About us


Research has always been a key element of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis since it was explicitly founded as an “Institute for Teaching and Research in the Field of Early Music” in 1933.

Today the Research Department consists of permanent staff members, supported by colleagues from the teaching staff, and of research fellows of the projects. An important aim is to connect our research with current issues related to historical performance practice and thus to inform teaching at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis as well as to interact with the international community of musicology. These efforts are documented by numerous research projects and cooperations and are also aided by the scientific advisory board of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Dominique Vellard


Project team “Motet Cycles”


Since 1979 Dominique Vellard has been the inspirational driving force behind the Ensemble Gilles Binchois – more than three decades of research and performance that have led to the creation of some of the essential recordings in the catalogue, especially of music from the medieval and  Renaissance periods. Dominique Vellard’s passion for music from plainchant to the 17th century was nurtured in a boychoir (‘Maîtrise de Notre-Dame’) in Versailles. In more recent years, he has expanded his interests to specific encounters with musicians from India, Morocco, Iran and Spain. An additional facet of Dominique Vellard’s musical character is on display: he presents himself as the composer of vocal works, drawing deeply on his own experience and interests in monodies and polyphonies from both the Western and the Eastern traditions. Vellard is Professor at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis since 1982 and directs in France the “Rencontres Internationales de Musique Médiévale du Thoronet”. 50 recordings punctuated his musical career.