Lyric fm puts spotlight on City choir project

The Schola Cantorum, a unique and ambitious choral initiative at Galway’s St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, is the subject of a new radio documentary to be broadcast on RTÉ Lyric fm this Friday.

The Schola Cantorum is the brainchild of Mark Duley, choirmaster at St Nicholas’ Church, who is also an acclaimed organist and former director of the RTÉ Philharmonic Choir.  This large-scale and wide-ranging project, which is now in its third year, draws on the church’s centuries old Collegiate status.

Going back as far as medieval times, St Nicholas’ was home to a college of singing priests, who performed choral liturgy on a daily basis.  The Schola Cantorum aims to revive this ancient tradition.

The initiative involves five different choirs, with participants spanning all age groups and all ranges of musical ability and experience.

The youngest group, the Choirsters, is made up of children and young people aged 8-14.  Then there are the Choral Scholars, a group of NUIG students who rehearse twice a week in St Nicholas’ Church and perform a Compline service several times each term.  The Church choir, one of Galway’s most highly-regarded choral ensembles, is the bedrock of the Schola.  Including people from a wide range of backgrounds, the choir rehearses every Sunday morning from 9.30am, learning a new motet each week. This is then performed at the sung Eucharist at 11.

Then there are the St Nicholas’ Singers, a project choir that meets over two weekends twice a year to learn and perform ambitious choral works.  This, too, is open to all comers.

“We feel it is important to give people who might not be able to commit to a weekly rehearsal the opportunity to sing in a big, ambitious choir,” says Mark Duley.

For anyone interested, the next venture with the St Nicholas’ Singers is happening next weekend, November 7 and 8, with performance the following weekend, November 14 and 15.

Galway accordion player Máirtín O’Connor, who is a patron of the Schola, will perform, both as a soloist and in arrangements specially conceived for this  concert. To sign up, email info@scholacantorumgalway.com

Collegium is the newest and most ambitious choir to be set up by the Schola Cantorum.  Made up of 16 of Galway’s finest voices, the group had its inaugural concert in St Nicholas’ Church last Good Friday.  The group sings without a conductor, and draws on an early -music repertoire.

Lyric’s documentary about the Schola was recorded mostly in St Nicholas’ church and it features live performances from all five choirs.

Members of all five groups also share their views about what makes singing in this church so special.

St Nicholas’ Church – Voices of Galway will be broadcast on RTÉ Lyric fm this Friday at 7pm.