On Feb. 7, the St.Thomas Boys’ Choir

(Thomanerchor), of the St.Thomas Church of Leipzig,Germany, the world’s oldestand foremost boys’ choir,performed in Washington,D.C. before an overflowaudience at the Basilica ofthe National Shrine of theImmaculate Conception (theBasilica is the largest RomanCatholic Church in theWestern Hemisphere).

Estimates of the crowdattending the free concertvaried from 7,000 to 9,000,and at least half, if not more,of those in attendance wereyoung people under the ageof sixteen. For most of these,it was their first concert ofClassical music. Sourcesclose to the Thomanerchorreported that this was notonly their best performance,but also the largest audiencebefore which they have everperformed.

The concert was spon-sored by the Committee forExcellence in Educationthrough Music, of which theSchiller Institute is a mem-ber, in arrangement withIntermuse music agency, incollaboration with the Basili-ca. Inspired by the presence ofthe Thomanerchor in Wash-ington, the Committee also sponsored asymposium at Howard University [SEE

article, page 83].During the week prior to the concert,

the Washington Post had attempted toprevent both the concert and the sympo-sium from taking place. The Post wrotethat “organizers of a Washington con-cert by a famous European boys’ choirlearned to their surprise last month thata symposium at which the group wasscheduled to appear was sponsored byLyndon LaRouche’s controversialSchiller Institute.” The Post’s real con-cern was revealed one paragraph later:“The Institute has also sponsored events

addressing supposed crimes committedby the . . . Anti-Defamation Leagueagainst the Black community.”

The ideology behind the Post’sattempt to “red-line” African-Ameri-cans out of contact with the Thomaner-chor was exemplified by a Jan. 5, 1995editorial by Lord William Rees-Mogg,in The Times of London, entitled, “It’sThe Elite Who Matter.” Mogg statedthat “The 21st century will requiregreater emphasis on the highest skills ofthe ablest students. . . . In internationalcompetition, perhaps 5% of the popula-tion will produce 80% of the nationalincome, and the employment of the 95%

will depend on the success ofthe few.”

In contrast to the Rees-Mogg/Post notion of a “cog-nitive elite” destined to ruleover the disadvantaged, theview of the concert organiz-ers was that expressed by theCzech composer AntoninDvorák, who lived in theUnited States from 1892 to1895: “It is to the poor that Iturn for musical greatness.The poor work hard: Theystudy seriously. Rich peopleare apt to apply themselveslightly to music, and to aban-don the painful toil to whichevery strong musician mustsubmit without complaintand without rest.” This wasalso the perspective of theBrotherhood of the CommonLife, the teaching orderfounded at the end of theFourteenth century, whichwas dedicated to the educa-tion of the poor, an effortwhich contributed directly tothe Renaissance of the Fif-teenth century.

Leo Nestor, Music Direc-tor of the Basilica, succinctlycharacterized what was real-ly occurring: a historic, once-in-a-lifetime event. “Seventhousand people exceededthe seating capacity of theBasilica . . . at a time acces-

sible to families [4:00 p.m.–ed.], ofwhich there were many, and classes ofchildren, for whom many seats hadbeen reserved. . . . In my fifteen yearsas music director at this nationalCatholic Church, I have never heardsuch wonderful music-making. In aworld which . . . both fears and deifiesthe music of J.S. Bach, the masses whoattended were presented with a readingof his music which was at once mostdurable, most enlightened, and mostunderstood by singers/conductor, henceby all in attendance.”

Alan Ogden contributed the followingtwo reports on this historic musical event.

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MU SIC

Thomanerchor Brings The Spirit of J.S. Bach

To the Poor

Listeners poured out into the aisles to hear the Thomanerchorpresent this historic free concert.

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Click here for Full Issue of Fidelio Volume 7, Number 1, Spring 1998

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The concert given by the eighty boysand young men of the choir of the

St. Thomas Church of Leipzig, Ger-many, was a precious and rare gift, themusic of Johann Sebastian Bach andFelix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy as wehave never heard it before. Under thedirection of Thomaskantor GeorgChristoph Biller, in their first U.S. tour,the Thomanerchor, as it is called in Ger-man, presented a program of elevensacred works and three encores torepeated standing ovations.

