SCHOLA NOVA SILVANA
Sacred Sounds from the Heart of the New Forest
FOUNDED 2016 - Directed by Fabian Lochner
Concerts
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Sunday 29 March, 6.00pm - Church of St John the Evangelist, Elkstone, Gloucestershire
A Candlelit Programme for Lent Join Schola Nova Silvana in this magnificent, historic country church. Listen to the haunting sounds of medieval chanting and help raise funds for the maintenance of this ancient Norman church. Tickets £10 from Elkstone PCC or at the door. Elkstone, Cheltenham GL53 9PD
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Sunday 17 May, 3:30-5:00pm - Lyndhurst Baptist Church, Lyndhurst, Hampshire
Caught on the Inbreath A celebration of chant and poetry, with medieval chants for Mary, St Osmund and St Thomas Becket and new poems commissioned by our artistic partner, Hilary Stobbs. Hilary will be introducing her new and eagerly awaited volume of poetry, Caught on the Inbreath (2020), which contains many of the pieces performed by Schola. Tickets at the door are £10, refreshments included. For those interested, copies of Caught on the Inbreath will also be for sale.
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Wednesday 20 May, 1:05-1:35pm - Trinity Chapel at Salisbury Cathedral
Sarum Sounds Celebrate 800 years of Salisbury cathedral with Schola Nova Silvana’s timeless selections of medieval chants for Mary, St Osmund and St Thomas Becket, with poetry from Hilary Stobbs’ new collection, Caught on the Inbreath (spring 2020). Free admission.
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Sunday 27 September, 6:30pm - Church of St Michael the Archangel, Southampton
Music for an Archangel Celebrate 950 years of this magnificent historic church with Schola Nova Silvana’s arch-angelic selections of medieval chants for St Michael and for the Dedication of Churches, with new poetry by Hilary Stobbs. Tickets at the door are £10 with concession for seniors and students.
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Sunday 6 December, 4.00pm - St Mary’s church, Copythorne, Hampshire
A Candlelit Programme for Advent and Christmas Join Schola Nova Silvana and local musicians for a special pre-Christmas treat: Beautiful selections of peaceful and haunting medieval chants relating to Advent and the Twelve days of Christmas. Even St Nicholas may appear! Retiring collection to cover cost.
Who We Are and What We Do
Schola Nova Silvana is a small mixed-voice, non-professional vocal ensemble dedicated to singing and performing Western medieval plainchant – a vast musical repertoire sung principally in Latin, in unison and without instrumental accompaniment.
Through concerts, workshops, recordings and musical pilgrimages we want to share with general audiences the joy and the wonder, the peace and the ecstasy and the sheer beauty of these ancient sacred melodies.
Schola Nova Silvana, while not composed of vocal professionals, nonetheless aims for the highest standard of performance. Our director, Fabian Lochner, is a published chant scholar whose long experience in university research gives our group unique access to valuable historical information on this specialized repertoire.
We also aim, through our activities, to help raise funds for the restoration or maintenance of resonant historic buildings (parish churches, abbeys, cathedrals) that were intended originally for the singing of plainchant.
As a secular choir, we are not affiliated with any religion. Our members are from different religions or none. While we are all passionate about creating a sacred or meditative mood in our singing, we do not sing for worship. Singing in religious services is therefore not part of our mission.
Artistic Partnerships
Schola Nova Silvana is proud to be associated with prize-winning poet Hilary Stobbs who is writing a series of original poems intended for live recitation during our concerts.
We are also proud to count as our member an accomplished poetry recitalist, Christopher Kidman, former member of the faculty of the Camphill Eurythmy School in Ringwood and Botton. Christopher will introduce and recite the poetry of Hilary Stobbs as well as other selected pieces.
Affiliations
Our director, Fabian Lochner, is an associate member of Amra, an organization dedicated to the promotion of plainchant for Irish saints found in manuscripts in Ireland, Britain and continental Europe. Fabian has been invited to teach chant workshops in Ireland in collaboration with the founder and director of Amra, Professor Ann Buckley (Trinity College Dublin).