In September of 2024, the Choralschola of Graz, Austria, launched a concert tour entitled, “Franciscus vir catholicus.” The tour, which continues throughout October, includes performances in Vienna and Salzburg in Austria; Zurich and Fribourg in Switzerland; and Schwarzenberg in Germany.
On October 11, 2024, the Choralschola performed the Reimoffizium by Julian of Speyer. This Office used to be chanted by the friars of larger friaries until the last liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council. To mark the 2023-26 Franciscan Centenary being celebrated by the Franciscan Family, these chants were recorded on two CDs.
All of this is of particular interest to Conventual Franciscans, because Choralschola’s Divine Office concert consistently follows the version of a Franciscan antiphonary found in the library of the friary in Fribourg!
The Graz Choralschola was founded in 1992. It is an ensemble that specializes in the interpretation of Gregorian chant, starting with its oldest works from the 10th century. In recent years, the concert tours of the Choralschola have taken it to many European countries, as well as to Israel and the United States. There are three Franciscan friars among the members of the Choralschola, including Friar Matteo FERRALDESCHI, OFM, the Music Director at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi. The Choralschola is led by Franz Karl PRASSL. He is a long-time cathedral organist, a professor of Gregorian chant in Graz, and the President of the Austrian Commission for Church Music.
Friar Mateusz KOTYŁO
