Producer Frank Peterson on new Gregorian album, with Linda Ronstadt flip side

German producer Frank Peterson, who brought the soothing sound of the vocal choir Gregorian to Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” on Pure Chants in 2021, is back with Gregorian on Pure Chants II and soon, a 25th anniversary world tour. On stage, Gregorian creates a lavish, awe-inspiring live experience, blending dramatic imagery and atmosphere with the sensory imagination of its unique music. Goldmine discusses Gregorian’s versions of songs by Linda Ronstadt and Leonard Cohen, classical numbers, and Christmas carols, along with an early ‘90s hit single when he was part of the group Enigma. We conclude the session with his production of Sarah Brightman and KISS’ Paul Stanley.

GOLDMINE: Welcome to Goldmine. Congratulations on the decades of music that you have entertained us with. Now you have a new collection of songs with Gregorian’s Pure Chants II. What immediately caught my attention was your inclusion of Linda Ronstadt’s “Winter Light.” In late 1993, after we did a big city to small town move from Chicago to Roanoke, Virginia, one of the first new songs that I heard on the soft rock FM station Q99 was Linda Ronstadt’s beautiful single “Heartbeats Accelerating.” I also saw her perform it on late night television with Dennis James on a glass armonica, which he spun, while sitting. I bought the Winter Light CD, which ends with the ethereal title tune.

FRANK PETERSON: I bought the CD as well. Originally, I wanted Sarah Brightman to sing Linda Ronstadt’s “Winter Light,” but then I thought that Gregorian would suit it even nicer, with the group’s vocal sound shaping up better and better as the years go by, as we head to our 25th anniversary.

Linda Ronstadt

Fabulous Flip Side: Winter Light

A side: Heartbeats Accelerating

Billboard Hot 100 debut: December 4, 1993

Peak position: No. 112

Elektra 4-64584

GM: In that same early ‘90s era, you were part of Enigma, who we first heard in America on the Top 5 gold single “Sadeness Part 1,” with Gregorian chants backed by a rhythm track on the new age hit.

FP: That Enigma album is the most successful German production of all-time, reaching the Top 10 in twenty countries worldwide, including the U.S., where it sold over four million copies alone. It is certainly the biggest project that I have ever been involved in.

GM: Let’s continue with songs from the new album. Each December I hear the melody of “Greensleeves” from the 1500s with the 1800s lyrics “What Child is This?” On Pure Chants II, the group sings the “Greensleeves” lyrics, which I seldom hear. There is a 1969 guitar and orchestra instrumental version by Mason Williams, who had a big hit in the prior year with “Classical Gas,” so, hearing “Greensleeves” with a “Classical Gas”-like arrangement is a treat that my wife Donna and I enjoy. This vocal version is also a treat in a different way. Hearing words, pleading for a return to love, is so fitting with the melody.

FP: This version also has a classical guitar, with a slight bagpipe sound underneath the vocals at the end.

GM: The first time that I heard “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” was as a rock song on AM radio when I was thirteen, as “Joy” by England’s Apollo 100, a studio group led by Tom Parker on keyboards. Our daughter Brianna would play that arrangement on piano growing up.

FP: “Joy” was ingenious because they turned Bach’s piece into a shuffle. Not many listeners immediately realized at that time that it was a classical piece. Being German, of course we would listen to Bach in music school and learn everything about his works, so it is ingrained in me.

GM: Donna and I have seen Trans-Siberian Orchestra fifteen times, significantly more times than any other group. In their concerts, they have often included “O Fortuna” from Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” which my friend Bob introduced me to in the ‘70s when we were teenagers. I love your live video with Hieronymus Bosch’s artwork fittingly as the backdrop.