The choir has an unbroken tradition,since its founding in 1212 in the easternGerman city of Leipzig, and is nearly asold as the city itself. It is closely identifiedwith the music of the two greatest com-posers of the Lutheran Confession: J.S.Bach, who was Thomaskantor there fortwenty-seven years, and wrote many ofhis works for this choir, and Mendels-sohn, a native of Leipzig, who was theprimary reviver of Bach’s works. Theirwhole choral program was sung a capella.

In the two interludes during whichthe choir rested—a normal feature of aconcert of this length (over two hours)—instrumental music was provided by theMaryland ’Cello Ensemble. During thefirst interlude, they performed the Aminor Violin Concerto by AntonioVivaldi. Ten-year-old violinist Em-manuel Borowsky played the solo with abeautiful consistency and apresence which delighted espe-cially the many children in theaudience. Ensemble directorCecylia Barczyk played the’cello solo in the second inter-lude, an Adagio by TommasoAlbinoni, a contemporary ofBach and Vivaldi.

These reflective instrumen-tal interludes seemed to set off,and enhance, the power andimpact of the complex contra-puntal choral music. The sus-tained and unified effect of thechoir’s performance—a sort ofchoral guided missile—, withthe attention of the singers riv-eted on their Kantor and theirminds cooperating with the

minds of Bach and Mendelssohn, had animpact on the audience so uplifting, thatit was fairly described as overwhelming.The works presented were primarily“double choral” works, with eight-partcounterpoint, with the Thomanerchorsingers divided into eight independent“voices”: two choirs, standing side byside, each with soprano, alto, tenor, andbass sections. The resulting performanceconveyed the profound antiphonal effectof the presentation of a dialoguebetween man and the Creator.

The Classical principle in art andmusic is the creation, by the composer andthe performers who share his creative pas-sion and understanding, of insight in theminds of the audience, into the power oftheir own minds to think and create. Thisis done through paradox and metaphor,and transmits a higher, unspoken idea.The passionate and beautiful presentationby the Thomanerchor was true to this Clas-sical principle. The individual member ofthe audience was enabled, and actuallycaused, to experience the kind of happi-

“Their mastery caused the listener to experience, with joy, his mind being freed to think.”

“Double choral” arrangement: two choirs, side by side, each with soprano, alto, tenor, and bass sections.

Thomanerchor: A Moment of True Happiness

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ness and clarity of thought which bringsout “the better angel” of his or her nature.The precision and mastery of vocal differ-entiation with which the boys sang,caused the individual in the audience toexperience, with joy, his mind being freedto think. As one high school studentobserved: “The way they sing, I couldunderstand, even though I didn’t under-stand most of the German words!”

Ordering Principle

The ordering of the selections in theprogram contributed to the powerfuleffect of the concert. Not only were thespecifically liturgical compositionsplaced in the program in much the sameway that they are situated in the order ofa liturgy, but from the first Mendelssohnpiece, Warum toben die Heiden? (“Whydo the heathen rage?”) to the final“Amen!” encore, but the entire program

successively traced out the Christian his-tory of salvation from sin and death,including, as the compositions followedfrom one to the next, Christ’s teaching,Crucifixion, and Resurrection.

The text of the opening Mendelssohnmotet is Psalm 2, proclaiming the powerof the Lord over “the kings and judgesof the earth” who defy and set them-selves against the will of God. This piecerises quickly to an intense, repeated, andsharply accented “du sollst sie mit eisernenZepter zerschlagen” (“thou shalt breakthem with a rod of iron”). The Thoman-erchor’s excellence was apparent imme-

diately in this first motet. The fine andprecise phrasing with which they sing,in the context of the antiphonal counter-point of this repertoire, was a hallmarkof the entire performance.

