In nativitate beatae Mariae Virginis - Schola Sanctae Sunnivae, Anne Kleivset

Very few liturgical codices survived the 1537 Reformation in Norway. From an Antiphonarium, a liturgical choir book for office chanting written for the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim in the 3rd quarter of the XIIIth Century, ten folios survived. Schola Sanctae Sunnivae has worked extensively with this material and focused on the surviving parts of the magnificent music in honor of the birth of the Holy Virgin Mary - Music of breathtaking spiritual and musical beauty.

Complementing the vocal offices, MARIA is originally a work in five movements by Henning Sommerro for organ based on the antiphons of the Laudes. The work was a commission for the 800th anniversary of the Our Lady Church, Trondheim in 2007 - here in an exclusive transcription for melodic percussion instruments especially for this recording.

Schola Sanctae Sunnivae was established in 1992 and consists of 12-14 female singers led by founder and conductor Anne Kleivset. The schola chose Norway's first female saint, the Irish princess Sunniva, as their patron. The ensemble is connected to the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim and is widely regarded as one of Europe's leading Gregorian chant ensembles.

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