Mea Culpa
I have a confession to make. I don’t really know everything, I just like to sound as if I do. I have been told that I voice my opinions so strongly that people think I know what I’m talking about, but I usually don’t.
When I say that this choir or that choir is the best what I really mean is that I like them best of the ones I have heard, but I have by no means heard them all. I’m no expert on the subject, just a passionate amateur.
I keep finding music that is new to me and a lot of it is so great that I have to revise my opinions about who is best. Really, though, it isn’t accurate to say that any one group or artist is better than another. All of them are different, and all of them are good. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder.
Sometimes searching the internet for information is like panning for gold and now and then you find a nugget. I was happy to come across a European site called Festival.
http://www.festival-turne.com/index_eng.htm
This is the link. Here are boy choirs from across Europe that I have never heard of but their recordings are available in the Festival shop. Each CD has the tracks listed and even has samples. Prices are listed in Euros and the exchange rate right now is good if you live in the U.S. as ten Euros converts to about seven dollars and fifty cents. I ordered two Polski Slowiki CD’s, Dennis and The Best of… to start with.
This year I believe I will concentrate on learning more about these choirs whose music isn’t available from the main music sites.
Some of those groups are Luebecker Knabenkantorei, Les Moineaux Du Val De Marne, Boni Pueri, The Boy’s Choir Glink School, Kapella Khloptchikau, Nidarosdomens Guttekor (I’m not making these names up), Sweschnikor Boy’s Choir of Moscow, the Riga Dome Boy’s Choir and more.
I will post reviews about each new choir I find and, as always, I welcome any comments about these or other groups or soloists.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
COSTUMES
I wish I could have been a choirboy. Two things stood in my way, a complete lack of talent and I wasn’t Catholic. Still, I think it must feel good to wear the cassock and surplice. It looks comfortable and it’s a beautiful costume, especially with the ruffled collar. I don’t know if the color of the cassock has any meaning but I’ve seen both red and black ones.
I was reading ‘The English Chorister, a History’ by Alan Mould, who used to be head-master of Saint John’s College choir school, and I came across a line that made me laugh.
He wrote,” Evidently a particular problem of the late fifteenth century, ‘our present wanton age’, was a boyish urge to wear outlandish clothes, even in quire: ‘pointed slippers, long hose, strait doublets and short cassocks barely covering the buttocks‘.”
So a teenager’s need for unconventional clothing is not just a modern trait. I won’t say what I was wearing in my teens but I burned the pictures.
There are other choir costumes today besides the traditional cassock and surplice. Libera is known for floor length white monk’s robes with hoods. Their robes are very full and take quite a bit of fabric to make so they look substantial and strong. It’s a look that is both historic and spiritual.
Monk’s robes are also worn by Les Petits Chanteurs a la Croix de Bois.
I don’t know the history of their costumes but they have wooden crosses dangling like pendants from their necks.
The most famous uniforms belong to the Vienna Boys Choir, black or white sailor suits. I’m told that the dark ones are deep blue but they look black to me and these are worn for formal concerts and important events.
Les Choristes (Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint Marc) wear loose, baggy trousers that come to just below the knee, long white sox, a light blue pin-striped shirt and a sleeveless sweater that is sort of a slate color. It looks very French.
As I look at boy choirs from around the world I am finding that there is a huge variety of costumes, more than I realized. There are all sorts of robes and suits in a wide range of colors. I think it makes the whole world of boy choirs much more fun.
I wish I could have been a choirboy. Two things stood in my way, a complete lack of talent and I wasn’t Catholic. Still, I think it must feel good to wear the cassock and surplice. It looks comfortable and it’s a beautiful costume, especially with the ruffled collar. I don’t know if the color of the cassock has any meaning but I’ve seen both red and black ones.
I was reading ‘The English Chorister, a History’ by Alan Mould, who used to be head-master of Saint John’s College choir school, and I came across a line that made me laugh.
He wrote,” Evidently a particular problem of the late fifteenth century, ‘our present wanton age’, was a boyish urge to wear outlandish clothes, even in quire: ‘pointed slippers, long hose, strait doublets and short cassocks barely covering the buttocks‘.”
So a teenager’s need for unconventional clothing is not just a modern trait. I won’t say what I was wearing in my teens but I burned the pictures.
