Can Gregorian chants find a wider audience?

By Gina Adams

 

Tucked away on the outskirts of nowhere in a canyon in northwest New Mexico is the Christ of the Desert monastery, home to an American order of Benedictine monks.  The solar-powered facility is surrounded by miles of government-protected wilderness, thus assuring and promoting solitude and quiet for the religious life experienced by 35 men from several nations. lovingly known as the Monks of the Desert.  This month, Sony Masterworks will introduce the world to these quiet monks with the release of their new CD of Gregorian chants entitled Blessings, Peace and Harmony.

 

“The kind of singing that we do calms the spirit and helps us live in peace with our world and with one another,” says Abbot Philip Lawrence, a scholar of chant who also leads the Monastery of Christ In The Desert. “Chanting has some strange effect on the brain waves according to various studies,” continues Abbot Philip, but this effect is certainly not the Monks of the Desert’s objective; rather their goal, and that of Gregorian chant, notes Abbot Philip, is “to focus on the words rather than the challenge of voice production or sight reading. It is always our hope that our singing will bring others to peace, inner tranquility and an appreciation of beauty. These values can help create a world in which peace and tranquility prevail.”