Album Title: Weihnacht mit den Wiener Sängerknaben (Christmas with the Vienna Boys Choir) Composer: Anonymous, Gregorian Chant, Franz Burkhart, Hermann Furthmoser, Jacobus Handl (Gallus), Franz Xaver Gruber, Uwe Christian Harrer, Johann Michael Haydn, Erwin Lendvai, Mass Text, Josef Mohr, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Michael Praetorius, Uwe Theimer, Christmas Traditional
Choir Wiener Sängerknaben Conductor Hans Gillesberger 1. Masses, Book 13: Missa Hodie, Christus natus est, for 4 voices (4-stimmig) (2:13) 2. Puer concinite (4-stimmig) (1:27) 3. Natus est nobis (Weihnachtsmotette), motet (2:03) 4. In natali Domini (1:51) 5. In dulci jubilo (Piæ Cantiones) (2:29) 6. Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging, carol (Blest Mary Wanders through the Thorn) (2:27) 7. Leise rieselt der Schnee, carol (How Gently Falls the Snow) (German) (1:25) 8. Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt!, carol (German) (2:14) 9. Weihnacht, wie bistdu so schön (1:43) 10. O Du fröhliche, oh, du selige (German) (2:20) 11. Jesulein zart, carol (German) (2:17)
12. Stille nacht, heilige Nacht (Silent Night) (3:07) 13. Hirtenterzett (Tuet eilends erwachen) (1:29) 14. Der Heiland ist geboren (Krippenlied) (2:08) 15. Stacherl, sollst g'schwind aufstehn (1:54) 16. Kommts her, ihr Hirten allzusamm (2:48) 17. Es wird scho glei dumpa (The Twilight Is Falling) (Austrian) (1:55) 18. Weihnachtslied. Heiligste Nacht (1), for chorus & orchestra, MH 427 (KL 6:28a) (2 versions) (2:47) 19. Hiaz is der rauhe Winter, carol (1:35) 20. Still, still, still weil's Kindlein schlafen will (German) (1:59) 21. Still, o Erden, still, o Himmel (1:43) 22. O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree) (German) (1:04)
Review Weihnacht Mit den Wiener Sängerknaben (Christmas With the Vienna Boys Choir) is a beautiful sounding album that features the angelic voices of the Vienna Boys Choir. The carols are all familiar (although they are not in English), and are given the full treatment. Fans of the choir will not be disappointed; this group always seems to make great renditions of Christmas songs. Anyone who enjoys good, classic Christmas music in the traditional Christian vein will probably enjoy this very much. by Bradley Torreano Weihnacht mit den Wiener Sängerknaben Vienna Boys Choir 1. Missa Hodie, Christus natus est - Track 전곡 연주 Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (also The Vienna Choir Boys, German: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of trebles and altos based in Vienna. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a private, not-for-profit organization. There are approximately 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen. The boys are divided into four touring choirs, named for Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert, which perform about 300 concerts each year before almost 500,000 people. Each group tours for about nine to eleven weeks.
History The boys received a solid musical education, which in most cases had a significant impact on the rest of their lives, as many went on to become professional musicians. The composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert, and the conductors Hans Richter, Felix Mottl, Georg Tintner and Clemens Krauss were members of the choir. Additionally, the Haydn brothers were members of the St. Stephen's Cathedral choir, directed at the time by Georg Reutter II who used this choir in his duties for the imperial court which at the time had no boy choristers of its own. Over the centuries, the choir has worked with many composers including Heinrich Isaac, Hofhaimer, Biber, Fux, Caldara, Gluck, Salieri, Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Bruckner. In 1920, the Hofkapelle (court orchestra) was disbanded. However, the rector at the time, Josef Schnitt, sought a continuation of the tradition. In 1924 the "Vienna Boys' Choir" was officially founded, and has evolved into a professional music group. The choir adopted the now-famous blue and white sailor suit, replacing the imperial military cadet uniform that included a dagger. The composer HK Gruber is one of the graduates of the reformed choir. Since 1948 the Palais Augarten has served as their rehearsal venue and boarding school which goes from kindergarten level up to middle school level. In 1961, Walt Disney filmed Almost Angels, a fictional drama about (and starring) the Vienna Boys' Choir, set and filmed in the Palais Augarten. It was Disney who, for cinematographic reasons, persuaded the Austrian government to allow the boys to legally wear the Austrian national emblem on the breast of their uniform, a tradition that continues to this day. Gerald Wirth became the choir's artistic director in 2001. However, since the turn of the 20th to 21st century, the choir has come under pressure to modernize and has faced criticism of their musical standards leading to a split with the Vienna State Opera. The choir has for the first time had to advertise for recruits after a rival choir school was established by Ioan Holender, director of the opera company. He complained of both falling standards and of poor communication with the choir. He said that the State Opera sometimes trained boys for particular stage roles only to find out on the day of performance that they were unavailable as they had gone on tour with the choir. Some boys were attracted to the rival choir school by the prospect of a more relaxed atmosphere and of performance fees being paid directly to them. The Vienna Boys Choir has sought to update its image, recording pop music selections and adopting an alternative uniform to the sailor suits used since the 1920s, allowing the boys to dance as they sing. After Dr. Eugen Jesser died in May 2008, Walter Nettig. Gerald Wirth is its present director. In 2010, following sexual abuse allegations from two former choristers stemming from the late 1960s and early 1980s, the Vienna Boys' Choir opened a confidential phone and email hotline to allow others to come forward. Eight possible victims came forward saying they were abused, either by staff or other choirmembers.
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