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Vienna Boys Choir
Fri, December 8, 2023
THE PROGRAM

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR
Wiener Sängerknaben

Christmas in Vienna
Manuel Huber, conductor

La sui monti del est (Over the hills, far away) from the opera, Turandot 

 

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

Excerpt from the cantata, La Damoiselle Élue  (The Blassed Damozel), L. 62 (1887-88)

 

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)
Words: Dante Gabriel Roessetti (1828-1882)
French translation: Gabriel Sarrazin (1853-1935)

Tota pulchra es Maria (You are wholly beautiful, Mary)
From: Quatre motets sur des themes grégoriens, opus 10 (1960)

 

Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)   

Cantate Domino (Sing to the Lord)
For four-part choir a capella

 

Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612)

Bourree II in A Major
From: English Suite No. 2 BWV 807

 

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Arr. Manuel Huber

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A little night music), K. 525

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Arr. Gerald Wirth

Ronde (Roundelay)
From: Trois chansons No. 3 (1916)

 

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

Bunte Shlangen, zweigezüngt! (Ye spotted snakes, with double tongues)
Elves‘ Chorus, from: Ein Sommernachtstraum (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), opus 61/4 (1842)

 

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847)

"No One is Alone" / "Children Will Listen"
From the musical Into the Woods (1991)

 

Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021

La sui monti del est (Over the hills, far away) from the opera, Turandot

 

Giaccomo Puccini (1858-1924)

INTERMISSION

Andachtsjodler (Devotional yodel)

 

Christmas Yodel from the Austrian Alps

Es wird scho glei dumpa (It will be dark soon)
Sacred lullaby from Upper Austra

 

Anton Reidinger (1839-1912)
Arr. Gerald Wirth

Les Patineurs (The skaters), waltz opus 183

 

Emile Waldteufel (1837-1915) Words: Tina Breckwoldt Arr. Manuel Huber

Tundra

 

Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978)
Words: Charles Anthony Silvestri (b. 1965)

Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk)

 

Mykola Leontovych (1877-1921)
Engligh words & arr.: Peter J. Wilhousky (1902-1978)

Cradle Hymn
Christmas Lullaby

 

Kim André Arnesen (b. 1980)

O Holy Night (Cantique de Noel) 1847

 

Adolphe Adam (1803-1856)
English words: John Sullivan Dwight (1812-1893) 1855

Let It Snow!

 

Jule Styne (1905-1994)
Words: Sammy Cahn (1913-1993); arr. Kirby Shaw

Gaudete (Rejoice!)
from the Piae cantiones (Pious songs, Finland 1582)

 

Arr. Gerald Wirth

El burrito de Belen (The little donkey from Bethlehem)
Villancico from Venezuela

 

Hugo Blanco (1940-2015)

Hail Holy Queen
From the movie „Sister Act“ (1992)

 

Arr. Marc Shaiman (b. 1955)
Adapted by Roger Emerson


PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Hotel Residenz Palais Coburg is the Vienna Boys Choir general sponsor.

www.wsk.at | www.viennaboyschoir.net

Exclusive Tour Management:
Opus 3 Artists
470 Park Avenue South, 9th Floor North
New York, NY 10016

www.opus3artists.com

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Vienna Boys Choir

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR

The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the most famous choirs in the world, and one of its oldest. In 1498, Emperor Maximilian I moved his court to Vienna to establish the Chapel Imperial there, along with the Vienna Boys Choir. Over the centuries, the court attracted musicians like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Anton Bruckner. Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, and Franz Schubert were themselves choirboys.

Today the Vienna Boys Choir is a private, non-profit organization, which relies on sponsorship and donations. The Choir maintains a primary school, a junior, and a senior high school. 300 boys and girls between the ages of six and 19 attend the Choir's Schools in Vienna's Augarten park. All receive individual voice lessons and sing in one of the choirs. The Choir's education is open to all, regardless of their origin, nationality, or religion. About third of the students go on to become music professionals.

The 100 boy choristers between the ages of nine and 14 are divided into four choirs. Between them, the choirs give around 300 concerts each year, attended by almost half a million spectators around the world. Since 1924, the boys have sung over 1000 tours in 100 different countries, which has resulted in a staggering 29,000 performances. At the Sunday services in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel, they perform with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Opera Chorus. The Choir frequently appears with major orchestras, conducted by the likes of Joana Mallwitz, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann, and Simone Young. Recent highlights include appearances at the Salzburg Festival and at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year’s Concert.

The Vienna Boys Choir's singing tradition is listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in Austria. Professor Gerald Wirth, himself a former choirboy, is the Artistic Director of the entire Campus.


MANUEL HUBER, Conductor

Manuel Huber is one of the Vienna Boys Choir's conductors and he also arranges music and lectures on choral conducting and voice training.

Huber was born in Brixen-Bressanone, South Tyrol. He started playing the piano and singing at a young age. For eight years, he sang with the Vinzentinum Boys' Choir in Brixen. At 15, Manuel Huber started conducting the choirs in his native village of Weitental and began studying piano at Claudio Monteverdi Conservatory in Bolzano. He went on to study choral and orchestral conducting, music education, and psychology in Salzburg, finishing his courses with distinction.

He has conducted the Chamber Orchestra Budweis, the Bad Reichenhall Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mozarteum Symphony Orchestra. In 2017, he headed the youth project at an opera festival in Immling, Bavaria. For two years, he was choirmaster and voice coach of the Tölz Boys Choir in Munich.

In 2019, Manuel Huber became choirmaster of the Vienna Boys Choir's Mozart Choir. He selects and rehearses the boys' concert repertoire, as well as the masses for the sung services at Vienna's Imperial Chapel. In addition, he prepares the choristers for sound recordings and film projects, and for special concerts conducted by the likes of Ivor Bolton, Riccardo Muti, and Franz Welser-Möst.

Asked about his work with his choir, Manuel Huber said, “I love our work together, the boys' enthusiasm for music. My goal is to teach them the tools of the trade, to understand and feel music. It is wonderful to see them grow up and come into their own.”

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