French nuns make record deal despite isolation vows
A closed order of French nuns has signed an album deal with Universal Music after a worldwide search to find the best female singers of Gregorian Chant.
Issued on: Modified:
The record label announced the deal on Sunday.
The Benedictine sisters cannot leave their abbey near the southern French city of Avignon and visitors are rarely allowed in.
To protect their vow of isolation, recording engineers were only allowed into the convent when the nuns were in a different part of the building. They set up microphones in the chapel, and left it while the nuns sang, directing the recording remotely.
To promote the album, which will go on sale in November, the nuns will film their own television commercial and photograph the album cover.
Universal employees visited more than 70 convents worldwide before making their choice. The label was inspired by the success of a 2008 album by the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz in Austria.
Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse are among the artistes on Unversal's books.
Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning
Subscribe