Schola Cantorum Basiliensis
Encyclopedia
Schola Cantorum Basiliensis is a music academy and research institution located in Basel
, Switzerland
, and focusing on early music
and historically informed performance
.
Paul Sacher
founded the school in 1933. Influential faculty included August Wenzinger
(cello
and viola da gamba), Ina Lohr (violin), and Max Meili
(vocal music). In 1954 the Schola merged with two other Basel music schools to form the City of Basel Music Academy
.
Among the school's other notable faculty members, past and present, are musicians from many countries. By nationality, they include:
.
Notable alumni have included such leading historically informed musicians as Gustav Leonhardt
, Jordi Savall
, Barbara Thornton
, and Benjamin Bagby
.
Lutenists who have studied at the Schola include:
Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that have made notable recordings of early music. One of the more popular of these is the 1994 album Chill to the Chant.
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and focusing on early music
Early music
Early music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
and historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
.
Paul Sacher
Paul Sacher
Paul Sacher was a Swiss conductor, patron and impresario.-Biography:He studied under Felix Weingartner, among others. In 1926 he founded the Basel Chamber Orchestra to play works written before the classical period and modern works...
founded the school in 1933. Influential faculty included August Wenzinger
August Wenzinger
August Wenzinger was a prominent cellist, viol player, conductor, teacher, and music scholar from Basel, Switzerland. He was a pioneer of historically informed performance, both as a master of the viola da gamba and as a conductor of Baroque orchestral music and operas.Wenzinger received his...
(cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and viola da gamba), Ina Lohr (violin), and Max Meili
Max Meili
Max Meili, a Swiss tenor, was born 11 December 1899 in Winterthur and died 17 March 1970 in Zürich, Switzerland. He first trained as a painter then turned to singing, leading to lessons with Felix von Kraus....
(vocal music). In 1954 the Schola merged with two other Basel music schools to form the City of Basel Music Academy
City of Basel Music Academy
The City of Basel Music Academy is an institution for music education, located in Basel, Switzerland. It comprises a music school, college of music, and a center for early music research and performance...
.
Among the school's other notable faculty members, past and present, are musicians from many countries. By nationality, they include:
- ??or is a letter derived from the Latin alphabet. Both glyphs of the majuscule and minuscule forms of this letter are based on the rotated form of a minuscule e; a similar letter with identical minuscule is used in the Pan-Nigerian Alphabet and some alphabets based on the African reference...
: lutenist Eugen Müller-Dombois (1931 - present; no biographical information about him exists elsewhere online) - AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
: keyboardist and conductor Geoffrey LancasterGeoffrey LancasterGeoffrey Lancaster AM is an Australian classical pianist and conductor. Born in Sydney, he was raised in Dubbo, New South Wales before moving to Canberra. He attended the Canberra School of Music where he studied piano with Larry Sitsky... - BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
: countertenor and conductor René Jacobs - EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
: lutenist and ensemble leader Anthony RooleyAnthony RooleyAnthony Rooley is a British lutenist. He founded in 1969 and directs the early music ensemble the Consort of Musicke, which continues to be one of the chief vehicles for his inspiration, among many other activities and interests...
; soprano Evelyn TubbEvelyn TubbSoprano Evelyn Tubb is a long-time member of The Consort of Musicke and one of the world's greatest early music specialists, known for her innovative and original performances. She originally comes from the Isle of Wight and studied piano, trumpet, violin and singing...
; viola da gamba player Alison CrumAlison CrumAlison Crum , is an English viol player. She got her first viol while studying music at Reading University, and went on to study at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Wieland Kuijken and, later, with Jordi Savall at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis... - FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
: cellist and conductor Christophe Coin; flautist Marc Hantaï; conductor Dominique Vellard - GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
: flautist/recorder player and conductor Hans-Martin LindeHans-Martin LindeHans-Martin Linde is a noted virtuoso flute and recorder player of baroque and early music.He authored a number of original and highly instructive books on the flute and recorder respectively....
; countertenor Andreas SchollAndreas SchollAndreas Scholl is a German countertenor, a male classical singer in the alto vocal range. He is noted as a specialist in Baroque music.-Childhood:...
; tenor Gerd TürkGerd Türk- Biography :Gerd Türk received his first musical training as a choir boy at the cathedral of Limburg. He studied in Frankfurt and then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Richard Levitt and René Jacobs, continuing in master classes with Ernst Haefliger and Kurt Equiluz.In the field of... - ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
: organist Lorenzo GhielmiLorenzo GhielmiLorenzo Ghielmi is an Italian organist and harpsichordist.He teaches old music at the Accademia Internazionale della Musica in Milan and at the "Schola Cantorum Basiliensis" in Basel. He was professor in Trossingen and at the Hochschule für Musik in Lübeck too. Ghielmi also played with Ensemble Il...
, organist, harpsichordist and conductor Andrea MarconAndrea MarconAndrea Marcon is an Italian conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and scholar. In 1997, he founded the Venice Baroque Orchestra.-Recordings:*Vivaldi and others: Andromeda liberata...
