Raum für Besinnung lässt, sind Gregorian zu einem Phänomen geworden. Ihre Musik und Konzerte vermitteln die Möglichkeit zur Reflektion, lassen ihr Publikum durch ihre einzigartige Präsentation auf wundervolle Art und Weise dem Alltag entkommen.

Bewunderer auf der ganzen Welt warten seit Gründung des Chores immer wieder sehnsüchtig auf neue Lebenszeichen. Im Jahr seines 11-jährigen Bestehens werden sie nicht enttäuscht werden. Mit neuem Album „The Dark Side Of The Chant“ und anschließender Europatournee mit Konzerten in Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz, Polen und  mehr wird Gregorian wieder unterwegs sein.

Das Konzept, berühmte Melodien in einem völlig neuen Sound in die zeitlose Welt des gregorianischen Chorals zu integrieren, funktioniert bestens und scheint unerschöpflich. Die acht in Mönchskutten gekleideten, klassisch ausgebildeten Sänger samt kompletter Begleitband, werden dies während ihrer Tournee mit einer eindrucksvollen Lichtshow mit Flammen-, Laser- und Projektionseffekten einmal mehr unter Beweis stellen. Dies wird die beste Gregorian-Tour überhaupt verspricht Produzent Frank Peterson.

Eintrittskarten zum Premierenkonzert der Jubiläumstournee am 29. Januar 2011 um 19:00 Uhr sind an der Abendkasse des MARITIM Seehotel, Strandallee 73 in 23669 Timmendorfer Strand zum Preis von 32,- Euro erhältlich.

Sie können aber auch bei Eventim für 39,- Euro gebucht werden.

Fan Angebot:

#1: 1 Person im EZ ( Übernachtung/Frühstück ) und 1 Eintrittskarte zu 117,00 Euro.

#2: 2 Personen im DZ ( Übernachtung/Frühstück) und 2 Eintrittskarten zu 199,00 Euro.

Buchung und Reservierung im Hotel Maritim - +49 4503 605-0

Das Phänomen Gregorian lässt sich in keine musikalische Schublade stecken, vielmehr ist aus der Kreation von Erfolgsproduzent Frank Peterson schon längst ein eigenes Musikgenre geworden.

Viele haben versucht das Original zu kopieren, doch niemand konnte dem Original auch nur im Ansatz das Wasser reichen und den perfekten Mix aus New Age und Rock imitieren. Diesen magischen Mix, der die „Master Of Chants“-Alben zu einem der bestverkauften Kataloge Europas und der ganzen Welt macht. Darüber hinaus zählen Gregorian mit ihren Top Musikern und Sängern mittlerweile zu den erfolgreichsten Live Acts.

v.l.n.r.: Max Vaccaro, Frank Peterson in den Nemo Studios, Hamburg

earMUSIC - eine Division der Edel Germany GmbH - konnte in der vergangenen Woche einmal mehr Edelmetall an Erfolgsproduzent Frank Peterson, sowie Carsten Heusmann, Jan-Eric Kohrs und Gunther Laudahn überreichen: Der Gold-Award für in Deutschland mehr als 120.000 verkaufte Einheiten des Gregorian Albums "Christmas Chants and Vision" wurde in den Nemo Studios Hamburg von Max Vaccaro (Director earMUSIC) überreicht.

Im November 2006 ursprünglich als "Christmas Chants" veröffentlicht, wurde der Gregorian Klassiker vor zwei Jahren zusammen mit der Live-DVD "Christmas Vision" wieder veröffentlicht und ist mit inzwischen mehr als 40.000 verkauften Einheiten zweifellos eine der erfolgreichsten Neuauflagen der letzten Jahre. Unlängst konnte sich das Album im dritten Jahr in Folge in den Top 100 der Deutschen Album Charts platzieren. Parallel dazu wurde mit "Christmas Chants Live in Berlin" das erste Gregorian Live-Album veröffentlicht.

Edel und Gregorian haben in zehn Jahren Zusammenarbeit gemeinsam elf Alben veröffentlicht, die sich weltweit weit mehr als 5 Millionen mal verkauften und mit etlichen Gold- und Platin-Awards ausgezeichnet wurden.

Im Januar 2011 veröffentlicht earMUSIC die erste umfassende Gregorian Kollektion "Best Of 1990 - 2010". Neben den Klassikern der Erfolgs-Reihe "Masters of Chant" sowie "The Dark Side“ enthält das Album sieben bislang unveröffentlichte Gregorian Songs.

Ab März 2011 wird zudem der komplette Gregorian CD-Backkatalog - jeweils ergänzt durch eine Bonus-DVD mit Live Musik, Interviews, Behind The Scenes Material - wiederveröffentlicht.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

earMUSIC—a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment. In the past week, even more precious metal has been awarded to successful producer, Frank Peterson, and his producers, Carsten Heusmann, Jan-Eric Kohrs and Gunther Laudahn. The Gold Award in Germany rewards the fact that more than 120,000 units have been sold of the Gregorian album “Christmas Chants & Visions”. The award was presented at Peterson's Nemo Studios in Hamburg, by Max Vacarro, director of earMusic.

