Gregorian (band)

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Gregorian
Gregorian at the 2016 Unser Lied für Stockholm
Gregorian at the 2016 Unser Lied für Stockholm
Background information
OriginGermany
Genres
Years active
  • 1991
  • 1998–present
LabelsEdel
Websitegregorian.de
Members
  • Frank Peterson
  • Amelia Brightman
  • Eva Mali ( Zarina Maliti )
  • Richard Naxton
  • Johnny Clucas
  • Chris Tickner
  • David Tilley
  • Gerry O'Beirne
  • Lawrence White
  • Rob Fardell
  • Daniel Williams
  • Brendan Matthew
  • Ashley Turnell
Past membersMatthias Meissner (initial project)
Thomas Schwarz (initial project)

Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment. They competed in Unser Lied für Stockholm the German national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Masters of Chant". They placed 5th in the first round of the public voting, missing the top 3. They gained 9.06% of the public vote.

Band history[]

Originally, Gregorian was conceived as a more pop-oriented group in the vein of Enigma. Under this concept, Peterson together with Matthias Meissner and Thomas Schwarz, recorded the 1991 album Sadisfaction, with lead vocals provided by : Susana Espelleta (Peterson's wife at the time) and Birgit Freud. However, this was the only album by the trio in that style.

In 1998, Peterson and his team of Jan-Eric Kohrs, Michael Soltau and Carsten Heusmann re-invented the project to perform popular songs in the Gregorian style. The criteria for song selection were strict; in order to be considered, a song needed to be translatable into the 7-tone scale. For each album, songs were carefully chosen in addition to original songs written by Jan-Eric Kohrs, Amelia Brightman and Carsten Heussman. Twelve vocalists - previously acclaimed session and choir singers - were then hired to record the tracks.

Each Gregorian album was initially digitally tracked at Nemo Studios, Peterson's Hamburg studio. The vocalists then record their parts in a church atmosphere with dimmed lights and candles, in order to escape what Peterson referred to in a 2001 interview as the "cold and technical" studio atmosphere.[1]

The concept proved to be successful, and the group proceeded to record several more Masters of Chant albums in the same style. Their 2004 album, The Dark Side, was a slight departure from the others, featuring a darker repertoire. In 2005, The Masterpieces, a compilation album with a live DVD, was released. A fifth Masters of Chant album was released on 31 March 2006. In 2006, a festive album was also released, titled Christmas Chants. A sixth Masters of Chant album was released on 28 September 2007. In 2009, a seventh Masters of Chant album followed. On 8 September 2010 the next album, titled The Dark Side of Chant, was announced to be published on 15 October 2010.[2] In 2012, Epic Chants was published with the collaboration of the Russian newcomer Eva Mali, in 2015 the tenth album from the Masters of Chant series was released, titled Masters of Chant X: The Final Chapter, in 2016, Live! Masters of Chant - Final Chapter Tour, in 2017, Masters of Chant — The Platinum Collection and in November 19, 2019: 20/2020

Gregorian in 2009

Tours[]

Gregorian have toured parts of Europe, China, Russia and Japan. Live concert DVDs have also been released.

Band singers[]

The male singers of Gregorian are/were Adrian Coverdale-Hill, Alain Bernard, Alexandre Mack, Andrew Busher, Andrew Keelan, Ashley Turnell, Ben Regan, Benjamin Clee, Benoit Riou, Berwyn Pearce, Brendan Matthew, Chris Goater, Chris Hogan, Christopher Tickner, Daniel Hoadley, Daniel Williams, David Chabert, David Porter-Thomas, David Tilley, Douglas Lee, Edward Hands, Frederic Bernard, Gauthier Fenoy, Gerard O'Beirne, Gregory Moore, Jeremy Birchall, John Grave, John Langley, Jonathan Clucas, Karim Bouzra, Lawrence White, Loic Boissier, Mark Anderson, Mark Bradbury, Matthew Long, Matthew Minter, Matthew Vine, Michael Dore, Narcis Iustin Ianău, Nicolas Kern, Paul Badley, Peter Sturt, Phil Conway, Pierre Kuzor, Rhys Bowden, Richard Collier, Richard Naxton, Robert Fardell, Robert Johnston, Roger Langford, Simon Baker, Simon Grant, Sion Lloyd, Stephane Werchowski, Stephen Miles, Stephen Weller, Thomas Barnard, Thomas Phillips, Timothy Holmes, Timothy Lacy, William King, William Purefoy and Yves Blanchard.

The female singers of Gregorian are/were Amelia Brightman, Anna-Lena Strasse, Anette Stangeberg, Charlotte Cracht, Eva Mali (Zarina Maliti), Joana Adu, Julia Dorandt, Marjan Shaki, Sarah Brightman, and Stefanie Hundertmark.

Discography[]

Gregorian have released ten albums in their Masters of Chant series and a number of other albums, including a Christmas album. They have also released two types of video album; live concerts and music video albums featuring the singers in various surroundings.

Initial project[]

Masters of Chant albums[]

Other albums/compilations[]

  • 2005: The Masterpieces (Best of CD and live DVD)
  • 2006: Christmas Chants
  • 2007: (Curb Records)
  • 2011: Best of 1990–2010
  • 2016: Live! Masters of Chant - Final Chapter Tour
  • 2017: Masters of Chant — The Platinum Collection
  • 2019: 20/2020

Singles[]

Video albums[]

  • 2001: Masters of Chant in Santiago de Compostela
  • 2001: Moments of Peace in Ireland
  • 2002: Masters of Chant Chapter III
  • 2003: Gold Edition
  • 2005: The Masterpieces
  • 2007: Masters of Chant: Live at Kreuzenstein Castle
  • 2008: Christmas Chants & Visions
  • 2011: Masters of Chant Chapter 8 (Gregorian Live in Europe 2011: The Dark Side of the Chant) - Limited Edition (CD & DVD)
  • 2012: Epic Chants "Dark Side of the Chants Live in Zagreb" - Limited Edition (CD & DVD)
  • 2013: Epic Chants Tour 2013 "Live in Belgrade" - Deluxe Edition (CD & DVD)
  • 2016: Masters of Chant - Final Chapter Tour (CD & DVD, blu-ray) (Limited Fan Edition including 4 additional music videos and the complete concert on double CD)

References[]

  1. ^ "Q&A: Frank Peterson". The Age. 26 August 2001. Archived from the original on 28 August 2001. Retrieved 6 August 2006.
  2. ^ The announcement of the new album Archived 2011-03-19 at the Wayback Machine, .

External links[]

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