Poor Clares of Arundel become first nuns with back-to-back classical number-one albums

SussexWorld

They say they are just doing what they do day in day out, but in the past couple of years it has made them the highest charting nuns ever.

Transcript

00:00Good afternoon, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers. Now this

00:06is exciting to be speaking to Sister Leo and Sister Gabriel, because we have the second

00:12album from the Poor Clares of Arundel. The first one was four years ago. Monster success.

00:18Now four years later, we have My Piece I Give You, released on Decca. Goodness, how exciting

00:25is this? And how do you explain why everyone, how everyone took that first album to their

00:31hearts? I think it's been amazing for us, you're right, that we did enter into the heart

00:37of everybody somewhere and we, on our second album, our Franciscan heart to meet the heart

00:44of each person who listens. We've been thrilled with the response, surprised, but delighted.

00:55We hope that this second album will take it deeper, take it to another level, explore

01:02the beauty of creation and the peace that we're so desiring.

01:07And the lovely thing, Sister Leo, is that the second album, just as the first album,

01:11is essentially you doing what you do day in, day out anyway, isn't it? It's your life,

01:18isn't it? Your musical life.

01:20Yes. I mean, they say to sing is to pray twice. And our life is based very much on prayer

01:28and silence and also living in unity. That's our life. We're hoping that this album, with

01:36the different quotes that we've taken from Francis and Claire and from scripture, will

01:42actually speak to people where they are today. Because even four years is, in one sense,

01:49how the world has changed in those four years.

01:53Absolutely. But the lovely upshot of singing twice, praying twice, is that your record

01:58company is now describing you as the highest charting nuns ever. How does that sound?

02:05It sounds very amazing, unbelievable, but I don't know who we're in competition with.

02:12Not that we're in competition with anybody, but we're delighted, absolutely delighted,

02:18that who we are and the music that we share with you is speaking to the hearts of people.

02:26We're just so pleased.

02:28And Sister Gabriel, you were saying there are two key things for the new album,

02:32and one of those is in the title, isn't it?

02:35Absolutely, two key. In my piece, I give you, I mean, in our world where there's so much

02:41violence and war, when we look at the situation between Gaza and Palestine, the Russia and

02:47Ukraine, Haiti, the Sudan, it's endless. It's somewhere to be ourselves, the peace

02:53has to begin with us, to be women of peace, to share that peace. Perhaps through listening

02:59to our music, we find a place of peace within us, and then we can share that. It's waves of

03:06peace that we'd like to just channel through everywhere, and we can all do it. We can all

03:14do it.

03:14And the second point, which is also so important, is that in the middle section of the album,

03:23is this, we call it a chronicle of creation. It's the words of Saint Francis, and he's

03:28speaking about our planet. He says, brother sun, sister moon, mother earth. And it's about

03:36being in relationship with, I think for so long we've dominated the planet, we've used it,

03:42exploited it, and we have to really find this way of being in relationship with it.

03:49So we hope that through the music, this can happen.

03:52And you were saying about the peace, you found that with the first album too, that

03:56babies were soothed, that people suffering dementia were soothed, that

04:02hospital were comforted. That's remarkable.

04:05I think a lot of people these days listen to music with a sort of a background,

04:10and they don't kind of participate in it. But I feel that what we were hoping for,

04:17which has happened, is that the music has taken people to a deeper level,

04:22that in themselves, and please God, the deeper level is more peaceful, and they receive

04:27consolation for the struggles that they're going through. And certainly people that have contacted

04:33us, haven't just, they're not writing to say thank you for the album, they're writing to say

04:39thank you for the music, because, and sharing part of their story with us. And that actually

04:44is really touching. And in a sense, I think that's also what gave us the courage to take

04:51the plunge and do it again. Because we feel, you know, the more people that can,

04:58they can feel that, find that place within themselves.

05:03So might you be thinking about a third album at some stage?

05:07Who knows? That's enough for the day, one day at a time and step by step, we're seeing. Yes,

05:13because the thing is, we want people to really enjoy, enjoy this new album. It is different,

05:20although this, you know, similar, it's a similar way of doing things. We're trying to help people

05:27just breathe slower, breathe deeper. And it is, it is difficult. The different messages, Sister

05:34Gabriel has said, there are different points in this one than there were in the last one.

05:40Fantastic. Well, lovely to speak to you both. Sister Leo, Sister Gabriel, and congratulations

05:46on the album. Thank you so much. So we just, just want to say that we hope that whoever

05:53reads your article, or whoever's listening to this, that they can have a great enjoy,

05:59just enjoy it. In the moment, in the moment, yes, yes. So thank you, John.

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