Orginally released in November, 2006 as “Christmas Chants”, Gregorian released a second version of the album ("Christmas Chants & Visions") with a live DVD “Christmas in Berlin” in 2008, which sold an additional 40,000 units. It's undoubtedly the most successful reissues of recent years. In 2010, the album is in its third consecutive year in the Top 100 of the German album charts. A three-disc presentation was recently released, with the original “Christmas Chants”, the “Christmas in Berlin” DVD, and an audio disc of the live performance from Berlin.

In the past ten years, Gregorian, with partner, Edel Records, have sold in excess of 5 million copies of their albums, and have won several gold and platinum awards.

In January of 2011, the first comprehensive earMusic Gregorian collection will be released, “The Best of 1990-2010.” In addition to classics from the successful series “The Masters of Chant” and “The Dark Side” albums? The earbook will include seven previously unreleased songs from Gregorian.

In March of 2011, the complete back-catalog from Gregorian will be re-released. Each release will be accompanied by a bonus DVD with live music, interviews and behind the scenes footage.

Für alle Gregorian-Fans hat das Produzenten Team um Frank Peterson aus Hamburg schon bald etwas ganz besonderes vorbereitet: Im Januar veröffentlicht die Truppe ein neues Best Of Album, auf dem Gregorian auch bis dato Unveröffentlichte Songs präsentieren.

Mittlerweile können Gregorian Auf 11 Jahre Bandgeschichte zurückblicken, coverten in dieser Zeit einige große Hits schrieben dabei aber auch eigene Songs. Ein bester Anlass also, um ihren Fans das Beste aus dieser Zeit auf einer Best Of CD zu präsentieren.

Das “Greatest Hits”-Album von Gregorian wird in zwei Ausführungen erhältlich sein, die Tracklists sind bis jetzt noch nicht bekannt.

Gedulden müssen sich die Fans noch bis zum 28. Januar, denn dann erst erscheinen die beiden Fassungen der neuen CD

The Christmas Chants record entered the charts again after its release in 2006 years ago and aims for gold status. This is the first time in Gregorian history to have 2 records placed in the german Top100 at the same time. Congratulations!

source: wunderkind entertainment

Aufgrund des sensationellen Erfolges gibt es 2011 einige Zusatzkonzerte!

Gregorian erobern die nächste Dimension! Aufgrund der sensationellen Nachfrage wird die „The Dark Side Of The Chant Tournee“ in 18 großen Hallen in Deutschland stattfinden – dabei auch Zusatzkonzerte in Bremen, Bochum und Leipzig: Jeweils um 16:00 (Bochum 16:30)

Gregorian begeistern Millionen mit ihrer einzigartigen Mischung aus Gregorianik und Rock/Pop. Auf ihrer „The Dark Side Of The Chant Tournee" werden Gregorian ab dem 01. Februar 2010 wieder mit großer Band in den großen Hallen der Republik zu Gast sein und ihre gefeierten Interpretationen großer Rockarien wie Unheiligs "Geboren Um Zu Leben" (Born To Feel Alive), „Nothing Else Matters“ von Metallica oder "Frozen" von Madonna kombiniert mit Gregorianischem Gesang präsentieren.

On 11/20/2010, WBO boxing champion Robert Stieglitz will be back in the ring at the Frieberger Arena in Dresden in a bout with Mexican Enrique Omelas.  At the start of the program, Gregorian will perform “O Fortuna” live at the event.  With their unmistakable sound, GREGORIAN will fit perfectly into this “Night of Champions”.  In addition to Stieglitz, world champions Ramona Kuehne (30) (triple champion in super featherweight/WIBF, WBO and WBF) and the reigning WKA world champion in kickboxing, Dr. Christine Theiss (30) will defend their titles.  German Channel Sat.1 will broadcast the event live from 10:15 PM.

Gregorian Masters of Chant are  one of the most successful of the German Gregorian chant choirs. The new record “The Dark Side of the Chant” has gone directly from zero to number 8 in the Hitlist from Media Markt/Saturn!

In the 10^th year of the group, Gregorian is back in the Top 10 Hitlists. Saturn announced today that the new album “The Dark Side of the Chant” has gone straight to number 8 in the Saturn Hitlist. Producer Frank Peterson and his team, Carsten Heusmann, Jan-Eric Kohrs and Gunther Laudahn have now made it to the Top 20 Lists for the 4^th time in the groups history.

With the 2004 release of “The Dark Side” Gregorian already had a rock album, but it sounds like the new Gregorian album is even darker. The first single “O Fortuna” is amazing and bombastic and the other twelve selections are equally as memorable and moving.

Congratulations, Gregorian!

The Official German Charts will online MONDAY!

Many of you have seen that the new album includes the song “Born To Feel Alive” which is an English translation of the song “Geboren um zu Leben” from Unhelig. We are pleased to congratulate Unhelig on the recent win of the Federal Vision Song Contest 2010 for their entry “Under Your Flag.” Since “Der Graf” kindly allowed “Gregorian to record his music, now Gregorian is returning the favor by appearing on Unhelig's new single, Winterland.

