Gregorian chants for cheese

Bosses at a school for dairy farmers say a chart-topping monks' chant has turned their cheese into a prize winner.

The 'Chant - Music of Paradise' album, which reached the top 10 in Britain, is played over and over again to two and a half tonnes cheese as it matures in cellars at the school in Graz-Altgrottenhof, Austria.

"Cheese matures with the help of micro-organisms which I am sure also feel vibes. The music is very simple and I think that is what helps," said head teacher Erich Kerngast.

Since serenading their product with the monks' chants, the school has won a string of prizes for its Grottenhofer Auslese cheese. "We put in a Dolby Surround hi-fi system worth £1,600 and have been playing the Gregorian chant in there over and over again…"