RIGA - There's absolutely nothing in the world that cannot be defined. There is a logical explanation for everything, be it evolution or how the Chinese get away with all their counterfeit. There has to be.
And there probably is, otherwise the world makes as much as no sense at all. There are people who know all that stuff. What you and I take as a phenomenon is an everyday routine for those people. They can make a two-hundred-thousand ton aircraft carrier levitate, using nothing but a pencil sharpener and a potato, before having breakfast.
That's quite impressive, but what's even more impressive is the impact of the intangible and the invisible, such as religion. I happen to know a couple of people who'd say that a flying ship is nothing, compared to what Jesus did a couple of thousand years ago. And really, more than two billion people believe in Christ, and are absolutely indifferent to progress. They believe that no human is smart enough to come up with stuff like that and that it's all God's will. Try selling something to a person who thinks that his life is purposeless and that it doesn't matter what you do, everything has been decided for you, long before you were even born. Well, to appeal to 1/3 of the population of the Earth, some people did manage to work out a synergy between business and religion. But there's even a greater genius who has managed to merge Christianity and showbiz, and in fact it worked out so well that even people who've never heard about the existence of the Pope like the oeuvre of his band very much. I'm talking about Frank Peterson and his 'Gregorian.'
For those of you who don't know anything about 'Gregorian,' a bit of history. It is a German band, founded by Frank Peterson, a German producer who's been working with 'Enigma,' Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli. The band specializes on re-mastering the world's greatest pop and rock songs into an unusual genre 's a 'choral chant' which emerged in the 6th century, when Pope Gregory the first was promoting singing in churches.
Featuring ten British choir singers and Sarah Brightman's youngest sister 's Amelia 's as a solo singer, you'd think that perhaps it should then be called a 'British band,' but it isn't. Just accept it. Peterson is German, and he's filed a lawsuit claiming copyright violation by YouTube, so now even the UK is scared to claim that the band is British. Let's just leave it at that.
They are currently on their 10th anniversary world tour with their latest album 'Masters of Chant Chapter VII,' which they released at the end of September and will be performing in Riga and Tallinn this weekend.
The album includes re-mastered versions of famous songs by 'Depeche Mode,' 'Led Zeppelin,' 'U2,' 'ABBA' and many other world-famous bands and singers. And it isn't just the Gregorian chant. They've brought their own sound and light equipment they need for performing, a laser show and a substantial amount of some sophisticated pyrotechnics to make their show even more memorable, as well as breathtaking.
The 'Gregorian' will perform in the Arena Riga this Sunday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. and the next day, Nov. 9 in Tallinn's Nokia Concert Hall at 8 p.m.