Unheligs “Winterland” will be available on 11.19.2010 through various download portals, including the Limited Premium version, which includes a second mix of “Winterland” featuring Gregorian . We are also pleased to announce that a three-disc Gregorian “Christmas Chants—Live in Berlin” is now available on Amazon.de. The new release includes the original “Christmas Chants” and an audio version of “Christmas in Berlin” and the DVD of the show in Berlin.

1. Winterland (Long Version)

2. Geboren um zu leben (Piano Version (Live bei Radio NRW)

3. Unter deiner Flagge (Piano Version (Live bei Radio NRW)

4. Winterland (Single Version)

5. Winterland (Gregorian Version) (feat. Gregorian)

6. Der Graf liest “Dornröschen

Mehr Infos

M: I now have Gunther Laudahn on the phone for an interview. First of all, thank you for taking the time for this interview.

GL: Thanks for the request. I'm pleased to do this again.

M: First, I would like to talk to you about the new album, “The Dark Side of the Chant.” How did the idea to head back into the the harder rock and gothic direction come about?

GL: I think since the first Dark Side album it was just clear that we had to do something like this again at some point. I think the first “Dark Side” album was just very stylistically presented. It's like it was made specially for the singers—simply incredibly good, these kinds of songs—interpreted in this way. Plus, I think that some of the songs, like the original “Hurt” by the Nine Inch Nails is not something fans would have typically listened to. But now they say “Oh, that sounds quite harmonious” and so on. Plus, the Dark Side tour was a lot of fun, and from then on, it was really clear that we would repeat something like that in the future.

M: Yes, and then, of course, you can use some German rock songs such as Unhelig with “Geboren Um Zu Leben” and introduce songs like this to the world.

GL: Exactly.

M: I'm sure you have probably already seen the cover. Is that you?

GL: (Laughs) I don't know if this is a 'trade secret' but ALL the guys you see on the cover? That's me.

M: Crazy. I looked at the face and thought “Could this be Gunther?”

GL: Yes, the pictures are from a photo session. We tried this once, because we wanted to know how you could do something like this and how you can communicate with the medium. I don't know if this was just originally meant to be a test. In any case, we made a series of shots and then the Chief edited together a few photos. Then we all said “Dude. We must use this as the cover. No one will see that it is Gunther!”

M: How do you think the album will resonate with the fans?

GL: I think its very, very well made in every sense of the word. The song selection can sometimes be quite heavy. But I don't find it too heavy and I'm also firmly convinced that the fans will think its very good and will find it an important album.

M: The Dark Side theme has already, when you look at the albums before and after, been a huge success. Do you think the new album will be better than the last?

GL: Oh, now I surely shouldn't  judge the last album. The last album had some very nice pieces on it. On the other hand, I must say that if I were to criticize anything—and I'll take the freedom to do so now—is that the last album wasn't consistent on whether it was to be a more typical rock album or whether it should still go in the Gregorian classical and ambient direction.

M: You've produced some songs on the new album. Which ones are they?

GL: The first is a song I wrote together with Frank.  It's called "My Heart is Burning." The second is a song I had played for Frank that I wrote (but not for the last Dark Side album.) I had once recorded this track (Dark Angel) as a demo with a deep voice for my project, "Die Gesellschaft Der Schwarzen Orchidee" (The Society of the Black Orchid). But this is not an official project, it hasn't been published properly. Its just my fun project that I play around with a bit and I'm writing a book on the experiences that I've had with it. In any case, when Frank heard it he said "Damn! We will do this for the next Dark Side album!" and as you can see, he has stood by his word.

M: Can you tell us a little about "Born To Feel Alive" (Orig. title: Geboren Um Zu Leben) which is an original song by Unhelig?

GL: This track is just great. We all said that. Apparently, many other people think so, too. Frank had the idea that we should make it for Gregorian in an English adaptation. "Der Graf" has kindly approved everything but I wasn't sure if it was a cool idea. The song as Der Graf sings it in the original is, of course, quite different. The melody in some places does not get out as he speaks it in parts of the song. That raised the question of how it would sound after we arranged it for the monks. I took the music to London to record for Frank, because he did not have the time. I recorded his three productions for him and then had the boys sing on it. We immediately realized that this was an absolute burner, especially at the end with the children's choir! Its a fairly accurate adaptation of the original from Unhelig, but with the vocal color of Gregorian. The whole thing is really great.

M: We are very curious how the song will sound. The idea to put "Geboren Un Zu Leben" on the album came relatively late. As I've heard it, you had to make another trip to London or did you do it in the same session?

GL: We recorded it in the same session. Even before the recording session in London it was clear that we would be doing it. I think I flew in to London on a Sunday afternoon and that Saturday night we were up until 3 AM in the studio with Frank. We had to have the music formally written on this one. We couldn't just sight-read on this track. We could do that, and just listen for what sounds good, but when we prepare such things? We must work damn hard to make it good on paper because the guys can all read music and we cannot allow mistakes. As I said, I was there until 3 AM with Frank and Alex so that I would have the music ready to take to London the next day.

M: How do you think Gregorian has developed musically over the years?