There are other choir costumes today besides the traditional cassock and surplice. Libera is known for floor length white monk’s robes with hoods. Their robes are very full and take quite a bit of fabric to make so they look substantial and strong. It’s a look that is both historic and spiritual.
Monk’s robes are also worn by Les Petits Chanteurs a la Croix de Bois.
I don’t know the history of their costumes but they have wooden crosses dangling like pendants from their necks.
The most famous uniforms belong to the Vienna Boys Choir, black or white sailor suits. I’m told that the dark ones are deep blue but they look black to me and these are worn for formal concerts and important events.
Les Choristes (Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint Marc) wear loose, baggy trousers that come to just below the knee, long white sox, a light blue pin-striped shirt and a sleeveless sweater that is sort of a slate color. It looks very French.
As I look at boy choirs from around the world I am finding that there is a huge variety of costumes, more than I realized. There are all sorts of robes and suits in a wide range of colors. I think it makes the whole world of boy choirs much more fun.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
I am having trouble finding some of the older CD's like Polski Slowiki's Dennis. If anyone has a copy to sell, or if you just want to say hi, email me at sangerknaben@gmail.com.
English Cathedrals
The thing is, though, that I really cannot tell all that much difference between many of them. Westminster, Glouster, Winchester, Saint Paul’s all sound pretty much the same to me. Of course, they are all wonderful but… similar. I’m sure that real audiophiles would not have any problem distinguishing one from another but I just don’t have the experience yet.
That doesn’t stop me from getting their CD’s, though, and I have music from all of them and more.
Some of my favorites are The Choir of New College and their CD Agnus Dei: Music of Inner Harmony
Winchester Cathedral’s choir’s album titled Allegri Miserere and Other Choral Favorites which features an achingly pretty solo by Michael Liley, This Is The Record of John
Saint Paul’s Anthems, Magnificats, Hymns and a Psalm is a beautiful CD
I have Favorite Hymns from The choir of the Abbey School who actually do have a recognizable style which I like
It makes me happy to know that thousands of boys out there love choral singing and will keep the art and tradition alive for a long, long time.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Silk Road
The newest CD from the Vienna Boy’s Choir is called Silk Road. I had my doubts about it at first because it is so different from the other music that I associate with them. I believe this is what used to be referred to as World music.
With this album they are showing us what they can really do and it’s impressive. I find something new to like about it every time I play it.
I picked up a copy at their concert last fall when they toured the US and it has music they have collected from around the world. From Scandinavia to Asia to New Zealand they picked Polkas, folk songs, spiritual music and more.
At the end there is a very powerful version of Mozart’s Requiem for which I always turn up the volume and say to heck with the neighbors.
This autumn the DVD of the motion picture, Silk Road, will be released. The CD is music from that film so we will get to see the boys in some of the exotic locations from their tours. They even appear with those terracotta warriors which were unearthed in China. Something to look forward to.
The newest CD from the Vienna Boy’s Choir is called Silk Road. I had my doubts about it at first because it is so different from the other music that I associate with them. I believe this is what used to be referred to as World music.
With this album they are showing us what they can really do and it’s impressive. I find something new to like about it every time I play it.
I picked up a copy at their concert last fall when they toured the US and it has music they have collected from around the world. From Scandinavia to Asia to New Zealand they picked Polkas, folk songs, spiritual music and more.
At the end there is a very powerful version of Mozart’s Requiem for which I always turn up the volume and say to heck with the neighbors.
This autumn the DVD of the motion picture, Silk Road, will be released. The CD is music from that film so we will get to see the boys in some of the exotic locations from their tours. They even appear with those terracotta warriors which were unearthed in China. Something to look forward to.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
In looking at my music collection I realized that everything I have, with a few exceptions, is English. I have CD’s from some of the major cathedral choirs and several solo artists, but I’m lacking in music from other countries. There are great choirs in Germany and France and surely there are plenty in Spain and Italy (BCSD lists a great many),but the problem for me is understanding what I am buying. I don’t read German at all and my other language skills are regrettably weak so I don’t know what the CD descriptions say and I’m unsure about ordering something priced in foreign currency. It would be easy to miscalculate and pay too much, plus I’m uncomfortable about using my credit card in so many different locations.
There is a new web site that will be opening soon that will help with those problems by offering boy choir music from around the world; sort of one-stop shopping. I look forward to doing some business with boyschoirmusic.com as soon as they get up and running. There is a link to the site on this blog.
I do recommend one particular CD that gives great samples of boy's choir music. That one is...
