vienna boys choir: christmas in...

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VIENNA BOYS CHOIR: CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA

Tuesday, December 3, 2013Catherine Herrick Cobb Great Hall

THIS PERFORMANCE IS GENEROUSLY SPONSORED BY

VARIETY SERIES SPONSOR MEDIA SPONSOR

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Intermission

PROGRAM

O Fortuna / Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi ..................................... Carl Or! (1895–1982) (Fortune, Empress of the world) from Carmina burana

Omnes de Saba venient ....................................................Joseph von Eybler (1765–1846) (!ey will all come from Saba) Text: Isaiah 60:6 and Matthew 2:2

Ave Maria (Hail Mary) ..........................................Tomás Luis de Victoria (c.1548–1611) Solo to be announced from stage

Land of Sweeping Plains ...................................................Elena Kats-Chernin (b. 1957)Text: Dorothea Mackellar

Jubilate Deo (Make a joyful noise ..................................Heinz Kratochwil (1933–1995) unto the Lord), Op. 157a

Oh Happy Day .....................................Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1670–1739) / Edward Francis Rimbault (1816–1876) / Edwin Hawkins (b. 1943)

Text: Edward Francis Rimbault

!ank You for the Music ........................................................................................ABBABenny Anderson (b. 1946) / Björn Ulvaeus (b. 1945)

Nella Fantasia (In my mind) ................................................. Ennio Morricone (b. 1928) from the !lm "e Mission Text: Chiara Ferraù

Arr. Audrey Snyder

An der schönen blauen Donau ............................................................Johann Strauss, Jr. (Blue Danube), Op. 314 Text: Franz von Gernerth

Arr. Gerald Wirth

Tritsch Tratsch (Chitchat), Op. 214 ....................................................Johann Strauss, Jr.Text: Tina Breckwoldt

Arr. Gerald Wirth

VIENNA BOYS CHOIR

WIENER SÄNGERKNABEN

Program continued on next page.

Manolo Cagnin, Choirmaster

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Gaudete (Rejoice!) from the Finnish Piae Cantiones ...............................Pious Songs, 1582Arr. Gerald Wirth

O Jubel, O Freud (Oh Joy, Oh Happiness) ......................Christmas carol from Styria(1740)Arr. Gerald Wirth

Fröhliche Weihnacht überall .........................................................Karl Neuner (1778–1830) (Merry Christmas Everywhere) Text: Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart

Arr. Gerald Wirth

Maria durch ein Dornwald ging ................................................ Sacred carol from !uringia (Mary walked through a thorn brush) Arr. Uwe !eimer

Es ist ein Ros entsprungen ............................. German carol from the Speyer hymnal (1599) (Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming) Arr. Michael Prätorius

Leise rieselt der Schnee (Softly Falls the Snow) ..........................Eduard Ebel (1839 - 1905)Arr. Gerald Wirth Solo to be announced from stage

Pueri concinite (Boys, begin to sing) ......................................... Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591)

In natali Domini (At the birth of the Lord) ........................Michael Praetorius (1571–1621) from Musae Sioniae

Mariä Wiegenlied (Mary’s Lullaby), opus 76/52 ............................Max Reger (1873–1916) Text: Martin Boelitz

I’ll Be Home for Christmas .............................................................Walter Kent (1911–1994)Text: Kim Gannon

Arr. Mac Hu"

A Maiden Most Gentle......................................................................Andrew Carter (b. 1939)

Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas, 1970) ........................................... José Feliciano (b. 1945)

O Tannenbaum ..........................................................................Melchior Frank (1580–1639) Text: Joachim August Zarnack & Ernst Anschütz

Arr. Gerald Wirth

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas ................................... Hugh Martin (1914–2011) /Ralph Blane (1914–1995)

Jingle Bells .......................................................................... James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893)

Continued on page 61.

*PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

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MANOLO CAGNIN, Choirmaster of the Vienna Boys ChoirBorn in Treviso, Italy, Manolo Cagnin developed an interest in music early in life. As a child, he studied violin and viola at the Conservatory of Venice, then later pursued choral music, conducting and composition in Venice and Milan. He completed his studies in Leipzig under Kurt Masur and Fabio Luisi.

In Leipzig, Mr. Cagnin served as assistant to the !omanerchor’s artistic director, Georg Christoph Biller. He was music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s 2007 production of “La Tragédie de Carmen.”

In 2008, Mr. Cagnin was named conductor of one of the Wiener Sängerknaben’s (Vienna Boys Choir’s) four touring choirs. He prepares the boys for masses with the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle and for appearances with the Vienna State Opera, for sound and video recordings, and for concerts both in Vienna and abroad.

Mr. Cagnin feels it is especially important to communicate with the audience: “Music is a gift: as musicians, we have the obligation to share that gift with our audience.” Mr. Cagnin enjoys working with the boys, "nding that, “!ey possess character and spirit. !is is re#ected in the way they make music. !e children learn from me, and I learn from them.” !e repertoire is chosen to match the boys’ voices and personalities.

!e spirited choirmaster enjoys touring, and has travelled with the choir to Vietnam, China, Singapore, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South America, most recently to Chile and Brazil. !is is Mr. Cagnin’s third tour of North America with the boys.

Continued from page 44.

VIENNA BOYS CHOIRBoys have been singing at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor since the early 15th century. In 1498, more than half a millennium ago, Emperor Maximilian I moved his court and his court musicians to Vienna. He gave instructions that there were to be six singing boys among his musicians. Historians have settled on 1498 as the foundation date of the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle and, in consequence, the Vienna Boys Choir. Until 1918, the choir sang exclusively for the imperial court, at mass, at private concerts and functions, and on state occasions.

Musicians like Heinrich Isaac, Heinrich Ignaz, Franz Biber, Johann Joseph Fux, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Salieri and Anton Bruckner worked with the choir. Composers Jacobus Gallus and Franz Schubert were themselves choristers. Brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn, members of the choir of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, frequently sang with the imperial boys’ choir.

In 1918, after the breakdown of the Habsburg Empire, the Austrian government took over the court opera, its orchestra and the adult singers, but not the boys’ choir. !e Vienna Boys Choir owes its survival to the initiative of Josef Schnitt, who became Dean of the Imperial Chapel in 1921. Schnitt established the boys’ choir as a private institution. !e former court choir boys became the Wiener Sängerknaben (Vienna Boys Choir), and the imperial uniform was replaced by the sailor suit, then the height of boys’ fashion. Funding was not enough to pay for the boys’ upkeep, and in 1926 the choir started to give concerts outside of the chapel, performing motets, secular works, and - at the boys’ request – children’s operas. !e impact was amazing: within a year, the choir performed in Berlin (where Erich Kleiber conducted them), Prague and Zurich. Athens and Riga (1928) followed, then Spain, France, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1929), the United States (1932), Australia (1934) and South America (1936).