; viola da gambist Paolo PandolfoPaolo PandolfoPaolo Pandolfo is an Italian virtuoso player, composer, and teacher of music for the viola da gamba.He began his studies as a double bass and guitar player, becoming a skilled performer of jazz and popular music. In the mid-late 1970s he studied viola da gamba at the Rome Conservatory... - NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
: violinist Jaap SchröderJaap SchröderJaap Schröder or Jaap Schroeder is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and pedagogue.He studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory and at the Sorbonne in France. He has served as the director and concertmaster of the Academy of Ancient Music, and in 1982 he was appointed the visiting music director of the... - SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
: viola da gamba player and conductor Jordi SavallJordi SavallJordi Savall i Bernadet is a Catalan viol player, conductor and composer. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for bringing the viol back to life on the stage... - SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
: violinist and conductor Chiara BanchiniChiara BanchiniChiara Banchini is a Swiss violinist, involved in the historical performance practice movement. She specializes in the music of the Baroque.Banchini was born in 1946 in Lugano, Switzerland. She graduated from the Geneva Conservatory; following this she studied under Sandor Vegh and then at the...
; baritone Kurt Widmer - United States of America: bassoonist Donna Agrell, lutenists Thomas BinkleyThomas BinkleyThomas Binkley was an American lutenist and early music scholar.Thomas Eden Binkley studied at the University of Illinois and the University of Munich . He taught at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel...
, Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
, and Crawford YoungCrawford YoungCrawford Young is an American lutenist, music teacher, and director of the Ferrara Ensemble and Shield of Harmony, both early music groups.Robert Crawford Young graduated in 1976 from New England Conservatory in Boston, where he played classical guitar, lute and tenor banjo...
; cornettist Bruce Dickey; and trumpeter Edward H. Tarr;
.
Notable alumni have included such leading historically informed musicians as Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
, Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall
Jordi Savall i Bernadet is a Catalan viol player, conductor and composer. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for bringing the viol back to life on the stage...
, Barbara Thornton
Barbara Thornton
Barbara Thornton was a singer, musicologist and groundbreaking performer of medieval music....
, and Benjamin Bagby
Benjamin Bagby
Benjamin Bagby is a singer, composer, harpist, and groundbreaking performer of medieval music. Educated at Oberlin College and the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Bagby founded the ensemble Sequentia with Barbara Thornton in 1977...
.
Lutenists who have studied at the Schola include:
- Robert BartoRobert BartoRobert Barto is an American lutenist specializing in the music of the Baroque and Empfindsamkeit periods, in particular the oeuvres of Sylvius Leopold Weiss and Bernhard Joachim Hagen. He is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego, having majored in historical lute performance...
(b. USA; studied with Eugen Müller-Dombois) - Luciano Contini (b. Italy; studied with Eugen Müller-Dombois and Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
) - Eduardo EgüezEduardo EgüezEduardo Egüez is a lutenist, theorbist, and guitarist acclaimed for his interpretations of music by J.S.Bach....
(b. Argentina; studied with Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
) - Edin KaramazovEdin KaramazovEdin Karamazov is a renowned Bosnian musician-lutenist . He studied lute with Hopkinson Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis....
(b. Bosnia-Herzogovina; studied with Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
) - Rolf Lislevand Rolf LislevandRolf Lislevand , is a performer of Early music. He is a master of ancient lute, Spanish vihuela and theorbo.From 1980 to 1984, Lislevand studied classical guitar at the Norwegian Academy of Music...
(b. Norway; studied with Eugen Müller-Dombois and Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
) - Evangelina Mascardi (b. Argentina; studied with Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
) - Paul O'DettePaul O'DettePaul R. O'Dette is an American lutenist, conductor, and music researcher specializing in early music.O'Dette began playing classical guitar, and while in high school also played electric guitar in a rock band in Columbus, Ohio, where he grew up...
(b. USA; studied with Eugen Müller-Dombois and Thomas BinkleyThomas BinkleyThomas Binkley was an American lutenist and early music scholar.Thomas Eden Binkley studied at the University of Illinois and the University of Munich . He taught at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis in Basel...
) - Toyohiko SatohToyohiko Satoh- is a Japanese lutenist and composer.At Rikkyo University in Tokyo, Satoh studied music history with Tatsuo Minagawa and guitar with Kazuhito Ohosawa. He gave his first guitar recital in the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan concert hall in 1965...
(b. Japan; studied with Eugen Müller-Dombois) - John SchneidermanJohn SchneidermanJohn H. Schneiderman is an American lutenist and guitarist born in California. Schneiderman was introduced to music by his mother, who taught him to play the ukelele when he was six years old. He began performing at the age of nine, playing the banjo and fiddle at bluegrass festivals in California...
(b. USA; studied with Hopkinson SmithHopkinson SmithHopkinson Smith is an American lutenist.Born in New York, he graduated from Harvard with Honors in Music...
)
Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that have made notable recordings of early music. One of the more popular of these is the 1994 album Chill to the Chant.
See also
- :Category:Schola Cantorum Basiliensis alumni
- :Category:Schola Cantorum Basiliensis faculty
External links
- Schola Cantorum Basiliensis official site
- List of faculty
- Schola Cantorum Basiliensis page at bach-cantatas.com