The next two pieces, both settings byMendelssohn, of the liturgical Kyrie Eleisonand Gloria, implore God’s mercy onmankind. The answer to the prayer was inthe next selection, the magnificent Bachmotet Fürchte dich nicht (“Fear not for Iam with thee”), a setting of Isaiah 41:10.The promise of help is proclaimed by Bachand his choir, in the insistent “I am thyGod. . . . Be not dismayed. . . . I streng-then thee.”—phrases brightly illumined bythe choir, and cornerstones of the fullfugue which drew the audience in. Thefugal section of this motet revealed thechoir’s full power to sustain an idea,through increasing contrapuntal tension, adriving rhythm, and the ability to sudden-

ly step up the tempo. Truly, fear was van-quished in this motet, a high point of theprogram, and more than a few in the audi-ence felt tears of joy rising in their eyes.

Two other Bach motets were power-fully sung, Der Geist hilft unser Schwach-heit auf (“The Spirit lifts us from ourweakness”) from St. Paul’s Epistle to theRomans, and Jauchzet dem Herrn alleWelt (“Make a joyful noise, all yelands”), a setting of Psalm 100. Themiddle of the program included twoworks from living Leipzig composers—Drei Seligspreisungen (“Three blessings”)composed by Volcker Braeutigam in

1969 as part of a requiem for Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr., which is a setting ofthe Beatitudes; and a motet [O grosser,unbegreiflicher Gott (“O great, unfath-omable God”)] written in 1994 bySiegfried Thiele and dedicated to theThomanerchor and its Kantor GeorgChristoph Biller.

The program was capped by threemore Mendelssohn pieces: a GermanSanctus (“Holy, Holy, Holy”); Um unserSünden willen (“For the sake of oursins”); and Denn er hat seinen Engelnbefohlen über dir (“For He shall give Hisangels charge over thee”). The encoresincluded one selection in English,“Alleluia: Glory Be to the Father, Son,and Holy Ghost,” a demanding piecewith a quick tempo, which the choristersclearly love to sing; the widely knownSeventeenth-century chorale Lobe demHerren (“Praise to the Lord, theAlmighty”), which in its English transla-tion is a well-known hymn; and finally, ashort and spirited chorus on “Amen.”

A further word concerning the musi-cality of these boys, which lay behind theimpact of this concert: The very precisephrasing of this choir gave many whoheard it the impression of having heardpolyphony as it is meant to be, as oneaudience member remarked, “for thefirst time.” The enormous differentia-tion in volumes in which they areskilled—even used dramatically for thepoetic differentiations between individ-ual words or individual syllables—brings a clarity to the ideas in this greatmusic which often would be missed byperformers, and therefore by audiences.The Thomanerchor’s separation of thevocal lines, through articulation andphrasing, was outstanding, and yet, thevoices blended in a way unique to aboys’ choir. The freshness of the youngbass and tenor voices so closely matchesthe qualities of the boy sopranos andaltos, only a few years younger, thatoften one could not tell whether a par-ticular entrance was an alto or a tenorone. Herr Biller used this to advantage,unifying the choir as he conducted eventhe individual consonants in the “verti-cal” passages, where several differentvoice lines sing a section of the texttogether—for example, in the greatcadences at the end of the Bach motets.

Ten-year-old violinist Emmanuel Borowsky performs the Vivaldi A minor Violin Concerto.

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Because I am a speaker of German, Iwas privileged to serve as one of

several full-time chaperones, for a groupof nine Thomaner singers during theirentire stay in Washington. I emphasize“privileged,” because the experience wasnot only an opportunity to host theseaccomplished children and young men,it was a rare opportunity to get aglimpse inside what makes this uniqueand superlative Classical musical institu-tion “tick.”

As Americans, we are not in generalaccustomed to the quality of sustained andpervasive performance orientation whichshines through every moment of the col-lective life of this choir. I was so astonishedat some of the practices and institutionalculture in which this group is steeped, thatI felt myself in the presence of somethingnearly outside my nearly fifty-two years’experience, which includes a fairly exten-sive musical background.

The performance of music in a man-ner true to the spirit and intentions ofJ.S. Bach, and of the spirit of Leipzignative and Bach-revivalist FelixMendelssohn-Bartholdy, is the under-stood, shared mission of the teachers,officials, musicians, and singers of thisinstitution, from Thomaskantor MaestroBiller, down to the newest singers, nineand ten years old, in the Chor.

