Wiener Sangerknaben Vienna Boys Choir - 525th Anniversary Concert Live from Musikverein Wien [CD]

Format: CD
Catalogue No.: 4859677
Barcode: 0028948596775
Release Date: 24 Nov 2023
Genre: Classical

To mark their 525th Anniversary, the Vienna Boys Choir tells its history in music, with all of its choirs singing: the boys’ choirs, the girls’ choir, the mixed children’s Chorus Primus, the youth chorus Chorus Juventus, and Chorus Viennensis, the choir of “old boys”. 14 fabulous instrumentalists join in the music. Together, they show how an Imperial choir consisting of a handful of boys becomes an entire singing campus.

The Vienna Boys Choir, known for its polished artistry, robust sound, and ebullient charm, is probably the most famous boys’ choir in the world. More than 1000 tours in over 100 different countries attest to its global fame. Between them, the four groups making up the Vienna Boys Choir sing almost 300 concerts per year, reaching half a million people live. 2023 marks their 525th anniversary, and Universal Music joins in the celebration.

In July 1498, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I set up a choir in Vienna. By decreeing that boys should be among the singers, Maximilian laid the foundation for the Vienna Boys Choir. What started with a handful of choirboys has grown into a complete campus, attended by 300 boys and girls aged six to eighteen. The Choir’s training and singing are listed as cultural heritage by UNESCO. In addition to the famous boys’ choir, the VBC Campus includes a children’s choir (Chorus Primus, founded in 1998), a girls’ choir (Wiener Chormädchen, founded in 2004), and a youth choir (Chorus Juventus, founded in 2010).

TRACKLIST:
1. *01 Ludwig Senfl (um 1490–1543)
Das Geläut zu Speyer (The Church Bells of Speyer)

02 Josquin Desprez (c. 1455–1521)
El grillo (The cricket) NJE 28.12 (1505)

03 Hotaru koi (Firefly)
Japanisches Volkslied, Arr. Ro Ogura

*04 Jacobus Vaet (c. 1529–1567)
Musica Dei Donum optimi (Music is the gift from the supreme God)

*05 Claudio Monteverdi (1567–1643)
Magnificat I à 10/14, from: Selva morale e spirituale, SV 281

*06 Antonio Caldara (1670–1736)
Veni Sancte spiritus (Come, Holy Ghost)
Words attributed to Stephen Langton (c. 1150–1228)

07 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Venite, populi (Come, ye peoples) K. 260 (248a)
Offertorium de venerabili sacramento

*08 Antonio Salieri (1750–1825)
Salve Regina (Hail, Holy Queen)
Words attributed to Hermann von Reichenau (1013–1054)

09 Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Insanae et vanae curae (Mad and senseless worries) Hob. XXI:1, 13c
Arr. Joseph Barnby (1838–1896)

*10 Anton Bruckner (1824–1896)
Ecce sacerdos magnus (Behold, a great priest) WAB 13

11 Anton Bruckner
Virga Jesse floruit (The rod of Jesse blossomed) WAB 52

*12 Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Erlkönig (Erl King) D 328
Words: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)
Arr. Oliver Gies

*13 Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Ode to Joy (Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee)
Words: Henry van Dyke Jr. (1852–1933) | Arr. Mervyn Warren
From the movie Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

14 Josef Strauss (1827–1870)
Matrosenpolka (Sailors’ Polka) opus 52
Words: Tina Breckwoldt, Arr. Gerald Wirth

15 Johann Strauss II (1825–1899)
Kaiserwalzer (Emperor Waltz) opus 437
Words: Victor Gombocz, Arr. Gerald Wirth (choir); Alexander Graf (strings)

*16 Ludwig Senfl (um 1490–1543)
Das Geläut zu Speyer (The Church Bells of Speyer). Encore
*First recordings by the Vienna Boys Choir