PresentToday there are around 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen, divided into four touring choirs. !e four choirs give around 300 concerts and performances each year in front of almost half a million people. Each group spends nine to eleven weeks of the school year on tour. !ey visit virtually all European countries, and they are frequent guests in Asia, Australia and the Americas.

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Together with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Chorus, the Vienna Boys Choir maintains the tradition of the imperial musicians: as Hofmusikkapelle, they provide the music for the Sunday Mass in Vienna’s Imperial Chapel, as they have done since 1498. On 1 January 2012, the choir participated for the !fth time in the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Mariss Jansons.

Repertoire"e choir’s repertoire includes everything from medieval to contemporary and experimental music. Motets and lieder for boys’ choir form the core of the touring repertoire, as do the choir’s own arrangements of quintessentially Viennese music, waltzes and polkas by Lehar, Lanner, and Strauss.

Both the choir and the Hofmusikkapelle have a long tradition of commissioning new works. Austrian composers HK Gruber (himself a former chorister), Heinz Kratochwil, Ernst Krenek, Balduin Sulzer, and Gerald Wirth have written works for the choir.

"e Vienna Boys Choir performs major choral and symphonic works, sometimes as part of the Hofmusikkapelle, sometimes with other orchestras and men’s choirs. "ey are regularly asked to supply soloists for large choral and orchestral works, such as Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Mahler’s Das klagende Lied. In recent years, they have performed with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Oslo Philharmonic and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Recent guest conductors include Pierre Boulez, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Mariss Jansons, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti (honorary member of the Hofmusikkapelle), Kent Nagano, Seiji Ozawa, Christian "ielemann, and Simone Young.

"e choir also takes part in opera performances at the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Volksoper, and the Salzburg Festival. Choristers appear as three boys in Mozart’s !e Magic Flute. Recently, a soloist sang the part of Oberto in Handel’s opera Alcina, conducted by Marc Minkowski.

Children’s OperasChildren’s operas are an important part of the repertoire: the boys love to act. "e choir started performing operas in the 1920s, beginning with classics such as Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne, Weber’s Abu Hassan or Haydn’s Der Apotheker. Benjamin Britten wrote the vaudeville !e Golden Vanity for the choir, and conducted its premiere at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1967, in the presence of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

In the last decade, the choir has successfully produced a number of new operas. Gerald Wirth’s !e Journey of the Little Prince and !e Tablet of Destinies, an opera based on the Babylonian myth of Anzu, and Raoul Gehringer’s Moby-Dick, based on the novel by Herman Melville, were all shown at Vienna’s Musikverein. Gerald Wirth’s 1398 – Der Bettelknabe (!e Begging Boy), a story set in medieval Palestine and Europe, premiered in 2010. A new opera set in the 4th century AD is currently in production.

World Music and Crossover ProjectsSince the 1920s, the choir has collected music from around the world. One of the choir’s goals is to introduce the boys to as many di#erent styles of music as possible. "e choir has commissioned a number of world music projects. As Gerald Wirth explains, “We do not claim to play ’authentic’ world music; we create something from the original sources that is our own. We want to be faithful to the source in the sense that we treat it with respect.” Silk Road is the choir’s third world music project. "e colourful journey along the old trade route features songs from Uzbekistan and China, a qawwali from Pakistan, a ghazal from Iran and !eld hollers from Tajikistan, all sung in the original languages. Pirates tells the story of 18th-century pirates, using music from Yemen, Madagaskar, the Caribbean and Latin America. "e choir is currently working on a project with musicians from several North American Indian nations.

Film: Silk Road – Songs Along the Road and Time"e choir’s Silk Road opera inspired acclaimed director Curt Faudon to make a !lm about the

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globetrotting choristers. For over a year, Faudon followed the boys’ life in Vienna and on the road, !lming the boys at work and at play, on and o" stage, meeting and working with artists from Central Asia, China and India. #e resulting 90-minute !lm is a clever blend of $y-on-the wall documentary, road movie, costume drama and music, with stunning footage from all across the world and through time, with an unusual, o"-beat soundtrack which has the boys singing in Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Japanese, Latin, Marathi, Maori, Savo Finnish, Tajik, Uyghur, Urdu, Uzbek and German. A second !lm, Bridging the Gap, is scheduled for release in 2012.

#e choristers, who also sing popular music, have contributed to a number of soundtracks for major motion pictures in the USA, Japan and Europe.

The Choir School#e choir maintains its own school. Almost 300 children study and rehearse in the Augartenpalais, a baroque palace and former imperial hunting lodge in Vienna. Beginning with kindergarten and run in cooperation with the city of Vienna, boys and girls are provided with a complete musical and general education through the elementary grades. At age ten, the most talented boys are selected to join the choir and enter the choir’s grammar school. All boys are assigned to one of the touring choirs. Academic lessons are taught in small groups. #e school has several bands, and o"ers extracurricular activities ranging from all kinds of sports to attending a wide range of concerts, operas, plays, musicals and movies. #e choristers are also encouraged to create their own projects; a number of them write, act and direct short sketches or !lms. All choir boys live in the choir’s own well-appointed boarding school, with two to three boys sharing a room.

In 2010, the choir launched its new senior high school for boys and girls. #e unique curriculum, developed in conjunction with the University of Music in Vienna and the Salzburg Mozarteum, is designed to best prepare young singers for university and for a career in music.Many of the school’s alumni go on to become professional musicians, conductors, singers or instrumentalists, in Vienna and abroad. Almost all continue to sing. #ere are two male voice ensembles made up entirely of former choristers, the Chorus Viennensis and the Imperial Chapel’s Schola Cantorum. All students retain a lifelong commitment to the Arts.

Development and Funding#e Vienna Boys Choir is a private, not-for-pro!t organization, which !nances itself largely through concerts, recordings and royalties. A contract between the Republic of Austria and the choir provides further means, and the Ministry of Education and the State’s Art Department help with special projects, such as the production of new children’s operas. Further development and projects depend on additional funds.

#e POK Pühringer Privatstiftung, based in Vienna’s Palais Coburg is the choir’s general sponsor. With its backing, the choir is currently constructing an on-campus concert hall to facilitate the opera productions in particular. #e new centre is dedicated to music education; the building will incorporate a baroque gatehouse and the old park wall - a unique architectural ensemble.

GERALD WIRTH, the choir’s artistic director, received his !rst musical training as a member of the choir and at the Bruckner Konservatorium in Linz, Austria, where he studied voice, oboe and piano. He has conducted choirs and orchestras in many countries, and played and sung himself in a number of ensembles.

His !rst love is the voice, as is evident from his compositions: he has written three children’s operas, a Mass, motets and countless arrangements for choirs. He !nds much of his inspiration in myths and philosophical texts. His works are performed internationally.

In 2001, Gerald Wirth became the artistic director of the Vienna Boys Choir. While he is keenly aware of the choir’s rich tradition, Wirth also explores new ways to create and make music. He has instigated a number of projects involving world music, a cappella, pop and !lm music. Wirth !rmly believes that music has a positive in$uence on every aspect of a personality.