There is also something quite charac-teristically German about the modusoperandi of this school-and-choir, whichis distinguishable from the individualisticand informal approaches more character-istic of Americans. It was recently report-ed, for example, that university studentsin Germany demonstrating against thevicious austerity gripping that country,wrote on their placards, “Germany with-out education is like Kuwait without oil.”To be a Classical choir in Germany, is tobe a participant in one of the great tradi-tions of Renaissance culture. And, ofcourse, the choir is old. To be the world’soldest continuous musical institution, tobe the living representatives of a culturaleffort unbroken for 786 years, is to havean historical identity and institutionalmemory in a way virtually impossible inAmerica. Maestro Biller, for instance, is

identified as “the sixteenth Thomaskantorsince Bach.”

Dr. Charles Borowsky, in introduc-ing the Thomanerchor’s Washington,D.C. performance, said, that in a sense,we will hear angels sing. Maestro Biller,also speaking briefly (in German) beforethe concert, humorously dissented, say-ing that although some of his singersmay be angels (“Engel”), he thinks othersmay be rascals (“Bengel”). He alsoremarked that the important thing aboutthe Thomanerchor is not merely that theyhave sung for eight hundred years, but

that all during that eight hundred years,they have sung the praise of God. Hesaid that it is important to give this con-cert in the capital city of the UnitedStates, because Bach and political powerhave come together in one place. So,Maestro Biller, himself once a Thomaner-chor singer, suggested some interestingparadoxes, about how this very-highestmusical presentation is produced.

Everyone in the audience of aThomanerchor concert notices immedi-ately the quiet, dignified, concentrated,and patient behavior of the singers, asthey prepare for and sing their long pro-grams of the most demanding music.“There must be some very strict or

strong discipline here,” some are tempt-ed to think. “Why are my children sofussy, when these boys, hardly any olderthan my children, are so far away fromhome and so calm?” think others. Toanswer these questions, you must con-sider the opportunities given the mind,and the discipline within the mind, in anenvironment of education. What yousee, when you see these boys, is not arbi-trary or harsh discipline, but rather, agroup which has been educated,through the art of their music.

For example, as a friar toured the

boy singers through the historicmonastery in which they were housedduring their Washington, D.C. stay, themeanings of the religious symbols andhistory were alive and accessible to thestudents, because, as part of their choralrehearsals, they “study texts” of thegreat sacred music which is the heart oftheir schooling, for two hours per day.As young artists, they understoodquickly the paintings, panels, sculp-tures, mosaics, and stained glass win-dows, as coherent with their own expe-rience and part of their own heritage.Some were reading and translating theLatin inscriptions for their younger fel-low choristers, and others were clarify-

The Thomanerchor Is a Culture of Education

“In many ways, they are boys like any others. But, because of their education and the dedicationof their teachers, they have brought thousands of Americans a moment of passion and happiness.”

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ing historical or theological points fortheir fellows. As their two tour busescarried the choir and their Germanteachers by the Lincoln Memorial, and Iexplained that Lincoln was the nationalleader who “ended slavery in America,”the boys cheered vigorously.

When one of the men on tour withthem wants to call them to attention,one word is sufficient: A booming“SILENTIUM!” When the groups areto divide to the lodgings for the night,the boys themselves prepare the lists ofgroups in advance, balancing eachgroup between older, middle, andyounger boys. When the lists are readoff by a teacher, once through thenames (last names only) is sufficient,even in a cold outdoor setting. Whenthe chorus gathers for a con-cert, the roll is taken by theboys themselves for theirsection. When a youngerchild begins to act up, thereis no big dispute, only a clearstatement of standards ofbehavior and a reminder of“the way things are done inthe Thomanerchor” (andhave been done, for cen-turies). The details of life ontour are no problem for thisgroup. High morale, espritde corps, and self-disciplineare hallmarks of theirmethod. Accustomed to see-ing each other as friends andcollaborators, with whomthey live and work, each boyis confident who will wakethem, and that they will not be rushedor late. The older ones make sure theyounger are in bed on time, before theygo off to talk or play cards. Each knowshow to arrive on time for breakfast. Noone would think of leaving the table,without clearing it. The boys are unfail-ingly polite and friendly to their hosts.Delays or disruptions in schedules aregreeted with good humor and a degreeof patience which would be astonishingin an adult. I realized, that they are notnewcomers to what it takes to makemusic. They know how to organizethemselves, to minimize distraction, inorder to maximize their musical con-centration. The details have been honed

