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10. 12. 08. - 16:00

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10. 12. 08. - 16:00

Singing monks studied Winehouse and co.

One of Austria’s chart-topping singing monks said he made himself used to contemporary music like Amy Winehouse and Coldplay "with a lot of self-discipline".

Father Karl of the monks of Zisterzienser monastery in Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria, told Austrian daily Die Presse: "I was surprised how much my younger colleagues know about those artists. They were fully aware of what it’s all about at press conferences and in interviews – unlike me."

This year, their successful run kicked off when the monks were signed up by Universal Music after beating more than 200 entries from around the world with their YouTube video submitted in response to the label's advertisement for a choir.

Their record "Chant - Music for Paradise" reached the UK top ten and topped the US classic charts.

The brothers' chants - the oldest written form of music in the world - are believed to be a favourite of Pope Benedict.

Now as the monks released a CD of Advent chants, Father Karl revealed what many listeners might not know about their first hit album. He said: "Back then, we had to cope with the death of our three oldest members. We were so impressed by the ‘beauty of dying’ and the liturgy. When record bosses asked us what we want to sing, we told them: ‘The death liturgy is the most uplifting thing we can offer at the moment.’"

Asked whether he has fears the albums become part of a new hypocritical lifestyle, Father Karl said: "Is lifestyle such a bad thing? A Turkish man who has to drive though Vienna for his job for twenty years told me he listens to it because it keeps him from freaking out."

Although their online video has become one of the most successful contributions from Austria, Father Karl is quick to make one thing clear: "We are certainly not a boy band and we are not going on tour!"

Father Karl also shrugs off the prospect of female fans, saying: "If groupies approach us, we will let them know we start singing each morning at 5.15am."

Asked how Christmas is celebrated at the monastery, Father Karl said: "We are a community of men. There are no excesses of romance or so. But it’s very nice nevertheless."

Austrian Times

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