Schola News

February 2021

Schola Cantorum released its newest video on February 20, 2021: A Sampler of Chansons, and Related Sacred Music, available on our YouTube channel.

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Donations

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Schola is presenting its videos without charge. Can you help us with a donation? 

Schola’s musicians are professionals, and Schola pays them.  The administrative work is done by volunteers, but Schola Cantorum needs continually to meet expenses such as printing, mailing, purchase of scores, vendor-provided publicity, and audio and video recording. Your donation will help to maintain the high quality of performances and to keep the audience growing for early music.

Three recordings, and work in progress

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The February Chansons release draws on repertoire Schola had intended to perform at our cancelled June 2020 live concert, with chansons of Sermisy, Josquin des Prez, Lasso, Janequin, and Du Fay, as well as Clemens non Papa's Ego Flos Campi and the Kyrie and Gloria from Du Fay's chanson-based Missa Se la face ay pale. Schola recorded Chansons in October 2020.

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In December 2020 Schola released Three Christmas Motets of Orlando di Lasso. Although first to be released, this actually was second to be recorded, on December 13.  You can still experience these gorgeous motets on Schola's YouTube channel.

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The Chansons and Lasso videos both are accompanied by written programs - with texts, translations, program notes and credits - produced with her customary flair and care by Debbie Breese-Garelick. They appear here, on this web site. 

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We were very pleased that on December 12, 2020, WCNY radio broadcast Schola’s Christmas concert from 2019, Navidad, on The Concert Hall program, hosted by Bruce Paulsen.

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Our work currently in progress draws on Tudor and early Jacobean sacred and secular music sung in English, featuring works by Tallis, Gibbons, Wilbye and Weelkes. This video will be released in June as part of the “Fringe Concert” series of the Boston Early Music Festival. Schola had hoped to travel to Boston and perform live at the BEMF, but video will need to do for this year.

Comments on COVID

What follow are Barry’s comments on Covid precautions. 

“Like every other performing arts organization in the world, we suspended our in-person activities in March 2020. While public concerts are still not viable now (as of February 2021) - although there is light now at the end of the tunnel - the singers of Schola started rehearsing in person under controlled circumstances in late August, with the goal of producing half-hour-long music videos. After a few outdoor rehearsals that were moderately successful, we came indoors (it was getting colder) to a venue with unusually good ventilation, the Anglican Church of St. Mary the Virgin, in Liverpool.

“With front and rear doors wide open, a constant breeze flows through the sanctuary. Singing in the round, spaced 6 feet apart, we comfortably fill the space. The friendly acoustics of the dark wood interior allow us to hear each other well and develop a cohesive sound. Using recommended protocols from recent studies on safe performance practice (singing in 25-minute spans, then vacating the space for 10 minutes to allow complete air exchange with fans helping the flow, and so forth) we have been able to rehearse regularly."

Schola is most grateful to the  Church of St. Mary, for making their lovely church available for our rehearsals and recording.

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