GL: I think we also discussed this in our last interview. I remember mentioning that we have gained, through the experience of so many albums, an overall better knack of selecting appropriate songs. We have a better sense of what songs will be best to adjust or adapt for Gregorian, or which will simply not work. The singers—by having recorded over 150 tracks in this style—now have the sound down pat. So, you have to just literally snap your fingers and you have the Gregorian sound. They look at the musical notes, see what it is meant to sound like, and immediately have the sound grounded.

Well, otherwise on the topic of of musical development? I think we have as far-ranging a reportoire as its possible to have. I believe that Frank thought with the first "Dark Side" album that maybe we would scare people with it. On the contrary, we ended up gaining fans that normally would not listen to this type of music. The can listen to Gregorian and get this style of music. So, you can say that Gregorian is able to do all kinds of styles. As a result, we have gained a wider reportoire and this also is strong musical development for the project.

M: It would be awesome to have a kind of "Classical Chants" with music like Beethoven, Brahms, etc. done in the Gregorian sound.

GL: I think that is a great idea but that, of course, would be very difficult, right? Frank does that with Sarah Brightman in which he has made common simple classical motifs that are provided with the vocal melody. He conducts research in the classical genre for whatever might be possible to do, and everything that is possible, he does with Sarah. We can sometimes do things that are unusual, that appear stylistically different.

I stil remember making "Ave Maria" by Schubert for the Chistmas album. There was a recording by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra but I didn't want to use it. I didn't find it good. I told Frank that I wanted to do better with the church organ and a boy soprano. Frank told me "You don't already have all the cups in the cupboard? This is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra! Do you understand that, dude? This is not shit!" And I said "Yes, I know, but I don't want it anyways." He later heard my version—we have the Royal Philharmonic at the last eight measures of the song. But the rest is exactly how I wanted it, with the boy soprano, Julian Clement, and the chuch organ. Frank was really excited about it and told me so. He didn't think it would be so good. He can be very supportive if you have a good idea.

M: You have a very great singer on board this album and that is Alannah Myles. Are you allowed to tell us what track she is singing on?

GL: I know that we recorded three tracks with her. Unfortunately, I can't tell you which track she is singing on. I just know we have a song she sang on called "Sinners and Chains" that did not end up being on the album, and that she sang two other numbers. I do not know now but....one of the songs she sang on was changed again because they did not find the song so good. Then we used one of the monks singing instead. Although I was there and I have half of the album too, I am not sure which she ended up singing on. Sorry.

M: Okay. Maybe you will hear it then when the album is finally in your hands. Can you give us some impressions on recording this album?

GL: The album recordings have been relatively similar to those in the past. We find a selection of tracks that Frank loves and everyone makes their own suggestions. In my case, I proposed a number by an Australian band that I wanted to do but Frank did not want to do this song so much. But he found the mood in the number very nice and then said "Look here, we won't try this, so don't copy the tape, but how about we somehow capture this mood and produce something unique from that?" And we did it. In this way, a separate track is created, one that Frank and I created. There are some things on the list that he thinks that we should do as he thinks they would work incredibly well. He also says at times “You should try it once” and the proects are divided amongst the producers. They are usually Carsten Heusmann and Jan-Eric Kohrs. Those two are the original production team.

I always do a bit of additional production, Alex has also done some post-production on the last album and of course, this time together with Frank I have made some songs myself. We make the first demos, and Frank hears them, so he can get an idea how the sound will work with Gregorian. I'm always at a bit of an advantage because I can sing pretty good demos with a slightly tinged Gregorian chant sound and so that gives me a good chance with my titles. So, then its decided which tracks to record in London and the music is prepared and its off to London. There we meet with the singers at Angel Studios and work to try the songs in several keys to see which will work best. Then we use our laptop computers and a small music program and there is very, very simple playback for the tracks. We develop the final sound after the vocals are recorded. It's important to have good surface sound, where we can hear the key correctly. Everything else is really annoying because you have already arranged the song. But we have to see whether it can be sung like that or if you have to have a tone lower, or perhaps even a full third lower. The whole process takes half a trial day and then all the numbers are recorded in multiple sessions.

The sessions are always three hours and we work hard because its expensive to have time in the studio. This is common pratice in England simply because they are all professional musicians and its usually done this way. Then comes the recordings and while the pieces are being sung, sometimes additional ideas come to mind for the voices. Sometimes you just hear a great timbre in a voice and think "Oh, wouldn't it be great if we do another deep bow over it, can we write that down quickly somehow?" In some cases as they sing its clear its not working, this song has too many fast moments that are not feasible with the chorus.

We have tried to make the Gregorian chant sound funky (who can not sing funky?) but its been doomed to failure. Sometimes a number that you thought would work really well ends up not working--it just doesn't have the feeling. Other numbers, in turn, are surprising for how well they work. "Dark Angel" for example. I did it with the monks, though I was really not sure how well it would work. Because it only has 12 lines of lyrics, Frank said "Come on, if you have 20 minutes to work on it, we can see if we can make something out of it yet" and then when the choir sang it? We all knew "This is a classic, because it works for the boys so incredibly well. This number will surely be on the album." Well, then everyone goes back to their own studio, where they are working on producing their songs for the album. And we all have our own tasks. We all have our own special areas that Frank appreciates our expertise on. As I have said earlier, there has been an original demo of the song that Frank has given the nod to, but we will play them again, because the song (by then) is generally in a different key that we have determined will work better.