Vienna Boys Choir

USA Tour Fall 2013 - Holiday Program Notes

Conductor: Manolo Cagnin

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Carl Orff (1895 - 1982) O Fortuna / Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Fortune, Empress of the world), from: Carmina burana The carmina burana is a collection of medieval songs in Latin, Middle High German and Frankish; the collection contains sacred songs, possibly for pageants, moral songs, satirical songs, songs about love and drinking. It was compiled around 1230, probably for the abbot of the monastery at Seckau in Austria. The manuscript was discovered in the 1800s in the monastery at Benediktbeuren in Bavaria; it was edited in 1847 by Johann Andreas Schmeller (1785 - 1852) under its new title “Carmina burana” (Songs from Benediktbeuren). Orff composed his „Carmina“ in 1936. He selected 24 songs to paint a medieval vision of fortune’s wheel, and man’s life turning with it from love to death, happiness to misery. The work opens (and closes) with a choral address to Fortuna, the fickle Goddess of Luck and Fate, on whose whims man’s lot depends. The “Carmina” were first performed in 1937. To Orff, the Carmina burana signified his “first real work”; he wrote to his publisher to destroy everything else. Text O Fortuna velut luna statu variabilis, semper crescis aut decrescis; vita detestabilis nunc obdurat et tunc curat ludo mentis aciem, egestatem, potestatem dissolvit ut glaciem. Sors immanis et inanis, rota tu volubilis, status malus vana salus semper dissolubilis, obumbrata et velata michi quoque niteris; nunc per ludum dorsum nudum fero tui sceleris.

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Sors salutis et virtutis michi nunc contraria est affectus et defectus semper in angaria. Hac in hora sine mora corde pulsum tangite; quod per sortem sternit fortem mecum omnes plangite! Translation O Fortune, Changeable as the Moon, You are forever waxing Or waning. Detestable life, Now it thwarts, And then it takes care Playfully of the mind’s desire, Poverty, Power Are melted like ice. Fate - oppressive and unthinking, whirling wheel: you are wicked. Health is vain and Always fades, dark And veiled you plague me, too. Now, through your games, I carry a bare back as a result of your malice. Fate, with regard to health and virtue Is now turned against me, It is inflated and deflated, always under pressure. And now, this hour,

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without hesitation, pluck the quivering strings. That through (the vagaries of) fate the virtuous man falls you may all bemoan with me. Joseph von Eybler (1765 - 1846) Omnes de Saba venient (They will all come from Saba). Gradual for Epiphany. Text: Biblical; Isaiah 60:6 und Matthew 2:2. Joseph von Eybler was born in Schwechat, Lower Austria; he was educated in the Viennese Stadtseminar. When he was eleven, he received lessons in composing from court composer Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart helped his career along; his friend Mozart asked Eybler to conduct the rehearsals for the premiere of his opera Così fan tutte. Ironically, as a court employee Eybler was far more influential in his lifetime than either Haydn or Mozart. In 1803, Eybler started to work for the Chapel Imperial (Hofmusikkapelle), of which the Vienna Boys’ Choir is a part. In 1824, he succeeded Antonio Salieri as its Erster Kapellmeister (first conductor). Eybler wrote no less than 32 masses, two oratorios, a requiem, several motets, symphonies, and some chamber music. Not many of his compositions are readily available; the gradual Omnes de Saba venient with its bright soprano solo remains his most popular work. Text Choir: Omnes de Saba venient, aurum et thus deferentes et laudem Domino annuntiantes. Alleluja. Solo: Surge et illuminare Jerusalem quia gloria Domini super te orta est. Alleluja. Choir: Vidimus stellam ejus in Oriente. Alleluja. Et venimus cum muneribus adorare Dominum. Alleluja. Translation They will all come from Saba; (they will) bring gold and frankincense and praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Rise and shine, Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord has risen above you. Hallelujah. We have seen his star in the East, Hallelujah. And we have come with presents to worship the Lord. Hallelujah.

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Tomás Luis da Victoria (c. 1548 - 1611) Ave Maria (Hail Mary). Motet for four part choir a cappella. Victoria was born in Avila (Spain) around 1548. He moved to Rome in 1565 to become a member of the Collegium Germanicum. In 1571 he succeeded Palestrina as music teacher in the Collegium Romanum, in 1575 he became a priest. In 1585, Victoria left Rome and returned to Spain to take up a chaplaincy in the service of empress Maria. It is likely that he wrote only liturgical compositions; no other pieces have survived. His style (closely related to Palestrina’s) lends itself to the expression of mystic feeling. Victoria saw music as a gift that exists outside of man. To him, music describes the very essence of God; “it can affect the spirits, but also the body”. Some Victoria scholars doubt the authenticity of the piece. Text Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus Christus. Sancta Maria, mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen Translation Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. Solo to be announced from stage Elena Kats-Chernin (*1957) Land of Sweeping Plains Text: Dorothea Mackellar (1885 - 1968) Elena Kats-Chernin is one of Australia’s most famous contemporary composers. She writes operas, film music, solo concertos, and chamber music. Her music is highly accessible, easily combining elements from different styles, classical, folk, jazz, and Klezmer. Kats-Chernin was born in Tashkent. She emigrated to Australia when she was 16, and much of her work revolves around Australian themes, such as a composition about the Great Barrier Reef written for the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in 2000, or her Symphonia Eluvium, which gives sound to the disastrous floods that hit Queensland in 2010.

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Land of Sweeping Plains was written for the Vienna Boys Choir in 2012, and first performed during a tour of Australia. The text is based on the poem “My Country”, penned in 1908 by 19-year-old Dorothea Mackellar; today, it is one of the best-known poems about Australia. For Kats-Chernin, it is a perfect choice, as it captures the country's extremes, the beauty and the terror. Before writing the music, Kats-Chernin went to visit the Vienna Boys Choir; she wanted to meet the boys, to make sure the piece would be right for them. Kats-Chernin uses single words (famine, fire, floods, beauty, terror) and turns of phrases from Mackellar's text; effectively setting the mood. “I love a sunburnt country” is set to a staccato 5/8 rhythm, alternating between the notes F and G; the piece begins in F major and ends in G major, both keys are associated with the sun. The result is a very personal tribute by the composer to her new home. As for the boys, they particularly like that they get to play stones in the middle of the piece. “We like to pick them wherever we perform,” says one chorister. “That way, the piece has something to do with the place where we are.” Text I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains, wide, brown land for me, of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea, her beauty and her terror – the wide brown land for me! Core of my heart, my country! Land of the Rainbow Gold, For flood and fire and famine, She pays us back threefold. An opal-hearted country, a wilful, lavish, brown land for me. All you who have not loved her, You will not understand – Though earth holds many splendours. I know to what brown country I will fly. Heinz Kratochwil (1933 - 1995) Jubilate Deo (Make a joyful noise unto the Lord), opus 157a (1976) Kratochwil, a professor at Vienna’s University of Music, described his own compositions as ‘exploring boundaries’; he combines old and new styles of music, serious and popular styles. His works use elements of church modes, polyphony, jazz and avant garde. His Jubilate Deo, a setting of psalm 100, a psalm of praise sung at the procession into the Temple, was written in 1976 for the Vienna Boys’ Choir.

