Escolania de Montserrat

Charles T. Downey, Boys choir Escolania de Montserrat keeps tradition alive at Strathmore
Washington Post, March 18, 2014

Virgen Morenata, Escolania i Capilla de Montserrat (VMS, 2008)

Historically, boys choirs in Catholic churches were the training ground for many composers, from Guillaume Dufay in the 15th century to Puccini and Bruckner in the 19th. Schubert was a choirboy in Vienna in 1809, when he may have sung at the grand memorial service for Haydn, who had himself been a choirboy at the city’s cathedral in the previous century. The tradition is still going strong at the Escolania de Montserrat, a boys choir school in Spain that is making its first American tour, with a stop Sunday afternoon in the Music Center at Strathmore.

The boys, about 40 of them, normally sing for liturgical services in the Basilica of Montserrat, a Benedictine monastery in Catalonia. The concert opened with a meditative section of sacred music, including a Gregorian introit, “Germinans germinabit” and “Imperayritz de la ciutat ioyosa,” one of the pieces from the “Llibre vermell,” a 14th century codex of music composed for the pilgrims at Montserrat. [Continue reading]

Escolania de Montserrat
Music Center at Strathmore

SEE ALSO:
Abbey of Montserrat
Llibre Vermell (for pilgrims at Montserrat)

Katherine Boyle, Escolania de Montserrat performs at Strathmore in boys choir’s first U.S. tour (Washington Post, March 15)