The internationally-renowned Yale Schola Cantorum (Schola), a chamber choir made up of students from across all of Yale University’s departments and professional schools, toured Spain June 3–8 with public performances in Madrid, Roncesvalles, Burgos, León, and Santiago de Compostela. Schola also sang masses preceding their concerts in Madrid and Roncesvalles.
Schola performs sacred music from the sixteenth century to the present day in concert settings and choral services around the world. It is sponsored by Yale Institute of Sacred Music and conducted by David Hill; Masaaki Suzuki is principal guest conductor. In addition to performing regularly in New Haven and New York, the ensemble records and tours nationally and internationally. Schola’s 2018 recordings on the Hyperion label featuring Palestrina’s Missa Confitebor tibi Domine and Fauré’s Requiem have garnered enthusiastic reviews. On tour, Schola Cantorum has given performances in England, Hungary, France, China, South Korea, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and India.
Principal conductor David Hill led Schola in performances of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles, an hour-long a cappella exploration of the phenomenon of the Camino de Santiago—the ancient Catholic pilgrimage route across northern Spain to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. The text comprises excerpts from historical and sacred documents in several different languages, alongside original material by poet Robert Dickinson.
Composer of music for the concert hall, stage, and screen, Joby Talbot originally composed Path of Miracles in 2005 for the exceptional vocal ensemble Tenebrae. The composer visited Yale in November to coach Schola for their performance in New Haven at Christ Church.
David Hill’s long and distinguished career as one of the leading conductors in Europe has includes appointments as chief conductor of the BBC Singers, musical director of the Bach Choir, and previous engagements as Master of Music at Westminster and Winchester Cathedrals, among others. With over one hundred recordings to his credit, Hill has performed virtually every style and period in the choral repertoire. He has been on the Yale faculty since 2013.
In previous coverage of Schola’s New Haven performance of Path of Miracles, Hill emphasized the contemporary nature of the work: “At its heart is a spirituality which connects humankind with a musical language all can engage with… Chants [and] folk song-like melodies are the sounds throughout and which you might have heard pilgrims creating in their own way as they made their journey.”
Schola sang a midday mass at the Convento de “las Góngoras” on Sunday, June 3, followed by a performance of Path of Miracles. On Monday, June 4, another performance of the same work followed a 6 PM sung mass at the Real Colegiata de Santa María de Roncesvalles. Tuesday, June 5, Schola performed at the Catedral de Burgos at 8:15 PM. The tour closed with an 8 PM performance on Friday, June 8 at the Igexa da Compañía in Santiago de Compostela.
