The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz

Universal Music usually makes headlines with artists like Amy Winehouse or Eminem, but in early 2008, their colleagues in Great Britain decided to launch a singing competition of a very different kind: They wanted to find the world's best Gregorian chant and advertised this call for entries in the magazines Catholic Times, Catholic Herald, The Tablet, The Universe, and the Church Times. The prize: a record deal with Universal. The number of submissions received within a few weeks was immense. Monks from all corners of the earth sent self-burned CDs, some wanted to demonstrate their skills directly in the office, and brothers who were particularly open to media sent a link to a YouTube video. This one link convinced the expert jury so much that they became the winners of this unique casting event: The monks from Heiligenkreuz Abbey in the Vienna Woods. Especially because of their high vocal qualities and musicality, they were by far the stars of the competition. And not in a recording studio, but directly in the abbey church of Heiligenkreuz, the captivatingly beautiful album CHANT - MUSIC FOR PARADISE was recorded in March. An album full of examples of choral singing in its most original form, which is both calming and invigorating. CHARTS & AWARDS Highest position in the UK Pop Charts 4 weeks ago was #7, this week still at #15. Has now reached GOLD status there. In the Austrian Pop Charts, the album has been at #1 for four weeks, this week at #2, and is well on its way to achieving DOUBLE PLATINUM. US Classical Charts: #1, highest download numbers in the classical sector ever! In Germany, the album is at the top of the current Classical Charts, i.e., at #1, and has reached #5 in the Media Control Pop Charts! FACTS ABOUT HEILIGENKREUZ ABBEY Heiligenkreuz was founded in 1133. The abbey is visited by 150,000 –170,000 tourists annually. The daily routine begins at 05:15 AM every day. Gregorian chants are a form of prayer and meditation with biblical texts sung in Latin. These chants are sung 6 times a day, 7 days a week, for a total of 3 hours. The average entry age of monks in 2007 was 30. The youngest novice is 19, the oldest novice is 38 years old. Together, the monks are 4692 years old. The oldest monk is 83, the youngest 19. In February 2008, Father Cornelius, who had been sentenced to death by the Nazis, passed away at the age of 100. Various nationalities live together in Heiligenkreuz: 60% are Austrians, 25% are Germans, one monk comes from Sri Lanka, one from South Tyrol (Italy), and one from South Africa. The monks have very diverse professions. Not a few were active in business before entering the monastery and worked as managers, among other things. There is even a former BMW manager from Bavaria among them. The monks are up-to-date with electronic communication and new media. They use mobile phones as naturally as computers to do their work. By the way, they won the singing competition by submitting a link to YouTube that they had already posted online! The short film has now been viewed over 111,000 times. The monks are extremely active in sports. They play football, jog, and even have their own basketball team. And some monks even wear sneakers under their robes! The abbot of Heiligenkreuz's nephew is the very well-known Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck in Germany, who won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film last year for "The Lives of Others". Florian von Donnersmarck actually wrote the script in Heiligenkreuz in 2002! The monks have a lot of contact with young people and, due to high demand, also offer youth prayer times, which now attract up to 300 guests per month to spend 2 hours intensively in prayer. The monks of Heiligenkreuz also run 3 youth hostels.