Handel - Messiah - Schola Cantorum - Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School

I performed Handel’s ‘Messiah’ at St. Gabriel’s Church in Pimlico on Tuesday 6th of December 2016. The orchestra ‘Spiritato!’ and the Schola Cantorum of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School was conducted by Scott Price, Director of Music of the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.

The boys of the Schola Cantorum sang all of the arias, recitatives and choruses in Handel’s ‘Messiah' themselves, with the soloists (trebles, altos, tenors and basses) stepping forward from the ranks of the choir. The standard of the performance was excellent. These boys are evidently already very experienced performers.

The Schola Cantorum has well-established links with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the choir has also performed for several film soundtracks, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. They have worked with well-known film music composers such as Danny Eflman, James Horner and Hans Zimmer.

Director of Music, Scott Price, asked the players of 'Spiritato!' to show the students the various period instruments in use. He asked the boys to raise their hand if they played the modern equivalent of that instrument - there were a number of very interested young trumpet players in the choir and many other instrumentalists too.

‘The trumpet shall sound’- with the youngest soloist I have ever played it with - was very pleasing and musical. Congratulations to all of the singers and to their teachers for training them to this high standard.


Photography by Weenson Oo


Russell Gilmour
Russell Gilmour Blog
writing on music, photography, engraving, travel and life as a freelance professional musician.