over the centuries.At breakfast, I asked the boys about

their concerts. I said, have you performedall over Germany? “Yes,” they answered.I pressed the point: “Other countries,too? The Czech Republic?” Yes, theyanswered, and Poland, Austria, Italy,Greece, England, France, and Switzer-land. Have you performed in Sweden orany other Scandinavian countries? Iasked. “No,” they replied, “The last timewe sang in Scandinavia was in the ’thir-ties or ’forties; I think 1938.” “Oh?” Ireplied, “that was when you guys werereally young!” But, they failed to get thejoke. I realized, that they think thateverything the Thomanerchor has done,they have done. They understand them-selves as being that historical institution.

Musical PreparationWhen asked how the incoming nine-year-olds are screened, the boys said, “itis those children who are most attractedto singing, who are chosen.” Traditional-ly, the Thomanerchor boys are drawnfrom the Leipzig local area, but theyexplained that since German reunifica-tion, they are now drawing from theMunich area and from other parts ofGermany. Roughly half the currentsingers are Leipzig-area natives. Theyhave accepted one boy from Switzerland.

The boys average about a year out ofsinging during their voice change, whenthey lose their status as a member of thealto or soprano sections and cease being

able to sing at all, and they count thedays until they can rejoin the rehearsalsand performances as a tenor or bass.Every student at the St. Thomas schoolis required to learn to play an instru-ment, and most study piano. Each boy,in addition to their regular academiccourses, studies choral singing andrehearses either in small groups or as awhole chorus, hours per day. They haveonly one hour each per week of privatevoice coaching, and this time is generallyspent in singing exercises. They said thatalthough it is known to happen, as partof the individual voice instruction, it isunusual for any of the boys to work onlieder. They are choral specialists, andstick to the choral work. They do notgenerally sing parts which are not their

own, they explained, but master theirown part. One American teacher askedthem, “What if one of the boys wantedto branch out into individual singing,say, into opera?” The answer was, “Hecould only do that if he got permissionfrom the Kantor first, and then he wouldhave to take a test, but before he couldtake the test, he would have to have thepermission of the Kantor.” The Kantor,for his part, is a figure of great respectand authority, who apparently speaks tothe boys only on the most importantmusical and performance matters, andwho commands total attention simplyby speaking.

The preparation for a single concert,

Maestro Biller presents his students. Some may be “angels,” others “rascals”—but their performanceshows their mastery of the intellectual qualities achieved through “Excellence in Education.”

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apart from all the educational, musical,voice training, rehearsal, and logisticalwork, which by the time of the concertdate has all been finished, begins hoursin advance, with attention to proper eat-ing (not too much before the concert),and the final stage before gettingdressed and getting to the concert hall:“Schlafruhe,” when all the boys sleep.This is an example of the dedication toexcellence: They set aside an hour and ahalf to two hours for sleeping before allconcerts. The reasoning, as explained tome by one of the teachers, is this: Thesinging is improved by sleeping, there-fore, since we want the singing to be asgood as possible, obviously, the boysmust sleep. There is no dispute aboutthis. The boys obey this rule: they agree;they cooperate; they sleep. Below age fif-teen, it is mandatory. Ages fifteen andabove, sleep is recommended, but restand quiet, minimally, is required.

