For almost three decades, the vocal group Schola Cantorum Riga has been professionally and artistically preaching the repertoire of early music, basing its interpretations on the study of the oldest neum manuscripts and giving a special role to Gregorian chant in its programmes. The ensemble's artistic director Guntars Prānis is an undisputed authority on early music, and the ensemble he founded is one of the pioneers of this musical genre in Latvia.The ensemble, founded in 1995, has developed over time as a versatile ensemble with a very wide and varied repertoire and rich concert experience not only in Latvia but also far beyond its borders.
In the concert programme of the Early Music Festival, which will echo in the vaults of St Peter's Church at dusk on 12 July, the beautifully harmonised voices of the men will intertwine with the unique medieval instrument, the keyboard, which will be accompanied by Ieva Saliete, the winner of the Great Music Prize, who knows the nuances of early music. They will focus on the magnificent and hitherto little-performed repertoire of the music codex of the Monastery of St Martial of Limoges. It has its roots in the first half of the 12th century and, even before the famous Notre Dame School in Paris, marks the beginnings of early European polyphony.
PARTICIPANT
Vocal group Schola Cantorum Riga
Artistic Director Guntars Prānis
Ieva Saliete, keyboard
