Schola Cantorum is a

chamber choir A chamber choir is a small or medium-sized choir of roughly 8 to 40 singers (occasionally called 'chamber singers'), typically singing classical or religious music in a concert setting. (This is distinct from e.g. a church choir, which sings in rel ...

from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. The choir was founded by composer and conductor

Knut Nystedt Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer. Early life Nystedt was born in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway, and grew up in a Christian home where hymns and classical music were an important ...

in 1964, and has given valuable musical experience to generations of Norwegian musicians. Affiliated with the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

, Department of Musicology, the choir recruits most of their singers from this institution, as well as the

Norwegian Academy of Music The Norwegian Academy of Music (Norwegian: ''Norges musikkhøgskole'', NMH) is a university-level music conservatory located in Oslo, Norway, in the neighbourhood of Majorstuen, Frogner. It is the largest music academy in Norway and offers the co ...

History and repertoire

The American choral tradition in which the founder Nystedt was trained emphasises the importance of new music – a practice Nystedt brought back with him to Oslo. Knut Nystedt’s music became a vital element of Schola Cantorum’s repertoire. Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl became conductor in 2002, and has further established the choir’s firm position in Norway’s musical life. She has continued Nystedt’s tradition of performing modern music. The repertoire consists of a mix of contemporary and older choir music, as well as folk music arrangements. In recent years the choir has increasingly focused on commissioned works from young Nordic composers. Schola Cantorum has a varied repertoire that includes contemporary music, folk music and collaboration with the metal band

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

on their past two albums,

Abrahadabra Abrahadabra is a word that first publicly appeared in ''The Book of the Law'' (1904), the central sacred text of Thelema. Its author, Aleister Crowley, described it as "the Word of the Aeon, which signifieth The Great Work accomplished." This ...

(2010) and

Eonian ''Eonian'' is the tenth studio album by Norwegian symphonic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, which was released on 4 May 2018. Background Production of ''Eonian'' originally started at least in 2012 but faced many delays for years after. Howeve ...

(2018). In recent years the choir has visited Ukraine, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Russia, England and the Nordic countries. The choir collaborates regularly with leading musicians and ensembles such as the

Norwegian Radio Orchestra The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Norwegian, ''Kringkastingsorkestret'', abbreviated as KORK) is a radio orchestra affiliated with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (''Norsk rikskringkasting AS'', or NRK). Its principal base is the ''Store Studi ...

, the Norwegian Wind Ensemble and Nordic Voices.

Competitions

In 2005 the choir participated in the prestigious international choir competition in Tolosa, Spain, and won every award as well as the Grand Prize - never before won by a Norwegian choir. In 2007, Schola Cantorum competed in another prestigious competition,

EBU The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...

Let the Peoples Sing ''Let the Peoples Sing'' (known until 1964 as ''Let the People Sing'') is an international choral competition currently organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The final, encompassing three categories and around ten choirs, is offer ...

, and won first prize in the adult choir class, as well as the main prize - «The Silver Rose Bowl».

Recordings

Schola Cantorum has released four CDs with producer Morten Lindberg of Lindberg Lyd. The first in 1997 and 1999 under conductor Kåre Hanken. Featuring music by Norwegian composers, they were not released outside of Norway. Their third CD, ''Audiens'' (2010) is released on the label 2L and features music by composer Bjørn Morten Christophersen. Their newest album ''Hymn to the Virgin'', a recording of hymns to Mary, the Mother of God, was released internationally in May 2013. The choir also contributed to American composer

Christopher Tin Christopher Chiyan Tin (born May 21, 1976) is an American composer of art music, often composed for film and video game soundtracks. His work is primarily orchestral and choral, often with a world music influence. He has won two Grammy Awar ...

's second album ''The Drop That Contained The Sea'' which was released in 2014.

External links

Official homepage

2l (record label)

Anton Bruckner - Ave Maria (YouTube)
{{Authority control Norwegian choirs Chamber choirs Musical groups established in 1964 1964 establishments in Norway Musical groups from Oslo University of Oslo