Schola Gregoriana Pragensis (English: ''The Gregorian School of Prague'') is an ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

male voice choir A men's chorus or male voice choir (MVC) (German: ''Männerchor''), is a choir consisting of men who sing with either a tenor or bass voice, and whose music is typically arranged into high and low tenors (1st and 2nd tenor), and high and low bas ...

from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, founded in 1987 by David Eben. Their core repertoire consists of

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ; ) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text. Plainsong was the exclusive for ...

, and early

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...

, but they also perform modern works including some composed for them.

Description

Schola Gregoriana Pragensis

The Schola Gregoriana Pragensis is a choir from the Czech republic with primary focus on Gregorian chant and Bohemian plainchant. The choir formed in 1987 under the direction of David Eben and was restricted in its repertoire to only

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

music for the first two years. Since the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

of 1989, the choir has extended its repertoire to include a variety of sacred music, with particular focus on Gregorian chant (

monophonic Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sou ...

Latin liturgical music) and early polyphony. The choir has won several awards, including the Choc du monde de le musique, 10 de Repertoire and Golden Harmony (Zlatá Harmonie). Since inception they have toured a variety of countries. Of particular importance is the choir's work in researching and performing Bohemian

and early polyphony. The choir has between six and nine members with a repertoire of various sacred music. They have toured many countries, including Japan, Israel, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. Their work in the interpretation of medieval music, with particular focus on Bohemian plainsong, is particularly significant with a focus on the symbolism of

neumatic A neume (; sometimes spelled neum) is the basic element of Western and some Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The earliest neumes were inflective marks that indicated the general shape but n ...

notation from the 10th and 11th centuries. Performances feature the original Bohemian plainchant tradition, including the earliest examples of polyphony. In addition they have performed music from 14th and 15th century and more modern compositions, including some written specifically for the group. They have produced numerous recordings under the

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...

and other labels. The choir has participated in early music festivals, including the Festival Early Music at Utrecht in 2014. The work of David Eben and the choir has featured in Czech academic publications related to musicology. Title in English: ''Schola Gregoriana Pragensis versus Svatomichalská gregoriánská schola, two ways of interpretation''

David Eben

David Eben is the son of composer

Petr Eben Petr Eben (22 January 1929 – 24 October 2007) was a Czech composer of modern and contemporary classical music, and an organist and choirmaster. Life and career Born in Žamberk in northeastern Bohemia, Eben spent most of his childhood an ...

and is the founder and director of Schola Gregoriana Pragensis. He started studies in

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

at the philosophy school of the

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

in 1986 following completion of his training in clarinet at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...

. He began concentrating on mediaeval music in 1986 and graduated from Paris Conservatory (

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

) having studied Gregorian chant conducting. He established the Schola Gregoriana Pragensis in 1987. He regularly teaches theory and practice of Gregorian chant at summer school at Musiques et Patrimoine

Rânes Rânes () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Geography The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, Les Beauchards, La Nuguerie, La Forêterie, Le Chêne Angot, L'Auramière, Rânes, Le ...

, Normandy, France and at the Festival de Musique Sacré de

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

in Switzerland. He has collaborated with Czech radio to produce programs on Gregorian chant. , he works at Charles University in Prague, where he lectures in musicology and liturgy. He is a member of the music group .

Other choir members

* Stanislav Predota is one of the founding members of Schola Gregoriana Pragensis.

Discography

The group has made the following recordings: *1995''Rosa Mystica'' Supraphon SU 0194-2 231 *1997''Liturgical YearGregorian chant'' *1998''Antica e moderna'' *1996''In Pragensi Ecclesia'' *1999''Codex Franus'' *2002''Ach, homo fragilis'' *2004''Missa III., Vesperae Beatae Mariae Virginis, Litaniae B. M. V. à 8.'' *2005''Maiestas Dei'' *2007''Salve Mater, Salve Jesu'' *2009''Dom zu St. Blasien Orgelmusik und Gregorianischer Choral'' *2009''Musica SacraBuddhist Shõmyõ & Gregorian Chants'' *2010''Dialogs'' (

Jiří Bárta Jiří Bárta (19 June 1935 – 4 January 2012) was a Czechs, Czech Piano, pianist and composer. Biography Jiří Bárta was born in Šumice (Uherské Hradiště District), Šumice, Uherské Hradiště District. In his youth, he studied piano wit ...

violoncello)'' *2011''Adventus Domini'' *-''Carolus IV'' *-''Christus natus est: Gregorian Chant on Christmas Eve'' *-''Anno Domini 997'' *-''Musica Sacra: Buddhist Shõmyõ & Gregorian Chants''

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Musical groups established in 1987 Czech choirs Musical groups from Prague Professional a cappella groups Early music choirs Musicology 1987 establishments in Czechoslovakia