The remarkable Monks of the Desert, who spend their daily hours praying for peace, working and studying in silence, make their major label debut on Sony Masterworks with an album of Gregorian chant, Blessings, Peace and Harmony. Named after Pope Gregory I, Gregorian chant involves the early Christian liturgical music that originated in medieval times and forms the roots of Western classical music.
"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. "According to various studies, chanting has some strange effect on brain waves," notes Abbot Philip. In modern times, many people have been attracted to Gregorian chant believer or non-believer. There is something ethereal and transcendent about the sound, not only as entertainment, but as a deepening of a life of prayer, inner peace and sharing with others. The Monks believe that Gregorian chant is a way of touching hearts and minds. With Blessings, Peace and Harmony they hope to bring others into a world in which peace, inner tranquility and an appreciation of beauty prevail.
About the Monks:
The Monastery of Christ in the Desert is located completely "off-the-grid" in the stunning Chama Canyon wilderness in northwestern New Mexico, about 75 miles north of Santa Fe. When not praying or studying, the monks run a multitude of self-sustaining businesses including light manufacturing, brewing beer (Monk's Ale & Monk's Wit), an on-site "hotel," community thrift store in Santa Fe and a separate retail store specializing in hand-crafted religious items, books, music and folk art.
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