Group Gregorian: history of appearance

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Group Gregorian became famous for their unique performance of world rock and pop hits. The compositions fascinate with their originality and, bypassing the brain, penetrate directly into the heart. And the whole secret lies in the fact that the songs of the Gregorian group are performed in the style of Gregorian church chant, against which modern electronic music sounds. The compositions have some resemblance to Enigma, which is no coincidence.

A little about the leader of the project

Frank Patterson was born on December 20, 1963 in Hamburg. At the age of four, the boy first began to master the simplest works on the piano, reaching the highest mastery in this art by the puberty period. The founding father of Gregorian began his musical career in the distant 80s, when he was an ordinary salesman in a studio equipment shop.

In his free time (when there were no visitors), Patterson recorded his work, which was soon shown to MichelCretu - one of the regular customers, who at that time was not yet famous. The demo recording was appreciated, so soon the new acquaintances went to Munich, where Frank became the keyboardist for Sandra from Arabesques. The most outstanding work of that period was the performance of the world hit of the singer called "Mary Magdalena".

Backstory

The musician worked in the project for five years, which did not prevent him from creating music for other artists. Many compositions were recorded together with Michel Cretu, and after he married Sandra, the friends went to Ibiza. It was there that the Enigma project was born, and the first album was presented to the world in 1990.

Biography

Group Gregorian was born in 1991 thanks to Frank Patterson - the founding father and producer of the project in Hamburg (Germany). In Ibiza, he worked with Michel Cretu on Enigma's first album called MCMXC a. D., and to add some mystery, their names are heavily veiled under the pseudonyms Curly M. C. and F. Gregorian. They also co-wrote the hit Sadeness and the lyrics to The Voice & the Snake, which was inspired by reading the Bible. However, due to creative differences, Cretu and Patterson soon parted ways, which prompted Frank to return to his homeland and pursue his own art.

While on vacation in Spain, the musician met Thomas Schwartz, who was great friends with keyboards. The two guys were serious about creating something new andunique, plus Matthias Meisener, Michael Ver and Frank Patterson's ex-wife Susanna Espelleta joined the duo.

Bad Start

When enough material was accumulated to release the album, the debut vinyl of Gregorian - Sadisfaction was born. The name of the project is directly associated with Gregorian liturgical chants that once came to Europe along with Christianity from Israel, Syria and Palestine. Moreover, the word gregorian refers to Pope Gregory I, who proposed a new chronology calendar.

With the name everything was clear, but the lack of keen interest in the unusual musical mix forced Frank Patterson to suspend the project. The same cannot be said about the Enigma group, which, on the contrary, quickly fell in love with representatives of the most diverse audience.

Promotion of other projects

For most of the 90s, Frank produced artists such as Ofra Haza, Sarah Brightman and Princess. He has established himself as an outstanding producer and a talented creator of extraordinary music that could make the soul cry and rejoice - either sweeping away everything in its path, or reviving from the ashes.

Toward 1998, the public was prepared enough to accept the combination of genres such as pop rock with new age and liturgical chant, so Patterson stepped out of the shadows, choosing the most opportune moment for this. It was then that he dusted off his offspring called Gregorian.

Membersproject

1. Frank Paterson is the author and leader of the band.
2. Sarah and Amelia Brightman - female vocals.
3. Günter Laudan - guitar.
4. Roland Pale - percussion.
5. Harry Reismann - drums.
6. Male choir.

Renaissance

The new idea for the project was to perform various compositions that were popular at that time in the Gregorian style. The whole secret was just this - what could be better than the new "tasty" sound of the hits that are familiar and beloved by everyone? With music, everything was clear, but the main element was missing - voices that could emphasize the meaning conveyed by the melody. For this, Frank Patterson recruited a choir of ten people, each of whom was either a native of the cathedral or a bachelor of the Classical Academy. And, in order to give the voices good acoustics and set the performers in the right mood, the producer rented a studio, which was equipped in one of the oldest cathedrals in England. By his order, during the recording, the room was lit with the flame of two hundred wax candles.

Heyday

Soon, the band began to receive a lot of offers from the organizers of the concerts, each of which was accepted. The musicians traveled around different cities, delighting fans with their bright show program and wonderful rock sound. In 2001, a DVD called Moments of peace in Ireland was released, containing clips of the Gregorian group, in which members of the choir, dressed inmonastic cassocks, singing against the backdrop of beautiful Irish landscapes. It also emphasizes the divine meaning of the vocal delivery.

Conclusion

Frank Patterson is not only a talented composer and songwriter, sound engineer and arranger, but also a versatile musician. He himself is able to show one of the participants exactly how this or that fragment should sound, picking up a guitar, sitting down at a synthesizer or drum kit. In addition, Frank has the vision of a producer and knows what needs to be done with a song in order to present it in the best possible light.

Such a project was a very risky undertaking, but the shot hit the target, and all eight albums of the Gregorian group were more than successful commercially. The repertoire is extremely rich in its diversity and includes both Christmas songs and world hits from such rock bands as the Beatles, Deep Purple, Led Zepellin, AC / DC, Metallica, Rammstein » and «CHEM».

Besides, Gregorian performs their own compositions. During live performances, the church choir sounds truly grandiose against the background of standard rock instruments and takes the listener into a surreal world far from our planet.