schola romana ensemble
Early and contemporary music
“...The highlight of the evening was the Schola Romana Ensemble, conducted by Stefano Sabene, who brought out the diverse sonorities of the scores with absolute stylistic mastery and a remarkable balance of vocal blend [...]
This ensemble seems to have reached an artistic maturity comparable to that of the most renowned European groups.
One piece in particular that impressed the audience was the 'Miserere' by Gregorio Allegri, which this formidable ensemble performed, enhancing its spiritual tension [...]
At the end, the audience gave warm and heartfelt applause."
(Maurizio Milazzo, Il Corriere di Roma)
Bio
Founded in 2000 by the flutist and conductor Stefano Sabene, the Schola Romana Ensemble is a group specializing in early music, presenting multidisciplinary musical productions often in dialogue with disciplines such as theater, dance, architecture, visual arts, literature, and cinema.
The ensemble has performed hundreds of concerts in collaboration with institutions, universities, and festivals in Italy and abroad. Singers, dancers, actors and musicians such as Claudine Ansermet, Furio Zanasi, Riccardo Pisani, Grazia Galante, Alfredo Rainò, Simona Marchini, Andrea Damiani, Diego Cantalupi, Riccardo Minasi, Christoph Timpe, Andrea De Carlo, Simone Vallerotonda, and others have participated in the ensemble's productions.
The ensemble, due to its vocation for musicological research and experimentation, explores an extensive repertoire that ranges from the music of ancient Rome, including the reconstruction of period instruments, to medieval Europe, and up to the Renaissance and Baroque repertoire, with a particular focus on the Roman school.
In this context, they have delved especially into the performance practice of "a Cappella" polyphony, rediscovering the so-called "just intonation," garnering interest not only in concert circles but also in the musicological field.
This has led to studies such as "Schola Romana Ensemble: a Different Approach to the Problem of Intonation in Renaissance Polyphony" (Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana RAI-ERI).
Contemporary music is an integral part of the ensemble's artistic journey. The Schola Romana Ensemble's programs feature works by acclaimed composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Arvo Pärt, and Sylvano Bussotti. Additionally, several composers have dedicated "a Cappella" works to the ensemble, including René Clemencic with "Stabat Mater," Luigi Esposito with "Sopra la notte" based on texts by Michelangelo, and Hans-Jürgen Gerung with "Ecce tu pulcher es."
The ensemble has produced several CDs and DVDs for label like Chromamedia, Niccolò, De Agostini, Audiovisivi S. Paolo ..., and participated in radio and television broadcasts on RAI and Vatican Radio.
Other informations
CDs and DVDs
Live Broadcast
CDs
Apollo & Dafne Chromamedia
Fandango! Spanish Baroque music Niccolò (remastered Aulicus classics)
Lamentazioni per la Settimana Santa by Alessandro Scarlatti, Audiovisivi S. Paolo
Ardo d'amore musica nella Roma di Caravaggio, Roma Opera Omnia
Princeps musicae Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina monography, Missa Sanctorum meritis (first recording) Roma Opera Omnia
DVDs
Passio DNJC secundum Ioannes Alessandro Scarlatti, De Agostini
Lamentazioni Alessandro Scarlatti, De Agostini
RAI news 24 Missa "Ecce sacerdos magnus" performance for Three Choirs, by Orazio Benevoli, S. Ivo alla Sapienza
RAI Radio 3 La stanza della musica live performance by the ensemble and interview by Oreste Bossini with Stefano Sabene
Radio Vaticana Presentation of CD "Apollo & Dafne, Music in Bernini's Rome" and interview by Stefano Corato with Stefano Sabene
RAI Radio 3 La stanza della musica live performance of Hildegard von Bingen music and interview by Andrea Penna with Stefano Sabene