"Voices," the latest release from the Vienna Boys Choir, is an anthology of selected recordings from the last 15 years.
Lukas Beck
“Voices,” the latest release from the Vienna Boys Choir, is an anthology of selected recordings from the last 15 years. Featuring a mix of sacred and secular works, the disc highlights the choristers’ distinctive sound and bel canto vocal training. Ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Franz Schubert and Georg Friedrich Händel, the works have been individually tailored to the singers’ voices. ‘
The special quality of the boys’ voices lies in their fragility and transience, which gives every note a particular depth. Each chorister aims to create a personal sound that is an expression of one’s own personality. The Vienna Boys Choir specifically nurtures this individuality. Through intensive individual voice training, the children develop their own voices and blend them harmoniously into a choral sound.
Every voice is unique, an acoustic fingerprint of an individual’s personality. The Vienna Boys Choir is committed to giving every child his very own voice — the sound that corresponds to their nature. Only when every voice can express itself vocally in this way and contribute to the choral sound is the goal achieved. The basis for this is individual voice training, which promotes bel canto singing with the correct support.
The Vienna Boys Choir returns to Orchestra Hall for its annual holiday program, in a Chicago Symphony Center Presents concert on Nov. 28.
The 12-track album, released in May on the Supreme Music Group label, features classical and sacred pieces such as Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, Vivaldi’s Nulla in mundo pax, works by Mendelssohn and Schumann, and vocal pieces by Franz Schubert such as Auf dem Wasser zu singen D774.
One of the world’s oldest and best-known vocal ensembles, the Vienna Boys Choir has roots dating back to 1296 and was officially founded in 1498 by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. Over the centuries, prominent composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert were associated with the choir.
Today, it forms part of a modern campus comprising several children’s and youth choirs as well as schools. More than 330 children and young people receive musical training there, which is recognized as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Nearly a hundred choristers perform worldwide and give around 300 concerts each year.
In addition to their concert activities, they are involved in social initiatives, including projects such as Music for Hope, which gives children worldwide access to music.