FP: Thank you. I have seen TSO live twice. I think with “Carmina Burana,” that is where rock and classical fans meet in the middle. We originally did “O Fortuna” as a power metal piece on an album called The Dark Side, which also included songs by Evanescence, The Doors, Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne. The version recorded for this album is a choir piece. It is obviously a great composition that works in every style. Gregorian and rock music follow the same scale; therefore, most tracks work. It just shows that nothing much else has happened in the last 800 years since the first Gregorian chant was notated. We stick mostly to twelve notes, so the two genres fit well together.

GM: Forty years ago, most of us missed Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on its release. It caught on much later. This song is my favorite on Pure Chants II because it comes through so clearly and emotionally.

FP: “Hallelujah” came out at a time when Leonard Cohen was not considered hip, but now his music is totally back in the focus, because kids these days love poetry. They revisit him, Joni Mitchell, and Patti Smith. In 1984, in the video era, music had become very shallow and superficial. Then in 2001, it was prominently featured in the Shrek soundtrack, performed by Rufus Wainwright, and suddenly people realized it was a Leonard Cohen song. I am glad that Leonard was able to cash in on Shrek while he was still alive.

GM: The album ends with Christmas bonus songs. One that you taught me is “Huron Carol.” I grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, with one of the Great Lakes in my backyard, the Canadian province of Ontario on the other side of the water. I listened to a lot of Canadian music but missed “Huron Carol” until this album. Yesterday I listened to Sarah McLachlan’s version for the first time. This song is a wonderful melodic treasure which I have now learned is Canada’s oldest Christmas carol, from 1642.

FP: There is so much music available to us now, and I am constantly researching songs that are new to me, listening for melodies that turn me on, and wondering what best fits Gregorian. I thought that “Huron Carol” would be perfect with its ancient sounding lyrics. I spend four to five months a year digging through music as a producer. For Christmas music, I search for songs that are lesser known, then nice people like you ask, “Where did you find that song?” That is exactly what I want.

GM: On a Christmas oldies show in the ‘80s in Richmond, Virginia, I heard a ‘60s version of “Noel Nouvelet” as a folk Christmas song by The Kingston Trio called “Sing We Noel.” I learned “Coventry Carol” through Annie Lennox as “Lullay Lullay” from her classy traditional 2010 CD, A Christmas Cornucopia, which I play every year on her birthday, December 25. I was thrilled to hear Gregorian’s versions of these songs which I didn’t recognize by the titles. The year before A Christmas Cornucopia was released was my first time seeing and meeting KISS, through their drummer Eric Singer, who has been my friend since elementary school in the ‘60s. By the time I first met KISS’ Paul Stanley that evening, you had already worked with him.

FP: Yes. We had a song that was meant to be the title of the tenth Pokémon movie. The song came from Norway called “Where the Lost Ones Go.” I called my manager in Los Angeles and told him that we need a male singer to sing the song with Sarah Brightman. Elton John couldn’t do it because he was on tour. Jon Bon Jovi loved the song, but he was also on tour, but Paul Stanley had three to four weeks off from touring. He called me up. With me being a massive KISS fan, I couldn’t believe it when he said, “Hi. This is Paul Stanley. I love the song. Let’s do it.” We met after the recording was done when KISS was on tour in Berlin, and I found him to be such a nice person. One might think that Sarah and Paul would have been a mismatch, but when you listen to the song on Sarah’s Symphony album, it fits perfectly. Paul has such a star voice. Only then did I find out that he had performed in Phantom of the Opera in Toronto and that he had been following Sarah’s career.

GM: Paul and Eric, along with quite a group of musicians and singers, released an album of soul music in 2021 by Paul Stanley’s Soul Station called Now and Then with five originals and nine covers that fit Paul so well. One of Sarah’s songs that I enjoy so much is “Island,” the powerful flip side of “Captain Nemo.”

FP: Wow! I am happy you know this song. I wrote “Island” during the Enigma time, but it didn’t make the album, so I left it for Sarah. I do hope to see you in the U.S. on the second leg of our 25th anniversary tour. Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it. It is great to talk with somebody who really knows music. All the best to you and your family during this holiday season. 

Related link:

www.gregorian.de

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