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In an age that overwhelms us with an unending flood of information, goods, and services and culture of all kinds, the simplicity of Gregorian chant falls like a refreshing summer rain. The beautiful, meditative melodies challenge our senses, requiring our complete concentration but at the same time bringing us repose. For a moment, we are transported beyond time and space, and become part of the church's eternal prayers and songs of praise. —Schola Gothia
Schola Gothia is a professional women’s vocal quartet from Sweden. Their repertoire includes Gregorian chant and early polyphonic music from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. They study and perform all of their music from historical notation. In accordance with medieval practice, the group shares one large music stand, a technique which is a great asset as the unison music makes great demands on vocal cooperation and tuning. It also makes it easier to achieve uniform phrasing within the group in polyphonic music, with its often harsh dissonances and open intervals.
Ulrike Heider, the group’s director, studied in the Netherlands, where her training included several years’ study of medieval song. Helene Stensgård Larsson and Yvonne Carlsson both studied in the program for church musicians at the Conservatory for Music in Göteborg. Kristina Lundh teaches Swedish, History, and Civics at the high school level.
Since Schola Gothia was formed, in 1999, they have performed in many concerts in Sweden. The ensemble has also toured throughout Europe. In August, 2005, the group participated in the “Seventh World Symposium on Choral Music” in Kyoto, Japan, and they took part in the Sixth International Festival “Enlace Coral06” in Guatamala City, Guatemala, in November 2006.
Schola Gothia has recorded two other CDs: Rubens rosa (Rosarium) and Gaude Birgitta (Proprius), for which the group received a Grammy nomination in 2003.
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