Friday, July 26, 4:00 PM 
Carmel Mission Basilica, Carmel
The Carmel Bach Festival presents The Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School, the impeccably-trained and internationally-acclaimed choir of 40 boys aged 8-18, in a special a cappella concert, one performance only, at the Carmel Mission Basilica on Friday, July 26 at 4:00 p.m. The hour program features music ranging from the Spanish Renaissance (Francisco Guerrero, Tomás Luis de Victoria, Alonso Lobo, Juan Esquivel and Cristóbal de Morales) to English Tudor (William Byrd, Peter Philips and Thomas Tallis).

After listening to The Schola Cantorum, people describe its signature sound as intimate and completely ravishing, rich, angel-like, heavenly, majestic, sublime beautiful and inspiring.

Selections will include

  • Mission’ Sanctus, Fr Esteban Tápis, OFM
  • O quam gloriosum, Victoria
  • Ave Maria, Victoria
  • Ave Virgo sanctissima, Guerrero
  • O Domine Jesu Christe, Guerrero
  • O sacrum convivium, Guerrero
  • Peccantem me quotidie, Morales
  • Ego sum pants vivus, Esquivel
  • O quam suavis, Lobo
  • Ascendit Deus, Philips
  • Ave verum corpus, Philips
  • O nata lux, Tallis
  • Salvator mundi (I), Tallis
  • Ave verum corpus, Byrd
  • Haec dies, Byrd

The Schola Cantorum of The London Oratory School
Director, Charles Cole

Patrons: H.E. Robert Cardinal Sarah, H.R.H. Princess Michael Of Kent & Sir James Macmillan CBE

The Schola Cantorum of The London Oratory School sings at the London Oratory every Saturday evening in term time and on major feast days for School Mass throughout the year. Founded in 1996, the choir gives Catholic boys the opportunity of a choral education within the state education system from age 7 to 18. As well as its liturgical role, the Schola has recorded numerous soundtracks, including the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter films, as well as CDs and programs for television and radio. The choir has also toured widely abroad, performing throughout the USA and Europe. In 2013 the Schola sang at High Mass in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and was the first visiting choir in history to sing at Vespers there. In 2015 the Schola toured Spain, singing a program of Spanish renaissance polyphony at the Cathedrals of Madrid, Segovia and Toledo as well as the Monastery of San Lorenzo el Real in El Escorial. The tour received extensive coverage on Spanish TV and Radio. In 2016 the Schola sang at a choral festival in Bavaria with the Tölzer Knabenchor before travelling to Venice to sing Mass at St Mark’s and a concert at the Church of San Salvador. In 2017 the Schola toured southern Spain singing in Seville and Granada. Later in the year the Schola went on tour to the USA singing in Boston, New York and Washington DC. The Choir is closely associated with Aid to the Church in Need, singing for services and events to help the Charity’s work in providing support to persecuted Christians, most particularly in Syria and Iraq. The Trebles have also sung for a number of the Royal Ballet’s productions at the Royal Opera House including The Dream and Nutcracker. Recent performances by the Schola include J S Bach’s St John Passion and the Christmas Oratorio at the London Oratory with evangelist Nicholas Mulroy, Monteverdi’s Vespers with the English Cornett & Sackbut Ensemble, and a joint performance of J S Bach’s B minor Mass with Westminster Cathedral Choir. The Schola released Sacred Treasures of England, its first album on the AimHigher Label in 2017.