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Text (Biblical; Psalm 100: 1-3) Jubilate Deo omnis terra, Servite Domino in laetitia! Intrate in conspectu ejus, intrate in exultatione, quia Dominus ipse est Deus. Jubilate Deo, Amen. Translation Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before his presence, come singing. For the Lord himself is God. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Amen. Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen (1670 – 1739) / Edward Francis Rimbault (1816 – 1876) / Edwin Hawkins (*1943) Oh Happy Day (1704; 1967). Gospel song Text: Edward Francis Rimbault Oh Happy Day has a convoluted history; it went through many transformations. It is a twentieth-century arrangement of a nineteeth-century version of an early eighteenth-century hymn, bearing little resemblance to the original. Philip Doddridge, an English clergyman, wrote a text for an older melody by Freylinghausen. His „Oh Happy Day that fixed my choice“ was based on Acts 8:35. In the mid-nineteenth century, Edward Rimbault, who edited much older English music, took the hymn, changed its tune and added the refrain. In its new guise, it was used in church services in the UK and in the USA. In 1967, Edwin Hawkins adapted it for his own Youth Choir; he altered the rhythm from 3/4 to 4/4 time. His version only uses Rimbault‘s refrain; all of the original verses were dropped. Hawkins’s „O Happy Day“ quickly became a classic. It has been sung and recorded by hundreds of different artists. Hawkins’s own performance earned him a Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance in 1970. Text Oh Happy Day, when Jesus washed my sins away. He washed my sins away. He taught me how to watch and pray and live rejoicing every day. When I get to Heaven, Lord, I'm gonna walk on streets of gold. Gonna be a happy day, oh happy day.

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ABBA: Benny Anderson (*1946) and Björn Ulvaeus (*1945) Thank You for the Music (1977) Thank You for the Music was written as opener of a mini-musical called ‘The Girl with the Golden Hair’ (which is why the phrase appears in the song) performed on the group’s 1977 tour. The first three songs, “Thank You for the Music”, “I Wonder (Departure)” and “I’m a Marionette”, were released on The Album; the fourth song, “Get on the Carousel” remains unreleased. “Thank You for the Music” is better known in its own right: It was used in ABBA: the Movie, and it made its way into the musical Mamma Mia. The song – originally recorded in 1977 – was released again in 1983 to promote the compilation Thank You for the Music: A Collection of Love Songs. The title has been covered many times; it expresses something all musicians feel. Thank you for the music, Thank you to writers, composers, to whoever gives us talent, voice, and ears, and thank you, not least, to all those who listen. Text I’m nothing special, in fact I’m a bit of a bore If I tell a joke, you’ve probably heard it before But I have a talent, a wonderful thing cause everyone listens when I start to sing I’m so grateful and proud All I want is to sing it out loud Chorus So I say Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty What would life be? Without a song or a dance what are we? So I say thank you for the music For giving it to me Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk She says I began to sing long before I could talk And I’ve often wondered, how did it all start? Who found out that nothing can capture a heart Like a melody can? Well, whoever it was, I’m a fan

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Chorus I’ve been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair I wanna sing it out to everybody What a joy, what a life, what a chance! Chorus Ennio Morricone (*1928) Nella Fantasia (In my mind), from the film The Mission (1986). Text: Chiara Ferraù. Arr. Audrey Snyder Gabriel’s Oboe is the main theme from Roland Joffé’s 1986 film The Mission, starring Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro. The film soundtrack was composed by Ennio Morricone, earning him an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe for best original score. The haunting tune has since been performed by a number of orchestras, and covered by Yo-Yo Ma, Holly Gornik, and Brynjar Hoff among others. In 1998, Sarah Brightman asked Morricone for permission to add a text in order to sing it. The result was Nella Fantasia, with Italian lyrics. In the film, Jeremy Irons’s character, Father Gabriel, is seen playing the oboe by a waterfall. He hopes to win over the Guaraní tribe with music. While the tribesmen are intrigued, their chief breaks the oboe, taking music criticism to a new level. Text Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto, Lì tutti vivono in pace e in onestà. Io sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere, Come le nuvole che volano, Pien' d'umanità in fondo all'anima. Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo chiaro, Lì anche la notte è meno oscura. Io sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere, Come le nuvole che volano. Nella fantasia esiste un vento caldo, Che soffia sulle città, come amico. Io sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere, Come le nuvole che volano, Pien' d'umanità in fondo all'anima.

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Translation In my mind I see a just world, where everyone lives in peace and in honesty. I dream of souls which are always free, Like flying clouds Full of love in the depths of the soul. In my mind I see a bright world, where even the night is less dark. I dream of souls which are always free, Like flying clouds. In my mind forms a warm wind, which blows through the cities, like a friend. I dream of souls which are always free, Like flying clouds Full of love in the depths of the soul. Johann Strauss, jr. (1825 – 1899) An der schönen blauen Donau (Blue Danube,1867). Waltz, opus 314 Text: Franz von Gernerth (1821 – 1900); Arr. Gerald Wirth Austria’s secret national anthem is dedicated to the Vienna Männergesangsverein (Men’s Chorus); it was first performed in February of 1867 at the chorus’s Carnival Ball. The composer was absent, as he had a court engagement. The original text was slightly silly; it was meant to poke fun at the fact that many carnival balls had been cancelled that year and it ran, ‘Viennese, be joyous! O-ho! Why-o?’ This fitted the occasion but did not survive beyond the carnival. There were several attempts at improving the poetry, until Gernerth, a lawyer, wrote his in 1889. His maudlin, flowery, and somewhat patriotic description of the Danube has remained standard until today. Text Donau so blau, durch Tal und Au Wogst ruhig du hin, Dich grüßt unser Wien, Dein silbernes Band Knüpft Land an Land, Und fröhliche Herzen schlagen An deinem schönen Strand.

Vienna Boys Choir



10 SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Weit vom Schwarzwald her eilst du hin zum Meer, spendest Segen allerwegen, ostwärts geht dein Lauf, nimmst viel Brüder auf: Bild der Einigkeit für alle Zeit. Alte Burgen seh’n nieder von den Höh’n, grüßen gerne dich von ferne, und der Berge Kranz, hell vom Morgenglanz spiegelt sich in deiner Wellen Tanz. Die Nixen auf dem Grund Die geben flüsternd kund Was alles du erschaut Seitdem über dir der Himmel blaut. Halt an deine Fluten bei Wien, es liebt dich ja so sehr, du findest wohin du magst ziehen ein zweites Wien nicht mehr. Du kennst wohl deinen Bruder, den Rhein, an seinen Ufern wächst herrlicher Wein, dort auch steht bei Tag und bei Nacht die feste, treue Wacht. Das Schifflein fährt auf den Wellen so sacht Still ist die Nacht, Liebe nur wacht, der Schiffer flüstert der Liebsten ins Ohr, dass längst schon sein Herz sie erkor. Nun singt ein fröhliches, seliges Lied, das wie Jauchzen die Lüfte durchzieht. Und zum Schluss bringt noch einen Gruß, unsrer Donau, dem herrlichen Fluss.