Then its off for its final production for the songs that have made the final cut. This time we had 20 titles that we worked to finalization. This time, it was very difficult for Frank to decide which numbers to put on the album. We even considered whether we should make a double album. I was personally against it because I would prefer to do 12-13 pieces that were really good and some really cool interludes, instead of doing 30 numbers that were only good so we could say "Cool, now we have a double album!" This is not my philosophy. I think, especially with Gregorian, that quality counts more than quantity.

M: Yes, the interludes I wanted to comment on as well. I have seen that this time they are titled after horror movies.

GL: (Laughs) Yeah, I like that we have horror film music on the CD. It's a nice idea to have them not be "Gregorian Interlude 1, Gregorian Interlude 2"  this time but that they have names.

M: In your long career in music there have been a number of milestones and all-important moments. Which goosebump moments do you remember the most?

GL: Oh...goosebump moments...there are moments when I get goosebumps afterwards when I think of them. If its something that is really good and worked great, then it generally takes me a little time to complete the mental processing and I finally realize how great it was. Usually while I'm doing the job I'm too focused on making sure everything is perfect. Sometimes I don't even really notice that it was a huge peformance.

I remember, for example being with Gregorian in Byblos in Lebanon at the Byblos Music Festival. The venue is only accessible once a year for a week. We had there—I think with Gregorian in 2006—2 sold out performances. It is the oldest amphitheater in the world and was built by the Phoenicians. Today, its not the same of course. The Romans eventually built a castle there, where there was once just a wall. But before it, the terrain is all from the original amphitheater. The audience is still sitting on the old stone benches and its fits about 3000 people inside. The whole thing is directly below the sea and you have a wonderful view, especially when the sun sets, as it does quickly in the Mediterranean countries. I think we were there in August and it was roaring hot.

Lebanon is half Muslim and half Christian, but the followers of both faiths are very respectful. As long as the singer—rather the prayer chanter from the minarets are still proclaiming their prayers—out of courtesy and respect you just wait for them to finish before beginning the open-air concert. As the minaret chants echoed through the city? Everywhere you could hear, at the same time, the minaret of singers proclaiming the same prayers. Its an incredible experience to hear this and it creates a very strange mood. As it slows down it is like you can hear one valley sing to another and then they stopped. And we started to play Brothers in Arms during this silence. The sun had just set, the lights went on...it was an amazing atmosphere.

M: Yes, that performance was very well recieved. I thought it was a great bonus to the DVD although it was probably not as good of quality as it could have been had there been a DVD release of the show in Byblos.

GL: Yes, the Lebanese television made a great effort, but there are controls over where you can make documentaries like this. They find colorful very cool. In the Arab MTV channels, the video is so colorful it can make your eyes hurt. They like colorful and that is not always suitable for our purposes. Its simply a different culture.

M: Well, let me ask you another question. You have a project called Sweet Sister Pain and I've heard that an album will be released soon?

GL: Yes, we are releasing an album on Oct. 22nd on the Danse Macabre Records label and its called "The Seven Seas Of Blood and Honey." We've been working on it the last three months, it was produced in parallel with Gregorian and I think its very good. Just last week I picked up the master of the album. It was mastered by Tom Meyer of Master and Servant, who also masters the Gregorian albums. I'm very excited. I don't say that its good because its my own album. I'm also very critical of my own stuff, but I believe its truly great.

M: Are there places or situation in which you feel that you are especially creative?

G: (Thinks) Meh, I would not actually say so....the thing is, I'm not tied to places. I sometimes get an idea of something that I think I have to turn into something. But I don't really care less if the idea happens in the hotel room, the bus, the restaurant or anywhere else. Then I take my pen and paper and quickly write notes on a a few things I want to remember. Otherwise...creative...anywhere if I have my guitar in hand and I can sing along. I don't usually sit in the studio, make a point on a a drum loop, stop it and make a new groove and then try to turn it into some tune, and then add a lyric. For me, its more the unity of all the elements. It has to feel good in my voice, I might have a few words and then try out a few chords that fit the words very well. This is my way of being creative.

M: Are there any artists that you, with the Sweet Sister Pain project, would like to work with?

GL: Yes. One example of something I have really enjoyed was working with Sascha Konietzko of KMFDM. Sascha made a remix of one of our songs. We were very comfortable working with Sascha. It was fun chatting with him a bit, and his sharing some of the world that he belongs to with us. He invited us to play the opening act for his band when he performed in Hamburg. We were worried that all the hard-core electro and metallic fans of KMFDM would not probably like us. But it was nothing like that—quite the opposite. The guitarist from KMFDM said that our music is the ying and yang to their music and that the meditative, melodic sound of Sweet Sister Pain and then the heavy rock of KMFDM would be a good combination. We are now considering whether it will be possible to do other things together with KMFDM. Well, otherwise, we have our own version of "Mad World" on the album. Charlie had a very great cello group that she worked with on the Gregorian version of the song as well. I would also love some scary stuff played by Apocalyptica. We would have to say "Friends of the sun, how about it?" or something. But I believe they are currently on tour in the US, but maybe sometime later....