Concert Preparation

Next comes the sound check, at least inthe very difficult acoustical environmentof the National Shrine, which is an enor-mous, cavernous echo-box, as all verylarge churches tend to be. This is aprocess of singing bits of the concertpieces a few hours in advance of the con-cert, with one of the older singers func-tioning as conductor, as an understudy,and the Kantor listening from variouspoints in the church, and, by bits anddegrees, instructing the student conduc-tor and the singers on how the perfor-mance is to be adapted to overcome theproblems presented by the acoustics. Theadjustments are complex, but the amountof time required to complete them suc-cessfully is also known in advance. Theprocess involves changing the tempi tothe exact ones appropriate to the acousticresponse of the space, the echoes, and the“layering” of sound. This is for the bene-fit of both the audience, and the singers,who will be presented with intonationproblems resulting from the changes inpitch as the echoing sound comes back totheir ears. It involves adopting certainapproaches to tone quality, demanded bythe specific environment, varying per-haps from piece to piece, as well as care-fully adjusting the balance between theeight sections.

Then, the Kantor speaks quietly, atlength, with the assembled choir abouttheir place in history, their responsibili-ty, the history of the Thomanerchor, theirrelationship to the audience, and the cir-cumstances surrounding the specificconcert.

The next stage is to assemble in awarm-up room, for the long wait untilconcert time. The room available was toosmall for such a large chorus, but theyhandled the situation beautifully. Theyspoke quietly with each other and withthe several adults who travel with them.Some read schoolbooks or novels. Someof the younger ones carefully studiedtheir complex musical scores. It was hotand crowded, without enough seats, butcalm and concentration prevailed. Some-one had provided inviting large bowls ofdelicious-looking red punch, with icefloating in it, in these hot and stuffy con-ditions. Yet, because of the level of prepa-ration by the chorus, not even theyoungest drank any punch (it wouldhave an adverse effect on their singing).Instead, some bottled water, kept at roomtemperature, was passed around, andsome drank about a half cup of it. As thebrief vocal warm-up was about to start,those who had medical problems, a cold,a cough, a stuffed-up nose, a sore throat,or a cut finger, were treated by the smallThomanerchor staff.

Focussed Concentration

The Maestro ran the chorus throughsome exercises, for a period not exceed-ing ten minutes, primarily designed, itwas explained to me, to properly focusthe vowels just before the performance.These exercises, for the most part,seemed German-language specific.When the singing began in the warm-uproom, there was no commotion. It turnsout, that with no specific last-minuteinstructions needed, all eighty boys hadentered the room earlier in the exactorder needed, for them to be in theirown place in their own section! A littlespecial upper-body physical stretchingand posture exercises were done, led bythe Maestro, to refresh the mind andbody for the coming performance. Asmall time was then spent in last-minutefocussing of the choral presentation, anda little more work on the tempi.

The work is very, very efficient,owing to the high level of musical edu-cation they have accomplished. In asense, they are working on the accumu-lated experience and institutional mem-ory of the better part of a millennium.The conductor will refer to a veryadvanced musical concept, which theboys already understand, such as theidea of “quietly concentrated.” The cho-rus will respond instantly, correcting thephrase as the Maestro wants it, accord-ing to his quick reference—no longexplanations. And, it stays corrected—the chorus does not fall back to a lowerlevel. They are excellent, and build veryquickly on their excellence. I had thefeeling, once again, that I was witness-ing something magnificent and unusual,whose existence derives from a long,accumulated, and concentrated processof perfection, and dedication.

Finally, the Maestro speaks againwith his students. He does not conde-scend, or doubt. He talks to the singerswith respect, as artistic collaboratorswith him in a great project. He speaksquietly about their hopes for a successfulperformance. He reminds them, thatfrom this moment on, until the end ofthe concert, not one word will be spokenby any singer. “The only sound we willhear is the sound of your feet walkingthrough the church to the risers.” Hethanks the boys for their effort, andtheir “toil.” Then, without a word, theywalk through the lower church and upthe stairs to their places in the sanctuary.

Of course, these are actual boys, liv-ing in the same reality and decade of his-torical crisis other boys around the worldare in. Some are from broken homes.Some are wearing earrings. Some arelonely. They are surrounded by hostilepolitical and cultural forces. In manyways, they are boys like any others. But,because of the passion of the Classicalcomposers who gave them their compo-sitions, and because of the education anddedication of those who teach them, theyhave, through their music, broughtmany thousands of Americans, thismonth, that experience of a moment ofpassion and happiness which, by settinga standard, will help us to win the battlefor “Excellence in Education.”

—Alan Ogden

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