Christmas In Vienna

Read About This Recording

Vienna has been recognized as the home and center of musical activity throughout the world for centuries. The long list of composers who worked there includes Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, the "waltzing" Strauss family and Mahler. Vienna is also home to one of the world finest opera houses and one of the great orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic. Yet the city's most venerated and oldest musical institution is the internationally renowned Vienna Boys' Choir.

The story of the Vienna Boys' Choir dates back to 1498 when Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I created the Hof-Musikkapelle (Court Music Chapel) of which the choir formed a vital part. Since then, the Vienna Boys' Choir has been a fixed attraction in Austrian musical life, with more than 500 years of active service. Through time, countless distinguished Viennese musicians received their musical training with the choir, including — most famously of all — Franz Schubert, who became a member in 1808. Great composers and teachers have repeatedly improved the musical quality of the Vienna Boys' Choir, including Johann Fux, Antonio Salieri, Franz Joseph Haydn and his brother, Michael Haydn. The 19th century composer Anton Bruckner, as court organist, rehearsed his own masses with the choir. If a performance went particularly well, it was his custom to reward the boys with a feast of cake and sweets.

The members, 100 strong and dressed in their traditional "sailor's" costumes (a sword was also part of the "uniform" but was eliminated following the dissolution of the Imperial court), create an air of carefree innocence, enhanced by the supreme purity of their boy soprano and alto voices. Unnoticed but not insignificant, is the unflappable maturity of these singers to tackle the most demanding music in the repertoire as well as create a signature intonation and sound. They are Austria's "singing ambassadors."

Christmas, of course, is a big part of the choir's repertoire, with concerts scheduled yearly. We present an album of Christmas treasures that the choir performs in concert at holiday time including "O Christmas Tree," "Silent Night," "Come Ye Shepherds" and 18 more. We invite you to sample the Vienna Boys' Choir — a beloved institution and a worldwide treasure. Recommended!

—Edward Jacquet

Quotes

"The Vienna Boys' Choir continues to delight listeners around the globe." —The Columbus Dispatch

Contents

Gegrüßt seist du, Maria; Als Maria übers Gebirge ging (Magnificat); Maria durch ein Dornwald ging; Hirtenterzett (Tuet eilends erwachen); Kommet ihr Hirten; Gehts, Buama, stehts gschwind auf; Süßer die Glocken nie klingen; O Tannenbaum; Still, Still, Still; O du fröhliche, o du selige; Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht; Es wird schon glei dumpa; Ihr Kinderlein kommet; Auf, auf ihr Hirten; Es hat sich halt eröffnet; O Jubel, o Freud; Ein Kind ward geboren gar wunderschön; Wiagngsangl (Hitsche hei, hutsche hei); Heißa, Buama; Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen; Heiligste Nacht.

Vienna Boys' Choir; Uwe Christian Harrer, Director.