Schola Cantorum

[Luckdragon]

Thomaskirche, Leipzig

LQ always with that huge smile that makes me smile.

[Celtic]

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Don't tell me, DW somehow managed to get grass-stains on his robe, despite there being no lawn within a 1km radius?

[Luckdragon]

Don't tell me, DW somehow managed to get grass-stains on his robe, despite there being no lawn within a 1km radius?

Well, there are different kinds of grass.

FM clearly does not approve.

[filiarheni]

I am very happy to have been able to attend the CVMS Leipzig performances. The trip more than paid off, as they performed three brilliant and very moving services: twice a so-called "Motette", a particular musical service at the Thomaskirche and a Sunday service followed by communion. The choir covered a broad range with regard to music epochs and their sound was so beautiful in the acoustics of that church - Thomaskirche and Schola Cantorum perfectly match.

My seat for the Motetten was directly in the front, once on the right, then on the left; although the church was well filled, it was no problem to get a front seat. From there my view of course couldn't have been better, while the sound came across a little unbalanced at times, so you could hear some individual voices more prominently here and there, but that's normal, when you hear it from so close, I'd say, and it didn't reduce my enjoyment one bit.
For the Sunday two-part service I chose a seat in the exact middle of the church, while the Schola sang the first pieces from the front and then went up to the Sauer organ loft in the back. And what came down from there in choral sound, blending and expression was simply divine! The church is a beauty with wonderful stained glass windows and nothing was easier than to take in the church's atmosphere, let the music sink in and then sink into contemplative thoughts myself.

I enjoyed every second and this was much extended, because the church was open to the public during their rehearsals on Saturday and Sunday, really nice.

Not only the singing was impressive, but also the boys' language deserves full admiration! They had a mountain of German to learn: not only did they sing Bach's full 11-part motet "Jesu, meine Freude", but also the hymns together with the parish, some liturgical parts and the spoken Lord's Prayer as well as the Creed. Their pronunciation was excellent and clear. Fabulous work, kudos to them!

I also especially liked the way Scott Price conducted each ending of a piece. His arms are not risen in any way anymore, but taken back and then he only makes a small movement with his hands that can't be seen behind him to show the choir when to stop. It is unspectacular and modest, subordinating to the music, and I really like that.


Here are the music lists (edit: with the music the choir performed alone marked in blue):

Motette, 24.02.2023, 18:00
Organ prelude: Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Prelude in C minor, op. 37, 1/1
Herr, höre meine Stimme
Gregorio Allegri: Miserere Mei
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Super Flumina
William Byrd: Ne irascaris
William Byrd: Civitas sancti
Anton Bruckner: Christus factus est
Hymn: Liebe, die du mich zum Bilde
Gustav Holst: Nunc dimittis
Kyrie eleison
Lasst uns preisen den Herrn
John Rutter: The Lord Bless You and Keep You
Organ postlude: Johannes Brahms, Intermezzo in E major, op. 116, Nr. 6 (arr. Edwin Lemare)


Motette, 25.02.2023, 15:00
Organ prelude: Johann Sebastian Bach, Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 610
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes
James MacMillan: Miserere
William Byrd: Ne irascaris
William Byrd: Civitas sancti
Hymn: Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade (verses alternating with the choir alone / parish joining in; the choir sang a special choral arrangement by Georg Christoph Biller when it was their turn)
Johann Sebastian Bach: Jesu, meine Freude (complete)


Service, 26.02.2023, 9:30
Organ prelude: Jeanne Demessieux, Attende Domine
Charles Villiers Stanford: Beati quorum via
Ehr sei dem Vater (Gloria Patri)
Herre Gott, erbarme dich (Kyrie)
Anton Bruckner: Christus factus est
Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade (s. above)
John Rutter: The Lord Bless You and Keep You
Hymn of Baptism: Ich bin getauft und Gott geweiht
A little boy was then baptised (lucky him to get such a unique service ) and it was his 2nd birthday that day as well and he received a lovely congratulation from the pastor.
Hymn: Ich grüße dich am Kreuzesstamm
Pablo Casals: O vos omnes
Offering Hymn: Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ
Johann Sebastian Bach: Choral 1 and 11 from "Jesu, meine Freude"
Closing Hymn: Verse 5 from Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld
Organ postlude: Johann Sebastian Bach, Fugue in C minor, BWV 537,2

Communion
Thanksgiving calls
Heilig ist Gott der Vater (Sanctus)
Christe, du Lamm Gottes (Agnus Dei)
During communion:
- Antonio Lotti: Crucifixus (8 voices)
- Colin Mawby: Ave verum corpus


My highlights among highlights were MacMillan's Miserere, Bach's Jesu, meine Freude and Mawby's Ave verum. The latter one was breathtaking!

So grateful for that weekend! And now I hand over to theriverflowson, who was in Leipzig as well.

[Surpinto]

So glad you enjoyed your time in Leipzig, and thank you for your review of what sounds like a lovely set of concerts and services!

[filiarheni]

Thank you and yes, it was a very nice series of services woven together.

[Celtic]

I am very happy to have been able to attend the CVMS Leipzig performances. The trip more than paid off, as they performed three brilliant and very moving services: twice a so-called "Motette", a particular musical service at the Thomaskirche and a Sunday service followed by communion. The choir covered a broad range with regard to music epochs and their sound was so beautiful in the acoustics of that church - Thomaskirche and Schola Cantorum perfectly match.

...

My highlights among highlights were MacMillan's Miserere, Bach's Jesu, meine Freude and Mawby's Ave verum. The latter one was breathtaking!