M: Yes, yes. Perhaps something will work out for the future. A final question, what else do you have planned for 2010/2011?

GL: I have a lot of projects planned. This week I go with Sarah Brightman and we will work on production samples for an orchestral tour, which we will do in Asia. From Canada, we will continue on to Asia and tour there for four weeks. I also have just bought a HD Steadycam tripod camera, which I have wanted for years. So, I will be practicing with that to make good video recordings. That is actually my next plan for when I get back from Asia. The Sweet Sister Pain CD will come out in my absence, then we will play a showcase. Probably in late November, early December. In February 2011, there will be the start of the new Gregorian tour. Its very exciting because Frank has indicated that we may have more than three musicians on stage. Maybe we'll even have a few guests. We shall have to see what develops.

M: Good! So, since you are in Asia next month with Sarah? Does that mean that the Russian Gregorian tour will be with another guitarist?

GL: The Gregorian tour in Russia, that has just been decided. I just recently got the confirmation about Sarah's tour the same month. Las year, Jorn Halibut played with Gregorian in Russia and knows the repertoire. We knew we would need to find a way if the tours happened simultaneously. This time, unfortunately, it has not worked out for Jorn, as he is sick and cannot play. Mike, who toured with Gregorian on the Christmas tour 2008 will be playing guitar in Russia.

M: Do you know who will be in Russia playing drums and keyboards?

GL: Drummer Martin Hesselbach, who has been playing drums in the recent concerts will be playing along with Carsten Heusmann on keyboards.

M: Very nice. I want to thank you for your time.

GL: Please, it was a pleasure as always.

M: Do you have a few final words for the readers of this interview?

GL: I would, of course, be very happy if everyone is pleased at how the new Gregorian album has turned out. We're totally excited about it. As I said earlier, I unfortunately have not heard the final mastered version, only the original recordings, but I find them absolutely great.

I will be very pleased if the fans are excited about the new album too and that everyone realizes how much love and effort went into making this album. I certainly hope that we will see many of you on this extended tour of Europe. We have been touring for so many years that many of the fans have become friends. In many cities there are people that you meet every year and I would miss them if they didn't come. So, many many thanks to all the fans!

M: Thank you, too!

Du möchtest gern zu einem GREGORIAN Konzert, aber du bist noch am überlegen ob du sollst oder nicht? Kein Problem, denn bei uns erhältst du bei der Teilnahme bei unserer Street Team Aktion 2 Plätze auf der Gästeliste. (Jeweils in der Stadt in der Flyer verteilt werden).

Schick uns bis zum 10. Okotber 2010 eine Email an flyer-konzerte@gregorian-music.com mit folgenden Daten:
Lieferanschrift:
Vor- und Zuname, Strasse/Hausnummer, PLZ Ort
sowie deine Teilnehmerstadt (z.b. Rostock oder Berlin Süd) oder den Namen des Festivals auf dem du verteilen willst.

Die Teilnahme ist nur nach unserer Bestätigung per Email gültig.

Lots of news from Gregorian creator and producer, Frank Peterson.  The European concerts for  the second part of the 10th Anniversary tour are not even over yet,  and now we have an announcement that Gregorian will visit 13 cities in Russia in October!

And that’s not all.  In September, the dates for the big  “Dark Side of the Chant” tour starting in February, 2011 will be announced.  Gregorian will include tours through Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  Frank Peterson can already promise “This is a really great show,  one like the fans have never experienced Gregorian before.”

And in October the new album "The Dark Side Of The Chant" (Working Title) will be released.

The Dates:

How did you get the idea to produce a second "Dark Side" album?

We can tell you to look forward to the release at the end of this year--because this is going to be a really really hot one!!!!

Source:  Wunderkind Entertainment

Quelle

Gregorian is currently in the studio again. After the success of the 2009 album "Masters Of Chant Chapter VII," they are now working in Angel Studios in London on the new album "The Dark Side Chapter II" (working title). Gunther Laudahn: "I am delighted to be able to again participate in a Dark Side album, and I can promise that it will contain some great classic rock."

Gregorian will not tour in summer 2010 because they are working on the new album.  The first concerts of the European tour will take place in early August.

Sängerfestverein verkündet Höhepunkte des 10. Sängerfestes nach der Wende.
Das Sängerfest 2010 findet vom 27. bis 29. August statt. Es ist das zehnte der Neuzeit und wird seine ganz eigenen Akzente setzen. Das wurde gestern deutlich, als der Vorstand des Sängerfestvereins die Höhepunkte verkündete. Die Gregorian und ABBA-Mania sorgen für die Glanzpunkte.

Frank Peterson, the Gregorian producer announced in the guestbook of www.gregorian.de that it will soon announces new tour dates:

Hi!
Happy New Year and thank you all for the many posts in regards to last year's tour.
I am glad that most of you loved the production and set list.
We are currently working on more dates starting in March:
Russia, Ukraine, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republik, Holland, Belgium, and probably Germany.
More detailed infos will follow in a bit as well as more shows in further countries will be announced soon.

