Summer 2001 - Easter 2002
It has been another ground-breaking year for the Schola, the members of which have excelled themselves, both as fine singers and as dedicated members of the school, unreserved in their commitment and ever-willing to sacrifice significant amounts of their spare time. Over the course of the year, higher and higher standards have been achieved – there have been many special moments. The Schola’s Tour to Rome & The Vatican was the undoubted highlight – a report can be found here.
During the Summer Term of 2001, the Schola sang at no fewer than ten major services, on top of the usual appearances at School Mass. These included Mass at Westminster Cathedral, Parish Confirmations at Our Lady of Victories and the Communications Day Mass for Catholics working in the Media. This latter service was reviewed by The Times and the Schola received a five out of five star-rating for its ‘beautiful voices’.
In September the Schola sang for the annual Mass for the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom at Warwick Street, the School’s Foundation Day Mass at Our Lady of Victories and at Speech Day. On All Souls’ Day the Schola performed the Fauré Requiem in remembrance of those who lost their lives on September 11th in the terrorist attacks in New York. The Christmas season began with the Choir’s annual visit to Nazareth House to sing Mass and carols for the elderly and infirm. The Schola was invited to sing at a special Carol Concert at St James’s, Spanish Place to raise funds for the Westminster and Ampleforth Pilgrimages to Lourdes. The Abbot of Ampleforth and the Cardinal attended and the celebrity readers included Valerie Solti, Julian Fellowes, Frank Finlay and Steve Coogan (a.k.a. Alan Partridge). The School Carol Service at Our Lady of Victories was as magnificent as ever, filled to capacity and held by candlelight. The weekend before Christmas a number of the younger members of the Schola sang carols at the Dorchester Hotel during afternoon tea.
The Lent Term was dominated by the Schola’s Tour to Rome and The Vatican. At the School Mass for Ash Wednesday, the choir gave its annual performance of Allegri’s Miserere. The Schola appeared at the Easter Concert, held in the grand surrounds of St John’s, Smith Square. They sang Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai and the Four Motets by Dupré, which were in my opinion staggeringly good, a new pinnacle in this special era.
As I write, we have just returned from Ampleforth Abbey where we spent part of the Summer half-term recording a CD of Christmas music. Having heard some of the session takes, I have no doubt that many of you would be thrilled to hear the CD itself when it is released in October/November 2002. The Carols sound superb and the Schola is admirably complemented by the ominous hardware of the Vaughan Brass Consort. It is truly magnificent and I hope that it will bring joy to you all over Christmas. Updates on the release of the CD will be available on this website.
PAST REVIEWS