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Translation Danube, so blue, you meander calmly through vales and meadows, Our Vienna greets you, your silver ribbon links lands and cheerful hearts beat on your beautiful shores. From the Black Forest you rush towards the Black Sea, blessing everything on your way. You flow east, taking in many brothers: An eternal image of harmony. Old fortresses look down from their hills, they like to greet you from afar and the top of the mountains, bright in the morning light, are reflected in the dancing of your waves. The mermaids in the river bed whisper about everything you have seen since heaven began. Stop when you reach Vienna, it really adores you. Wherever you may wander, you will not find a second Vienna. You probably know your brother, the Rhine, lovely wine grows along its banks, and night and day it is flanked by faithful guardians. The little boat rides on the waves, the night is quiet, love is in the air, the skipper tells his beloved his heart had selected her long since.

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Now sing a happy, cheerful song, filling the air with joy, and, finally, give a special cheer for the Danube, our beautiful river. Johann Strauss, jr. (1825 – 1899) Tritsch Tratsch (Chitchat), fast polka opus 214 Text: Tina Breckwoldt, Arr. Gerald Wirth Tritschtratsch (Chitchat) is the title of a vaudeville by Johann Nestroy, first performed in 1833. In 1858, Viennese journalists created a satirical newspaper by the same name; Tritsch-Tratsch poked fun at famous people. On 21 March 1858, the paper printed a humorous portrait of Johann Strauss, speculating about his yearly visits to Russia. Strauss spent the summers in Pawlowsk with his orchestra, performing for the holidaymakers there. The paper obliquely hinted at an affair with a Russian woman, and the gossip spread through Vienna like wildfire. Strauss penned the polka as an answer. Tritsch Tratsch was composed between August and November of 1858 and was first performed in a public house called ‘The Great Siskin’ in the Spittelberg area of Vienna on 24 November. The Viennese media printed notices about the piece’s composition, its first performance and also its publication; a most unusual amount of publicity for a short piece of music – nineteenth century hype. The cheerful polka has sometimes been put to unexpected use: it features in the James-Bond-movie Moonraker, where it accompanies Bond alias Roger Moore, gliding across St Marc’s Square in a hovercraft. There are a number of texts for Tritsch Tratsch. The text sung by the Vienna Boys’ Choir deals with gossip mongering and what it can do to people, ending with a tongue-in-cheek bow to Plato. The Vienna Boys’ Choir has performed this popular piece – a signature tune for Austrian musicians – three times at the New Year’s Day Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, in 1988 and in 1998, and again in 2012. Text Er ist – man sagt – (Ach, Klatsch - und Tratsch) Man hat sich schon beschwert Er fragt – man klagt (Wir sind - empört) Das ist doch unerhört. Er meint – es scheint (Nur Klatsch - und Tratsch) Er stellt sich gern zur Schau Man glaubt – man meint (Wie schön - ist das) Ich weiss es nicht genau.

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Gerüchte brodeln ganz ungeniert raffiniert, kommentiert auf einmal fühlt man sich exponiert wie es denn das nur passiert? Das hat man noch nie vernommen! Ist das schon mal vorgekommen? Wie sind wir hierher gekommen, hier an diesen Punkt? Das Gehirn geht im Kreis Der Verstand liegt auf Eis während sie die Mär verbreiten Trio Wenn sie kleine Erbsen zählen Um die anderen zu quälen Zwischen Schwert und Worten wählen wollen sie nur zeigen dass sie tüchtig sind. Treiben sie es auf die Spitze, feixen, frozzeln, reissen Witze, reden sich in Dauerhitze, um sich zu beweisen, dass sie wichtig sind. Wir kommen jetzt so richtig erst in Fahrt Inzwischen geht es wirklich hart auf hart Wir streiten um des alten Kaisers Bart Ja, um des Kaisers Bart. Coda Es ist ein Gerücht. Was weiss man denn? Man weiss doch nichts. Das weiss ich! Translation He is – they say (That’s gossip - more gossip) They have already complained He asks – they moan (We are - outraged) This is simply not on!

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He says – it seems (Just gossip - more gossip) He likes to show off and pose They believe – they surmise (How nice - that is) I don’t exactly know. Rumours fly about shamelessly Tricky, annotated, And all of a sudden you feel utterly exposed How did that happen? This is totally unheard of Has something like this happened before How did we get here, To this point? The mind walks in circles Brain totally numb While they continue to spread tales Trio When they get worked up over peanuts, Just to torture others, Choose between sword and words, They only want to show How efficient they are. When they carry on Smirking, taunting, cracking jokes, Blathering on forever, They want to prove to themselves That they are important. We are just getting started Now we are really talking We fight over nothing, Yes, over nothing. Coda It is merely a rumour. What do you know? We know nothing. That I do know!

Intermission

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Gaudete (Rejoice!), from the Finnish Piae Cantiones (Pious Songs, 1582) Arr. Gerald Wirth The “Piae Cantiones Ecclesiasticae et Scholasticae Veterum Episcoporum” (Pious ecclesiastical and scholastic songs of the old bishops) are a collection of 74 Latin songs edited by Finnish scholars Teodoricus Petri and Jaakko Suomalainen (aka Jacob Finno) and printed in Greifswald, Germany in 1582. Most of the songs date to the 14th and 15th centuries; some are of German or Bohemian origin, others are quite likely Finnish. As is customary for the time, Piae Cantiones did not include music for the verses; the tunes were well-known. The verses of Gaudete are based on the Bohemian carol “Ezecheelis Porta” (The Gate of Ezekiel); in the Vienna Boys’ Choir arrangement, they are sung by soloists. The refrain “Gaudete”, sung by the full choir, was probably added by Petri and Suomalainen and was sung to the tune of Luther’s “Danket dem Herrn” (Give thanks to the Lord). The term “Gate of Ezekiel” refers to the prophet’s vision of the Temple layout (Ezekiel 44:1 – 4), where God tells him that the Eastern Gate must be kept shut, for that is the Gate reserved for God. The verse tells us that the Gate has been passed (by Christ); as it is the Eastern Gate, it is where the light comes from and salvation, Christ again. Text Gaudete, gaudete! Christus est natus ex Maria virgine, gaudete! Tempus adest gratiae, hoc quod optabamus; carmina laetitiae, devote reddamus. Deus homo factus est, natura mirante mundus renovatus est a Christo regnante. Ezechiellis porta clausa pertransitur; unde lux est orta salus invenitur.