See you there
Best
Frank Peterson

The Gregorian (Pop) Choral, along with the Gregorian band, made a stop in Wurzburg on the first Sunday of Advent, with their contemplative vocals, and their light, flame and laser effects show.

An article from mainpost.de

They fit perfectly into the Advent season--Gregorian--an eight man choir, singing the old liturgical forms transformed by new ideas and gripping musical sounds.  In the packed, spatically reduced Wurzburg Congress Center, the fans were thrilled by the dazzling light and sound show.  The singers are dressed in simple cassocks.   The draft and precison of the choirs classical voices characterize the expression of the Gregorian chant and transforms the slightly clouded concert space into a Gothic cathedral.  A touch of mysticism, inherent in  original Gregorian chant, is palpable in the room.

During  the concert to mark the tenth anniversary of Gregorian, on November 23 at the Hamburg Operettenhaus, Edel Germany presented producer and artistic director of the Gregorian  project, Frank Peterson, a Special Award for more than five million records sold worldwide.

Masters of Chant – The Original

GREGORIAN
10 Years – The Anniversarytournee

Interview with Frank Peterson - Composer & Producer

One important piece of news! The concerts on 16/12/2009 in Leipzig at the Gewandhaus, and on 17/12/2009 at 20:30 in Erfurt, unfortunately, are COMPLETELY SOLD OUT! More dates are on the verge. So, do not let you much time, if you want to be there!

Here again the dates:

Eight open mouths, eight long robes, purple spots highlight the impressive scenery.

Are these monks or saints, talents or charlatans who forward medieval Gregorian to today and to agree a beautiful brunette at some point in their ranks? Ten years Frank Peterson had sent his most successful creation through the stages, now is "Gregorian - Masters Of Chant," a hit throughout Europe, despite all the hostility. The producer leaned far out the window, when he had to sing in 1999, eight trained singers in mediæval style with rock guitars and synthesizers, popular songs from rock and pop and the whole thing in the fantasy-style lighting.

The magnificent Monks of Gregorian will be performing on 01.11.09 at the Maritim Seehotel in Timmendorfer Strand in a public dress rehearsal for the Anniversary Tour.  The one-of-a-kind live event will take place at 8pm.  Tickets for this unique opportunity will be available on a first come/first served basis at the box office, for the unbeatable price of 25 Euros.  The Seehotel is also offering a special room rate of 75 Euros per night  for concert attendees.

The new album reached the #46 position in week 42 (25.09.2009 through 01.10.2009) on the German record charts.  Masters of Chant VII also made it into the Switzerland chart at the #47 position during its first week of sales.

Congratulations to Gregorian from gregorian-music.com!

The management of Semmel Concerts  announced today that the Bolzano (Italy) show has been canceled.  The reason is currently unknown.  If we receive more information, we will post it here.

A more enjoyable message goes out to fans in Erfurt, Germany!   Since all but a few seats for the 8:30 show were sold out, a  second show has been added for the venue.  The second show will be at 5:30 on the same day   Ticket information can be found at Eventim.

---

On October 27th the Gregorian Christmas album "Christmas Chants" will be released in the US!

World-wide, Gregorian has sold over 3 million albums, there have been countless sold-out tours, and Gregorian has been the receipient of more than 20 Gold and Platinum awards. Gregorian is regarded as one of the most successful musical groups of their genre.

After their 1999 debut, Gregorian (The Original) quickly morphed into a genuine brand of contemporary music--often imitated but never duplicated. With "Christmas Chants" , renowed international producer, Frank Peterson, adds to a well-stocked list of releases with a holiday themed album.

To read this News, please go to German version.

Gregorian Masters of Chant (the Original) celebrates their 10th Anniversary this year!

Having just returned from their first-ever TV appearance in Japan, and with the new album "Masters of Chants VII" in stores,  Gregorian is pleased to announce their 10th Anniversary tour.

Songs from the new album will be featured in the anniversary tour.  The tour begins on Nov 16th in Hamburg, Germany and will lead the singing monks on a 24 date tour of German cities, as well as Austria, Switzerland and other Eastern European countries (see tour dates section for details.)  With a great backing band, impressive light show, flames. laser and projection effects, this tour will once again demonstrate Gregorian's unique talents and glorious harmonies.

We are pleased to announce that the beautiful voice and fairy-tale appearance of the delightful Amelia Brightman will be featured in the tour!   A long friendship unites the enchanting English woman with the choir, as they have done many previous projects together.  Not only does Amelia share singing credits with the monks, she also shares many writing credits for the original compositions with the creative team behind Gregorian.

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Masters of Chant – The Original

GREGORIAN

10 Years – The Anniversary Tour

With the release of the Album “Masters of Chant” in 1999,  the victorious journey of a genius vision started  which has garnered world-wide attention under the name “Gregorian”.

The creator of this project, Frank Peterson, who had previously enjoyed enormous success with the project “Enigma” pursued his vision of merging pop and choral music simultaneously.  Peterson himself, a great fan of mediaeval monasteries and their music, created with Gregorian a unique genre which has established itself with an enthusiastic and loyal following.  He deserves the credit for public interest in this type of musical endeavor and the commercial success of the genre.

