New York – The Benedictines of Mary return with their uplifting new recording Easter at Ephesus released March 3 on De Montfort Music/Decca/UMC.
Marking the Sisters’ fourth consecutive #1 debut on Billboard’s Classical Traditional Chart, they also are #1 on Billboard’s Classical Overall Chart and #6 on the Top 10 Internet Chart. Demonstrating their ever-growing fan-base, Easter At Ephesus also reached #1 on both iTunes’ and Amazon’s Classical Charts in its first week of release, and sat in the Top 5 of Barnes & Noble.com’s best-sellers alongside pop releases such as Kelly Clarkson and Diana Krall.
The 27-track album features an array of glorious chants and exhilarating hymns capturing the essence of Easter. The highly acclaimed voices of the nuns along with their inspiring story have resonated with audiences throughout the world. Easter at Ephesus follows their chart-topping albums Advent at Ephesus, Angels and Saints at Ephesus and Lent at Ephesus. Overall, the Benedictines have been Billboard’s best-selling classical traditional artist for three consecutive years from 2012 onwards.
This month, the Benedictines of Mary’s very own PBS special has multiple airings on stations throughout the country (check your local listings). As they remain cloistered, never leaving their priory nor allowing outsiders to come in, the Benedictines of Mary exclusively filmed and edited the show with De Montfort Music. Their one and only television interview aired on CBS Sunday Morning in April 2014.
The Sisters have also received accolades and coverage from the likes of EWTN, USA Today, FOX&Friends, Catholic News Agency, The Wall Street Journal, Vatican Radio, Good Morning America, National Public Radio and beyond.
To watch a new EPK trailer for Easter at Ephesus click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGLB0wOdJyk
About The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles
Founded in 1995, The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, are a young, contemplative order of Sisters. The Sisters are extremely musical. They do not set foot beyond their Midwest rolling farmland, focusing solely on a monastic life. Working on their farm and mostly living off the land, they sing together eight times a day as part of their daily Divine Office. Offering their lives in prayer and sacrifice for priests, the Benedictines of Mary use the work of their hands primarily for the making of priestly vestments. They also take care of gardens, an orchard and a small farm. Additionally, they paint gorgeous icons and live an artistic lifestyle based upon their religious vows. Leaving behind their families, bank accounts, and all of their possessions, these women live together in community following closely the Rule of St. Benedict, known for its standard of “ora et labora” (work and pray).
The order’s Prioress, Mother Cecilia, vacated her seat in the horn section with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra in Ohio to enter religious life, despite her conservatory background where music was emphasized over religion. A graduate of The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, in Houston, Texas, Mother Cecilia acts as arranger and drives the selection of repertoire for the recordings.
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