September 9-12, 2002, chants characteristic for the medieval liturgy of St. Lorenz were recorded for the first time. The late medieval church in the quiet little market town of Wendelstein, located 10 miles south of Nuremberg, was chosen for the recordings. The Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies collaborated with Bavarian Radio's Studio Franconia to produce the recordings. One of the highlights of the repertoire -- also a world premier recording -- is the mass formula for the feast of the Holy Lance, the most important festival celebrated annually in the city of Nuremberg between 1424 and 1524. Portions of this performance were used in a television documentary about the Holy Lance aired on Channel 2 of the BBC and on the Discovery Channel. Other chants recorded were taken from the formulas of saints venerated locally, for example, Saint Sebaldus, Saint Deocarus, Saint Martha, Saint Monica and Saint Lawrence.

Since the 1960s the Budapest based Schola Hungarica, under the direction of László Dobszay and Janka Szendrei, has established itself as the leading ensemble for the performance of late-medieval chant. The Schola Hungarica has produced nearly fifty records and compact discs with leading companies, including Harmonia Mundi France and Hungaroton. The combination of adults' and children's voices as well as the rhythmic interpretations of the plain chant melodies create the sound characteristic for the choir.

In addition, portions of the sound recordings will be incorporated in the DVD ROM. Bavarian Radio used their state-of-the-art digital technology to produce an extraordinary recording. To capture the acoustic richness of sound that can only be produced in a late Gothic hall choir, a mobile recording unit was sent to Wendelstein.

Listen to the Alleluia O Sebalde Christi verna (Windows Media File 1MB 64kbps) from the mass for Saint Sebaldus.

Alleluia: O Sebalde Christi verna duc nos ad gaudia aeterna ut nos ibi mixti choris perpetuis vivamus horis et laetemur in perenni gloria.

Alleluia: Oh Sebaldus, servant of God, guide us to eternal gladness, so that we can live forever as part of the choirs there and experience joy in continuing glory

Directors Janka Szendrei (left) and László Dobszay (right) discuss the details of the performance with Thilo Grahmann of Bavarian Radio (center).

In September 2003, round-table interviews with experts from various fields were recorded by Bavarian Radio in their Nuremberg Studio. The discussions were used for a radio feature about the Geese Book, aired on November 1, 2004 at 1:30 pm Central European Time (5:30 am Mountain Standard Time) on the classical music station “Bayern 4 Klassik”. Additionally portions of the interviews will be incorporated in the DVD ROM. Corine Schleif, Peter Strieder, and Franz Machilek are pictured. Georg Stolz and Volker Schier also participated. Klaus Meyer conducted the interviews.

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