Schola Cantorum

The Schola Cantorum is an auditioned women's choir, open only to music students (and joint-honours music students). We specialise in Medieval Music.

The first rehearsal in 2011-12 will be on Thursday 13 October at 430pm; contact Emma Hornby to arrange an audition. It may be possible to join the choir later in the year, if there is space remaining. Again, contact Emma Hornby to ask.

Plans for 2011-12 include:

A lecture-recital entitled ‘Inscribed on the heart: the power of medieval music’ on Tuesday 18 October at 6pm, in the Wills Building Reception Room, as part of the InsideArts festival: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/arts/festival Booking via the festival webpage is highly recommended
A public workshop on Gregorian chant at St Mary Redcliffe church, Bristol. Saturday 19 November at 1130am, led by Dr Emma Hornby. Workshop fee Ł8/Ł4. To reserve your place, please send a cheque (payable to Dr Emma Hornby) to the Department of Music, University of Bristol, Victoria Rooms, Bristol BS8 1SA, together with your name and contact details.
The workshop will be followed by first vespers at 530pm for Christ the King, in Latin, performed by the workshop participants with the University of Bristol Music Department Schola Cantorum. The service will be led by the Priest-in-Charge, the Revd. Dr. Simon Taylor; admission free - all welcome.
A concert and commercial recording of material from te Fontevrault Gradual and the Las Huelgas Codex, directed by Emma Hornby, at the Temple Church, Fleet Street, London, in collaboration with the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, between Thursday 12 and Monday 16 April (concert date within those days, but tbc).

For further information about any of these events, or to book the choir for an event, conference or concert, please contact Emma Hornby.

In 2010-11:

We performed live examples in a lecture by Emma Hornby entitled ‘ “Silence is more eloquent than words” (Thomas Carlyle). Exploring the space between the notes in Gregorian chant’ Best of Bristol lecture series.
We gave the closing lecture-recital at the Bristol 17th Annual Medieval Studies conference: 'Shaping historical narratives through musical performance'.
We performed Italian laudesi in honour of St Catherine of Siena as part of a conference on the Saint.
We gave the third concert in the CMV series (Contemporary Music Venture), entitled Mediaeval vs. Contemporary, performing 12th-century polyphony from Aquitaine and from the Codex Calixinus, alternating with performances of new music by Bristol University student composers, inspired by that medieval repertory. Uninterrupted audio of the concert is available here: http://soundcloud.com/octogenarianmusic/cmv-3 and a video recording is available on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL89B74048F2F68035

In 2009-10:

We gave a series of workshops, recitals and lecture-recitals as part of an ESRC/AHRC Religion and Society Programme project on Old Hispanic chant. Highlights included: a public workshop and Lenten meditation at St Mary, Redcliffe; a lecture-recital at the Institute of Musical Research in London; and a workshop and a recital at the Leeds International Medieval Congress. Audio recordings from some of these events are available on Youtube

“You put so much into the workshop and it was great fun and very rewarding for the participants.”
“I very much enjoyed last Saturday's workshop and it was a wonderful experience to sing these chants in the darkened church”
“Thank you for your beautiful meditation”
“I found it incredibly moving”
“I wanted to let you know how beautiful I thought the service on Saturday night was. I found it a deeply spiritual and moving experience. It is proof that the fruit of your research can have a profound effect on people today, 1000+ years on, and what better reason to pursue it can there be?”

In November 2009, we sang Hildegard songs at the Institute of Greece, Rome and the Classical Tradition donor's event to an appreciative audience: "Thanks so much for your lyrical contributions. Lovely."; "both exhilarating and illuminating..."

In 2008-9:

We sang in a high profile joint concert with David Allinson's Cantores at St Mary, Redcliffe, where we sang the Gregorian Mass Proper chants for All Saints day. David then directed the choir during the second semester in performances of medieval carols, the Ockeghem requiem, and medieval hymns and renaissance madrigals.

In 2007-8:

We sang Gregorian chant, 13th-century motets, polyphony from the York mystery plays, and chants by Hildegard of Bingen. We also sang (in return for free tickets) at Goldney Ball.