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Ergo nostra contio psallat iam in lustro; benedicat Domino: salus Regi nostro. Translation Rejoice, Rejoice! Christ is born Of the virgin Mary, Rejoice! The time of grace is here for which we have longed; Songs of joy Let us offer with devotion. God is made man as nature marvels; The world has been renewed by Christ’s reigning. Ezechiel’s gate, which was shut, has been passed; From where the light rises Salvation is found. Therefore our assembly shall now sing at the purification; and it shall praise the Lord: Hail to our King! O Jubel, o Freud (Oh joy, oh happiness) Shepherds’ carol from St. Lambrecht, Styria (1740) Arr. Gerald Wirth Shepherds’ carols focus on the shepherds’ role in the Christmas story; their belief, their dignity, their reliability. Shepherding may be a rural profession (and that is something the alpine singers could relate to), but it was seen as a noble and important profession: the Near Eastern kings thought of themselves as shepherds of their people, and God himself is addressed as the Good Shepherd in the Bible. This particular carol deals with the annunciation in the fields and the shepherds’ adoration of the Christ child. An important aspect was certainly the possibility for the listener and (or) the singer to identify with someone who is part of the story: the biblical shepherds are simple people, yet their gifts are as important as the gifts from the three kings. In short, the story – the gospel – concerns ‘people like us’.

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Most shepherd carols are of medieval origin. In the 18th and 19th centuries, singers in Austrian rural communities would act out the text while singing; and it was customary to come up with at least one new carol each Christmas. Most of these carols are written and sung in the local dialect. O Jubel, o Freud, glückselige Zeit! Ein Kindlein geboren, aus tausend erkoren, o Jubel, o Freud, glückselige Zeit! Ihr Hirten wohlauf, nach Bethlehem lauft! Die Pfeifen lasst hören, die Freud zu vermehren, und blast nur brav drein, das Kindlein wird's freun. Ist das nicht ein Spott, der so große Gott, der uns hat erschaffen, beim Vieh tut er schlafen. Ist Mensch und auch Gott, ist das nicht ein Spott. Wir bitten dich schön, o lieb's Jesulein, tu uns Gnade verleihen, die Sünden verzeihen und gib uns alsdann den Himmel zum Lohn! Translation Oh joy, oh happiness, what happy time! A new-born child, chosen from a thousand, Oh joy, oh happiness, what happy time! Shepherds, come on, run to Bethlehem! Let your pipes sound, so the happiness may be increased and keep blowing, the child will enjoy it. Isn't it ironic, this great God, who created us, he sleeps (in a stable) near the beasts. He is man and God at once, isn't that ironic. We ask you kindly, dear little Jesus, extend your mercy to us, forgive our sins, and make Heaven our reward.

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Karl Neuner (1778 – 1830) Fröhliche Weihnacht überall (Merry Christmas All Around) Text: Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739 – 1791); Arr. Gerald Wirth According to some sources, the text was written in 1786 by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739 – 1791), a poet and journalist, and the author of Franz Schubert’s Die Forelle. Schubart was forever in trouble with the authorities. Other sources cite August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben (1798 – 1874) as its author. Munich-born composer Karl Neuner wrote the melody in 1814; he may have used an Alsatian or an English tune as a model. Text Chorus Fröhliche Weihnacht! Überall Tönet durch die Lüfte froher Schall. Weihnachtston, Weihnachtsbaum, Weihnachtsduft in jedem Raum! Fröhliche Weihnacht! Überall Tönet durch die Lüfte froher Schall. Darum alle stimmet ein, In den Jubelton; Denn es kommt das Licht der Welt Von des Vaters Thron. Chorus Licht auf dunklem Wege, Unser Licht bist du; Denn du führst, die dir vertraun, Ein zur sel’gen Ruh. Chorus Was wir andern je getan Sei getan für dich. Das bekennen jeder muss Christkind kam für mich.

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Translation Chorus Merry Christmas! All around The air rings with cheerful sound, Christmas sound, Christmas tree, Christmas scent in every room. Merry Christmas! All around The air rings with cheerful sound. Therefore everyone join In the singing, For the light of the world arrives Before his Father’s throne. Chorus Light on a dark path, You are our light, For you lead those who trust in you Towards eternal bliss. Chorus Anything we ever did for others Was done for you, For everyone must confess: Christ arrived for me. Maria durch ein Dornwald ging (Mary walked through a thorn brush). Sacred carol from Thuringia Arr. Uwe Theimer This moving carol originated in the 16th century (a version of it was published in 1608). It is firmly rooted in the Catholic tradition of medieval hymns to Mary: the miracle of Christ’s birth is told as a simple legend, using a number of metaphors well-known in the 16th century. The Dornwald (thorn brush) mentioned in the text is a symbol of the fallen world (Genesis 2:9, 3:18), the blossoming roses represent the birth of Christ. 1850 saw another edition of the carol in Thuringia, and since then it has been very popular in German-speaking countries. The boys touring the USA in 2013 recorded Maria durch ein Dornwald ging for their newest film and album, “A Vienna Boys Choir Christmas – Facing Mary”.

Vienna Boys Choir




Text Maria durch ein’ Dornwald ging Kyrie eleison. Maria durch ein’ Dornwald ging, der hat seit sieben Jahren kein Laub getragen. Kyrie eleison. Was trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen? Kyrie eleison. Ein kleines Kindlein ohne Schmerzen, das trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen. Kyrie eleison. Da hab’n die Dornen Rosen getragen. Kyrie eleison. Als das Kindlein durch den Wald getragen, da hab’n die Dornen Rosen getragen. Kyrie eleison. Translation Mary walked through a thorn brush, Kyrie eleison. Mary walked through a thorn brush, that hadn’t shown any green for seven years. Kyrie eleison. What did Mary carry beneath her heart? Kyrie eleison. A small child without pain, Mary carried beneath her heart. Kyrie eleison. And then the thorns bore roses, Kyrie eleison. When the child was carried through the brush, the thorns bore roses. Kyrie eleison.

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Es ist ein Ros´entsprungen (Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming), German carol from the Speyer hymnal (1599) Arr. Michael Praetorius (1571 – 1621) 1609 According to the Oxford Book of Carols, this carol dates to the 14th century. There are a number of textual variants, one of them by the famous German poet Hans Sachs (1524). The oldest publication of both text and melody is in a collection called Alte Catholische Geistliche Kirchengesäng (Cologne 1599). The rose of verse one is in fact a misinterpretation of the old German word for shoot or sprig (“Reis”); later on, it became a play on the two words. The shoot is of course Jesus, the youngest offspring of an old family: the song follows Joseph’s (and Jesus’s ) roots to Jesse (=Isai), the father of King David (cf. Matthew 1:16). This is the textual legitimization of Jesus as king, and Jesus as God. The second verse plays on the word rose, echoing Isaiah 11:1 (“And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his roots”). The “little rose” is identified as Mary, who bore Jesus, the “blossom”. In the UK and the US, the carol is known as „Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming”; it is connected to a medieval miracle legend, which tells of a monk lost in deep snow. It is nearly midnight, and he cannot find his way home, when all of a sudden, he comes across a blooming rose – and he knows everything will be all right. The Vienna Boys Choir performed this song for their 2013 Christmas movie, Facing Mary, in a large ice cave in Werfen near Salzburg, Austria. Text Es ist ein Ros entsprungen Aus einer Wurzel zart. Wie uns die Alten sungen, Aus Jesse kam die Art Und hat ein Blümlein bracht, Mitten im kalten Winter, Wohl zu der halben Nacht. Das Röslein das ich meine, Davon Jesaia sagt: Maria ist’s, die Reine, Die uns das Blümlein bracht. Aus Gottes ew’gen Rat Hat sie ein Kind geboren Wohl zu der halben Nacht.