On 13 May occur in the Gregorian Concert to mark the reconciliation visit to Israel by Pope Benedict XVI., In the amphitheater at Beit She'an.The Gregorian choir will perform, the pieces of "The Moment Of Peace" and "Hymn", their version of the song by Barclay James Harvest. Concert will be broadcast in 25 countries on television. In Germany, a time-delayed recording is scheduled on 3sat. The exact date of broadcasting is not yet clear.

Die deutsch-britische Formation Gregorian hat seit mehr als zehn Jahren mit ihrer Musik eine Nische und eine treue Fangemeinde gefunden. Auf ihrer 21-tägigen „Christmas Chants“-Tour durch Deutschland und Tschechien füllten die Gregorianik-Popper mühelos große Konzertsäle und Gotteshäuser, so auch die Würzburger Johanniskirche, die beinahe ausverkauft war.

There is a huge demand for tickets for the church Christmas concert tour of Gregorian, on 2 December in the Old Town Nicolai Church in Bielefeld begins. Organizer Semmel Concerts has scheduled so now five additional concerts.

Gregorian go in December for Semmel Concerts on "Masters Of Chant Christmas Tour 2007" with 17 concerts in churches. The Gregorian choir presents there the the new album "Masters Of Chant Chapter VI", it appears 28th September at edel records.

Then the ten-member choir with band takes a trip through the decades and transformed pop songs of different eras in the typical mystical and sacred Gregorian sound. The spectrum ranges from the classic "Crying In The Rain" by The Everly Brothers from the 60s through new editions of Fleetwood Mac hit "Dreams" and "Mad World" by Tears For Fears to songs by Björk and Coldplay.  In addition, two Gregorian-original songs can hear there

Musikproduzent Frank Peterson hat den Katalog seiner Mönchsgesangsgruppe Gregorian für Nordamerika an Curb Records lizenziert. Im Mai soll dort - unterstützt von einer TV-Kampagne - das erste Album, "Masters Of Chant", neu erscheinen. Von Oktober bis November präsentieren sich Gregorian dann auf einer 40 Städte umfassenden Tournee erstmals live in den USA.

Die Klassik-Crossover-Formation Gregorian gab in der Berliner Zitadelle am 27. Mai vor 3000 Zuschauern ihr einziges Deutschland-Konzert im Rahmen ihrer "Masters Of Chant"-Tour. Nachdem Veranstalter Shooter Promotions & Classics Mitte Mai Insolvenz angemeldet hatte, wurden alle weiteren Deutschland-Konzerte abgesagt. Das Konzert in Berlin fand jedoch statt, da der örtliche Veranstalter Trinity Concerts nach einem erfolgreichen Vorverkauf von 2500 Tickets die Pflichten Shooters übernahm.

Der Tourneeveranstalter Shooter Promotions & Classics GmbH hat in der Vergangenheit erfolgreich Events und Konzerte geplant und durchgeführt. Neben dem laufenden Konzertbetrieb als örtlicher Veranstalter hat sich Shooter besonders als Veranstalter von Tourneen der Künstler Robin Gibb, Doro, Paul Anka, Jeff Beck oder Nena in den letzten 20 Jahren etabliert. Shooter wurde für die Gregorian World Tour 2006 als Veranstalter beauftragt. Jetzt steht die Shooter Promotions & Classics GmbH vor der Zahlungsunfähigkeit und hat Insolvenzanmeldung angekündigt. Besonders bitter für Gregorian: Trotz guten Vorverkaufs konnten von Shooter keine Zahlungen für Gregorian geleistet werden.

Producer Frank Peterson has extended his contract with edel records. In recent years, he produced for edel including Sarah Brightman, Enigma and the Gregorian albums. These are concluded with a new release into the race. The fifth produced by Peterson for noble Gregorian album "The Dark Side" comes on the 25th October in the stores. Joachim Harbich, General Manager at edel records will, with "The Dark Side" to build on the successes of the predecessor, which sold over three million units: "That we could not and would not be missed. Finally, share good ideas and high quality with durable on the market."

Die Musikbranche Österreichs verlieh am 8. Mai im ORF-Zentrum zum dritten Mal die Amadeus Austrian Music Awards.

Im Auftrag des MDR richten die TV-Produktionsfirmen STARnetOne und die Werner Kimmig GmbH am 11. Oktober ein Benefiz-Konzert aus, das die ARD live überträgt. Alle Erlöse gehen an das Deutsche Rote Kreuz, das damit die Bevölkerung in Afghanistan und Pakistan unterstützen will. Unter der Moderation von Axel Bulthaupt treten unter anderem Roxette, Right Said Fred, Sarah Brightman, Howard Carpendale, Nena, Gregorian, Loona, Orange Blue und Corinna May auf.

"Chapter II" erscheint am 15. Oktober, wurde wieder von Frank Peterson produziert und enthält neben Coverversionen von Songs wie "Child In Time" und "Wish You Were Here" auch die Eigenkomposition, "Moment Of Peace". "Neben Orange Blue ist das Album deutschlandweit eines unserer wichtigsten Themen", erklärt Geisemeyer.