Les Plus Belles Chorales D’Enfants
This is a double CD that I listen to a lot. It features several different choirs like Libera, King’s College, WSK, The American Boychoir, Trinity boys choir and more. A great introduction to the genre, it's one of the first CD's I bought and I've been really happy with it.
The type of songs vary with WSK doing some pop numbers like All You Need Is Love and Eternal Flame.
It starts with the Choir of Gamins from the opera Carmen, done by the boys choir of Toulouse. There is also music by Britten, Faure, Rorem and others including Libera’s Voca Me. I especially like one opulent number titled O Virgo Splendens.
There is more than one CD out there with this same name but the one has a picture of four boys, in profile, on the cover.
There is a new web site that will be opening soon that will help with those problems by offering boy choir music from around the world; sort of one-stop shopping. I look forward to doing some business with boyschoirmusic.com as soon as they get up and running. There is a link to the site on this blog.
I do recommend one particular CD that gives great samples of boy's choir music. That one is...
Les Plus Belles Chorales D’Enfants
This is a double CD that I listen to a lot. It features several different choirs like Libera, King’s College, WSK, The American Boychoir, Trinity boys choir and more. A great introduction to the genre, it's one of the first CD's I bought and I've been really happy with it.
The type of songs vary with WSK doing some pop numbers like All You Need Is Love and Eternal Flame.
It starts with the Choir of Gamins from the opera Carmen, done by the boys choir of Toulouse. There is also music by Britten, Faure, Rorem and others including Libera’s Voca Me. I especially like one opulent number titled O Virgo Splendens.
There is more than one CD out there with this same name but the one has a picture of four boys, in profile, on the cover.
Monday, March 2, 2009
I feel that boy’s choirs are more pleasing than any other type of choir so the top five boy choirs are also the top five choirs in the world.
Those five choirs that are the best of the best are:
1. The Vienna Boy’s Choir
2. Libera
3. The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
4. The American Boychoir
5. The Boys Air Choir
Each of these choirs has a uniquely beautiful sound that helps them stand apart and above the others. If I’m wrong, tell me. Leave a comment and let us know who you like best.
Of course, I like a lot of boy's choirs and another one that I recommend is...
Les Petits Chanteurs A La Croix De Bois
The little singers of the wooden cross (which they wear around their necks) is how their name translates but usually they are called the little singers of Paris. Founded in 1906 this choir has traveled extensively around the world with enthusiastic receptions everywhere. They went through some very rough years during WWII while they carried on a peace mission, bringing music to French prisoners of the German occupiers. They survived and grew and today they have beaucoup recordings.
I have a CD titled Les Plus Belles Chansons, a double album that is pretty novel.
It’s in a different style from the other music I have but it’s really fun.
Probably my favorite song is Le Duo De Chats by Rossini which consists of two boys singing ‘meow’ back and forth to each other… in a melodic way, of course. It’s a song to make you smile.
“Often imitated, rarely equaled, they are a part of the national heritage” is one descriptive quote that I found. It was also said that they have a ‘learned simplicity’. I will definitely be getting more of their work.
Those five choirs that are the best of the best are:
1. The Vienna Boy’s Choir
2. Libera
3. The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
4. The American Boychoir
5. The Boys Air Choir
Each of these choirs has a uniquely beautiful sound that helps them stand apart and above the others. If I’m wrong, tell me. Leave a comment and let us know who you like best.
Of course, I like a lot of boy's choirs and another one that I recommend is...
Les Petits Chanteurs A La Croix De Bois
The little singers of the wooden cross (which they wear around their necks) is how their name translates but usually they are called the little singers of Paris. Founded in 1906 this choir has traveled extensively around the world with enthusiastic receptions everywhere. They went through some very rough years during WWII while they carried on a peace mission, bringing music to French prisoners of the German occupiers. They survived and grew and today they have beaucoup recordings.
I have a CD titled Les Plus Belles Chansons, a double album that is pretty novel.
It’s in a different style from the other music I have but it’s really fun.
Probably my favorite song is Le Duo De Chats by Rossini which consists of two boys singing ‘meow’ back and forth to each other… in a melodic way, of course. It’s a song to make you smile.
“Often imitated, rarely equaled, they are a part of the national heritage” is one descriptive quote that I found. It was also said that they have a ‘learned simplicity’. I will definitely be getting more of their work.
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