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Das Blümelein so kleine, Das duftet uns so süss, Mit seinem hellen Scheine Vertreibt’s die Finsternis. Wahr’ Mensch und wahrer Gott, Hilf uns aus allem Leide, Rettet von Sünd’ und Tod. Translation A shoot came up From a tender root. As the ancients told us, This kind stemmed from Jesse. And it brought fourth a flower In the middle of the cold winter, At midnight. The little shoot that I refer to Of which Isaiah says: it is Mary, the pure, Who brings us the flower. According to God’s eternal counsel, She bore a child, At midnight. The little flower, so small, Smells so sweetly, And with its bright sheen It dispels the darkness. True human and true God, Save us from all pain, Saves from sin and death.

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Eduard Ebel (1839 - 1905) Leise rieselt der Schnee (Softly Falls the Snow). Arr. Gerald Wirth Ebel, a theologian, wrote the song around 1900; he uses wintry images to conjure up a Christmassy landscape, and emotions to go with that. The spirit of Christmas, then, helps to keep your cares at bay – and everyone looks forward to the coming of the Christ child, who brings peace. Song and text are somewhat corny, but cling to memory, and as with many such songs, there are countless parodies, some mocking everyday matters such as schoolwork, some specific political events in Germany. In German-speaking countries, both Saint Nicholas and the Christ child might bring the gifts at Christmas; the Christ child as bringer of gifts was allegedly thought up by Martin Luther, to counter the catholic veneration of Saint Nick while maintaining the rather useful custom of giving gifts to each other. Nowadays, the Christ child is pretty popular in most German-speaking countries, regardless of denomination. Text Leise rieselt der Schnee Still und starr liegt der See, Weihnachtlich glänzet der Wald, freue dich, Christkind kommt bald. In den Herzen ist’s warm Still schweigt Kummer und Harm Sorge des Herzens verhallt: freue dich, Christkind kommt bald. Translation Softly falls the snow, Still and motionless lies the lake, The forest sparkles with Christmas, Be happy, the Christ child is coming. In the hearts it is warm Sorrow and pain are silent, And your heart’s pain dies off: Be happy, the Christ child is coming. Solo to be announced from stage

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Jacobus Gallus (1550 – 1591) Pueri concinite (Boys, begin to sing). Four-part Christmas motet Gallus was born in Reifnitz, Carnolia (now Ribnica, Slovenia). His birth name was probably Petelin, which in Slovenian means ‘rooster’. As he traveled all over the Habsburg Empire, he used either the German - Handl - or the Latin - Gallus - form of his name, sometimes adding the adjective Carniolus, in reference to his home country. Gallus was educated at the Cistercian monastery at Stična. He arrived in Austria as a teenager, singing first in the Benedictine Abbey at Melk and later with the Chapel Imperial in Vienna. It appears that some of his works were written for the Imperial choristers. Between 1579 and 1585, Gallus was Kapellmeister to the bishop of Olmütz (now Olomouc) in Moravia, before becoming the organist of the church sv. Jan na Zábradlí in Prague. In Prague, Gallus oversaw the systematic publication and printing of his works. His output was huge: more than 500 sacred and secular works are attributed to Gallus. He died in 1591. Gallus’s music combines ideas and elements of the Franco-Flemish, German, and Italian Renaissance styles. Some of his chromatic transitions in particular hint at much later styles of music. Contemporaries admired his works for their beautifully woven counterpoint and compared him to Palestrina (1525 – 1594), high praise indeed, as Palestrina’s music was considered perfect. Gallus differs from Palestrina in his use of rhythm. He deftly moves between double and triple meter, he uses word accents to change rhythm, and creates moments of emotional drama and suspense, effectively painting the words. His most notable work is arguably the six part Opus musicum, 1577, a collection of 374 motets that cover the liturgical needs of the entire ecclesiastical year. Pueri concinite nato regi psallite. Voce pia dicite: Apparuit quem genuit Maria. Sunt impleta quem predixit Gabriel Eja! Virgo Deum genuit quem divina voluit clementia. Hodie apparuit in Israel. Ex Maria virgine natus est Rex. Alleluia. Boys, sing of the birth of the King, say with a pious voice: He has come whom Mary has conceived. What Gabriel prophesied has happened, Eia. The virgin has given birth to God, as planned by divine mercy. Today he has appeared in Israel, of Mary the virgin the King has been born. Alleluia.

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Michael Praetorius (1571 – 1621) In natali Domini (At the birth of the Lord), from: Musae Sioniae (1609) Four-part Christmas motet Michael Praetorius was born Michael Schulteis (or Schultheis); the family name means „sheriff“. Praetorius used the Latin form of his name. Praetorius was born in Creuzburg near Eisenach; he held the position of court Kapellmeister for the Prince-elector of Saxony. He was one of the first German composers to study new influences from Italy, and was (and is) considered the leading musicologist of his day. „In natali Domini“ was published in 1609, as part of an anthology of 1,200 pieces to be used in Protestant liturgy, the so-called „Musae Sioniae“. In the same year Praetorius wrote his setting of „Low, How a Rose“, still in use today. The text of „In natali Domini“ mixes Latin, the language of the clergy, with Geman, the language of the people as it were; the result is a kind of dialogue. Text In natali Domini clamant mortales singuli Wo ist uns ein Kind gebor’n? Zu Bethlehem ist uns gebor’n ein Kindelein. Wo, wo, wo ist uns ein Kind gebor’n? Zu Bethlehem ist uns gebor’n ein Kindelein, gewickelt in ein Tüchelein, Jesus ist der Name sein. At the birth of the Lord, the mortals cry out, Where is this child born for us? In Bethlehem a child is born for us. Where, where, where is a child born for us? In Bethlehem, a child is born for us, wrapped in a cloth, Jesus is his name.

