Saint’s friar goes marching into studio with major record deal

Bosses at Decca Records in the UK have signed up the Franciscan friar, who has refused any money from the deal with all proceeds going towards charitable work.

Leading record producer Mike Hedges – who has won acclaim for his work with Manic Street Preachers and The Cure – discovered the Italian singer and has brought him to London to record.

The robed singer, who said he is “excited” by his new opportunity, is based at the original friary founded by Saint Francis of Assisi, the Porziuncola.

Hedges had been hunting for a gifted Italian tenor for a number of years and was urged to hear Friar Alessandro, who has long been a music fan despite received his “calling” as a teenager, and entering the friary at the age of 21.

The 34-year-old has been making his album at Abbey Road Studios in north London, and he took his first ever flight to begin recording. International executives from Decca’s parent company Universal flew into London today to hear his first performance outside Italy.

The friar works in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, welcoming many of the millions of visitors who flock in annually, and also works as a carpenter.

The singer loves classical composers such as Bach, Mozart and Verdi, but is also a huge fan of Michael Jackson.

Reflecting on the travels which will be necessary to promote the album, he said: “I feel excited, very excited, because it’s realised my vocation.”

He added: “Music for me is a direct line with God – and is the way to communicate with him. It is the way God used to communicate with us. It is the way to spread the gospel to everybody, the world – and it is a beautiful way.”

The album is due for release in October and will include traditional and modern sacred songs, including a new setting for a prayer written by St Francis of Assisi, on a track created by Royal Wedding composer Paul Mealor.