Thanks for your summary and thoughts, I very much wish I could have been there, it sounds like it was a fantastic weekend. I will hope for Mawby this Saturday!

But I'm happy that, even though I couldn't be there, there was someone there who could properly appreciate the music and share the experience with us.

[Luckdragon]

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[Celtic]

The concert on Saturday was fantastic. This was held in St Paul's, Covent Garden and is the church with the portico that overhangs the main performance space for street entertainers in Covent Garden. The church was the location for the videos, that went viral, of Malakai and Aled Jones singing. I have been to a concert here before, albeit many years ago now. It is known as the actor's church and there are plaques commemorating actors all over the church. I was particularly delighted to see they had placed Dame Barbara Windsor's memorial plaque behind the bar!

I got there early and actually managed to sit in on some of the rehearsal, sitting quietly at the back and trying to blend in with the pews so I wouldn't get chucked out! I love hearing rehearsals, it's really interesting to watch the process and to hear preview snippets of the recital. After a short while the rehearsal ended and I headed outside to wait for the actual opening, pausing to greet one of the church cats. Six years ago one of the cats was sick, and I wondered if that was one of the two current cats or a new one. Places with cats always get extra points from me!

You'll notice I'm waffling on about the environment, and well that's because I can't say much in detail about the music. There was no programme and I have a terrible memory for names of pieces, so I am just unable to give a comprehensive review. So, this will just be a piecemeal general review. One thing of note was that I very quickly realised while sitting in on the rehearsal that quite a few familiar faces were missing. Presumably with only 3 weeks to go until the tour they were busy rehearsing with their other choir!

Scott Price mentioned the missing singers and that the remaining choir members would step in to fill the gaps. There was however, absolutely no issue with the quality of the performance. In particular for the final piece of the recital, "Jesu, meine Freude", which is a long and complex piece, the singers who had stepped in were ones that I had seen in various operas, including Malakai. The fact you can be missing so many good singers, and yet are still able to deliver a fantastic performance and call on such talented soloists is a big part of the reason CVMS is one of my favourite choirs!

We had two superb solo pieces, with Malakai in a treble solo and Sam Lyne-Hall singing the lower voice solo. Sam was the outstanding singer for me in the Xmas Messiah, so I was delighted to hear him again. Other than that, from a vague recollection (I told you my memory is bad!) we had some Byrd motets and also Macmillan's Miserere, which was excellent. It was a fairly short recital, but high in quality.

It was actually quite interesting to hear the choir without the crossover members. Back when I heard the choir for the very first time I actually had no idea there were boys who were members of both, and it wasn't until the 3rd of 4th concert that I suddenly recognised someone. I've known, from the plethora of fantastic things the choir is involved in, that they have a lot more talent than just those joint members, and this concert showed just how rich that vein of talent is! A wonderful recital. My only criticism is, I wish it had been longer!

Edit: One additional point. The choir had spent the previous two days recording a new album featuring the music of this recital and their Leipzig tour, and will be released sometime in the next year.

► Show Spoiler

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2023-03-11 - CVMS St Pauls Covent Garden (1).jpg (1.61 MiB) Viewed 3572 times

[Surpinto]

Thanks for the review and information, always a pleasure to read of your choral adventures. Shame that they couldn't provide at least a setlist . Looking forward to the album!

[Luckdragon]

The Japan Boys Choir Association (https://japanbca.com) has announced that the Schola will perform in Sapporo on August 26 and Tokyo on August 31. They have also begun to build a boy choir database at https://japanbca.com/world-boy-choir-database/ that some of you may find interesting.

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The program is currently undecided and the ticket release date is scheduled for April. Please keep in mind that there is a possibility of member changes due to changes in voices, etc.

[Celtic]

Wow, I mean if they are lucky enough to get those four... I heard three of those, without Kaelan, in December and they were just brilliant and I know Kaelan is amazing too. DW singing just two meters in front of me without a mic was the best ever!

The program is currently undecided and the ticket release date is scheduled for April. Please keep in mind that there is a possibility of member changes due to changes in voices, etc.

I mean I cross my fingers for audiences that they get those four, but that's almost 5 months away... so we'll see.

All of my local choirs are fleeing the country!! Libera, CVMS, Ealing Abbey!

[Luckdragon]

All of my local choirs are fleeing the country!! Libera, CVMS, Ealing Abbey!

You would think some Euro or American choirs would visit London over their spring breaks, but I haven't heard of any so far. Maybe the UK is just too saturated with boy choirs to generate much interest.

[Celtic]

All of my local choirs are fleeing the country!! Libera, CVMS, Ealing Abbey!

You would think some Euro or American choirs would visit London over their spring breaks, but I haven't heard of any so far. Maybe the UK is just too saturated with boy choirs to generate much interest.

The Stockholms Gosskör (Who I heard in 2018) are in London in mid-April and are singing evensongs at Wabbey and StPauls, but no indication of any concerts. As for other choirs, there may well be some, but I'm not as proactive as I used to be in keeping track of them!

[Celtic]

The Japan Boys Choir Association (https://japanbca.com) has announced that the Schola will perform in Sapporo on August 26 and Tokyo on August 31. They have also begun to build a boy choir database at https://japanbca.com/world-boy-choir-database/ that some of you may find interesting.

I don't like this blog post style "database", but if they are sponsoring and arranging concert opportunities then then can present it however they want! I've heard approx. 25 of the choirs listed under the UK section live and over 50 of them if you include watching streamed evensongs.