Gregorian
from WikiMusicGuide, the free music guide. Your music wiki.
Gregorian is an all-male group that sings popular music in the classical style of Gregorian chants. The German group is headed by Frank Peterson.
Contents |
About
The new Gregorian was formed by Frank Peterson in 1998, after the first Gregorian group in 1991 failed to capture the niche that already belonged to Enigma, which happens to be Peterson's former group as well.
Gregorian chants are songs in a seven-tone scale, as popularized by Pope Gregory I. The songs in Gregorian's albums strictly abide by this scale, which means tons of conversion from twelve-tone to seven-tone had to be done. Even songs which sound good but cannot qualify to this requirement are not included. Peterson also sticks to recording songs with only 12 singers, even if the group has 16 members. "Many singers have a family too, so they can't come to every Gregorian-Activity. To the total choir belong 16 singers, so we can choose them if they are ready," says Peterson.
Peterson took a risk as most groups who were able to record a Gregorian-inspired album would simply disappear after one release. But the market, however, was prepared to accept the first Gregorian album, Masters Of Chant.
Released in 1999, the first album went to top charts and became gold and platinum hits in Germany, Norway, Belgium, Australia, and other countries. A tour followed, and the audience was awed by the intricate design of the set, as the concerts took place in churches to put people in the mood.
In fact, Peterson takes extra measures to make sure that Gregorian feels as classical as possible when recording, to enforce the feeling of genuine Gregorian chanting. The albums are digitally tracked at Nemo Studios, Peterson's Hamburg studio, where the vocalists record their parts in a church atmosphere with dimmed lights and candles.
For their newest project, recording had to be done in summer when no Christmas spirit can be felt. The staff of Angel Studios in London, a converted old church where the Gregorian choir recorded, decorated the enormous space with Christmas ornaments. Quoting Peterson, "We really had a Christmas tree standing there during the recordings. The space also had no windows, so you had no sense of time or weather conditions because everything was dark. We didn't mind. After three days in the studio, we actually thought it was the middle of Advent."
Gregorian Members
- Frank Peterson
- Carsten Heusmann
- Philip Conway
- Thomas Barnard
- Jeremy Birchall
- Andrew Busher
- Michael Soltau
- Mark Bradbury
- Timothy Holmes
- Roger Langford
- Gregory Moore
- David Porter Thomas
- Christopher Tickner
- Michael Dore
- John Langly
- Alex Mack
- Jan-Eric Kors
- Paul Badley
- Simon Grant
- Lawrence White
- Matthew Vine
- Robert Fardell
- Simon Eddie Baker
- Chris Goater
News
Tours & Concerts
Announcements
- Gregorian has recently released a new album featuring songs for the Christmas season.
- the group will be on tour this Christmas season for their latest album, and the last concert of the tour will be three days before Christmas Eve.
Albums
The new Gregorian lineup has released a total of seven albums, excluding their special edition and DVD releases, and the first album of Frank Peterson's original Gregorian group entitled Sadisfaction.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Other artists
Similar artists
Influences
Contemporaries
Trivia
- Frank Peterson worked with artists like Sarah Brightman, Princessa, PeCh, Ofra Haza and Prince Ital Joe feat. Marky Mark.
- He stood on stage with SANDRA, as keyboarder at concerts and TV-shows, for whom he also composed music.
- He was once part of Enigma, a group which released the album "MCMXC a.D" and the hitsingle "Sadeness".
- He started his Gregorian project using his music parts of Enigma on the release of his album "Sadisfaction".
