In Solesmes, a village in western France, it falls to the mayor “to console misguided tourists who want to hear the monks in its 11th-century monastery singing in Gregorian chant. ‘People come and ask, “Can you visit the concerts?” ‘ Tourists are restricted to the back of the church, he said, shaking his white hair in mock exasperation. ‘I tell them: “You can visit at the offices. You can admire the sculptures in the church.” But the monks say, “We’re not here to receive tourists; we’re contemplatives.” ‘ “