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Max Reger (1873 – 1916) Mariä Wiegenlied (Mary's Lullaby), from: Schlichte Weisen (simple melodies), opus 76/52 Text: Martin Boelitz (1874 - 1918) Reger, who had his first music lessons as a child, was a student of Hugo Riemann’s. He suffered a nervous breakdown during his time in the military and returned to live with his parents in 1898. In 1901, the family moved to Munich, where the catholic Reger married a protestant divorcée. As a result, Reger found himself excommunicated. Between 1901 and 1907, Reger was busy as a composer and pianist. In 1907, he was offered a professorship at the Leipzig conservatory. In 1911, he accepted the post of court composer in Meiningen; he stayed until the outbreak of WW I. He died from a heart attack in 1916. Reger is particularly known for his complex organ works. Reger wrote his “Simple melodies” opus 76 between 1904 and 1912, to prove that he could write tunes that were not “complicated”. Mary's Lullaby, dedicated to Princess Marie Elisabeth of Saxony-Meiningen, became his greatest hit. The 6/8 metre imitates the rocking cradle, the tune is inspired by an old German Christmas carol, “Joseph, lieber Joseph mein” (Joseph, my dear Joseph). The Vienna Boys Choir chose the delicate tune for their new Christmas film “Facing Mary” - the carol celebrates Mary as a mother. Maria sitzt am Rosenhag und wiegt ihr Jesuskind, durch die Blätter leise weht der warme Sommerwind. Zu ihren Füßen singt ein buntes Vögelein: Schlaf, Kindlein, süße, schlaf nun ein! Hold ist dein Lächeln, holder deines Schlummers Lust, leg dein müdes Köpfchen fest an deiner Mutter Brust! Schlaf, Kindlein, süße, schlaf nun ein! Mary sits in the rose garden, cradling little Jesus, a warm summer breeze blowing through the leaves. A multicoloured bird sits by her feet: Sleep, my sweet child, sleep. Your smile is dear, but the sanctuary of your slumber is dearer, rest your tired little head against your mother's chest. Sleep, my sweet child, sleep.

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Walter Kent (1911 – 1994) I’ll Be Home for Christmas Text: Kim Gannon (1900 – 1974); Arr. Mac Huff There is a general muddle over the proper credits for this song, usually given to Kim Gannon and Walter Kent. In December 1942, Sam "Buck" Ram copyrighted a song titled "I’ll Be Home for Christmas". A song by the same title was also copyrighted in August of 1943, by Walter Kent (music) and James "Kim" Gannon (words). Ram’s publisher sued Kent’s and Gannon’s publisher, and won: Ram claimed to have written the song as a 16-year-old. Later, in 1942, he said he had discussed the song with two acquaintances in a bar, leaving a copy with them: Kent and Gannon. Kent and Gannon revised and re-copyrighted their song in September of 1943. This is the version that became famous. Bing Crosby recorded the title. Within a month, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” shot to the top ten of the music charts, just like “White Christmas” in the previous year, earning Crosby his fifth gold record. Ever since, it has been one of the most popular Christmas songs from the United States. Text I’ll be home for Christmas You can plan on me Please have snow and mistletoe And presents on the tree Christmas Eve will find me Where the love light gleams I’ll be home for Christmas If only in my dreams Andrew Carter (*1939) A Maiden Most Gentle. Text: Andrew Carter, paraphrased from the Venerable Bede (672 – 735) The Venerable Bede, or Saint Bede, was a monk in the monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth and in the monastery of Saint Paul in Jarrow in Northumbria. He was a prolific scholar and author. Bede wrote extensive commentaries on Biblical texts, scientific treatises, homilies, saints’ biographies, hymns and poems. His most famous work is a history of the English people. Andrew Carter’s reworking of a French carol was written for the Nuns of St. Mary’s Convent in York in 1978.

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Text A maiden most gentle and tender we sing: Of Mary the mother of Jesus our King. Ave, ave, ave Maria How bless’d is the birth of her heavenly child, Who came to redeem us in Mary so mild. Ave, ave, ave Maria The archangel Gabriel foretold by his call The Lord of creation, and Saviour of all. Ave, ave, ave Maria Three kings came to worship with gifts rich and rare, And marvelled in awe at the babe in her care. Ave, ave, ave Maria Rejoice and be glad at this Christmas we pray; Sing praise to the Saviour, sing endless ‘Ave’. Ave, ave, ave Maria José Feliciano (*1945) Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas, 1970) Feliz Navidad was written by singer – songwriter José Feliciano; it is simple, buoyant, and catchy, and has since become a Christmas pop classic not only in the US and in Spanish-speaking countries. Feliz Navidad, prospero año y felicidad I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart We wanna wish you a Merry Christmas �� from the bottom of our heart

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O Tannenbaum (O Christmas tree). Tune: Melchior Frank (1580 - 1639) Text: Joachim August Zarnack (1777 – 1827), Ernst Anschütz (1780 – 1861) Arr. Gerald Wirth O Tannenbaum started life as a love song, sung by students in Silesia. The song praised the fir as a model of constancy – its leaves do not change color, plus green is the color traditionally associated with fidelity, trust, with new beginnings, spring and hope. In the middle ages, green was a sign of love, and the German idiom „jemandem grün sein“ (to be green towards someone) means to like them. In 1820, August Zarnack published the tune and first verse, which does not mention Christmas at all. Around this time, the custom of putting up a decorated fir tree at Christmas became popular in Germany, and four years later, Ernst Anschütz, a teacher from Leipzig, added verses two and three, and O Tannenbaum became a favorite carol. Since it is such a simple and therefore memorable song, O Tannenbaum comes in many guises; its tune is used for the state songs of Iowa, Maryland, and Michigan, and it was the former state song for Florida. As „The Red Flag“ it was first sung by the British Labour Party in 1945. There are countless satirical spoof versions. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine Blätter. Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie grün sind deine Blätter! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! Wie oft hat schon zur Winterszeit Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Du kannst mir sehr gefallen! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Dein Kleid will mich was lehren: Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit Gibt Mut und Kraft zu jeder Zeit. O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Dein Kleid will mich was lehren. O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, how constant your leaves are. You are not only green in summer, but also in winter, in snow. O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, how green your leaves are.

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O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, you really please me. Often, in winter, (the sight of) a fir tree has filled me with glee. O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, you really please me. O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, Your leaves can teach me: Hope and constance instil courage and energy at all times. O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree, your leaves can teach me. Hugh Martin (1914 – 2011) und Ralph Blane (1914 – 1995) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (1944) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas was written during World War II. It was first sung by 21-year-old Judy Garland in Vincente Minelli’s musical film Meet Me In St. Louis (1944). The original lyrics (“Have yourself a merry little Christmas / it may be your last”; “we all will be together if the Fates allow, until then we’ll just have to muddle through somehow”) were altered, because Garland and Minelli felt they were too gloomy – looking back in 2007, author Hugh Martin referred to them as “hysterically lugubrious”. Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be light From now on, our troubles will be out of sight Have yourself a merry little Christmas Make the yuletide gay From now on, our troubles will be miles away Here we are as in olden days Happy golden days of yore Faithful friends who are dear to us Gather near to us once more Through the years we all will be together If the fates allow Hang a shining star upon the highest bough And have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Vienna Boys Choir




James Lord Pierpont (1822 – 1893) Jingle Bells (1857) Arr. Alexander L'Estrange Jingle Bells was first published in 1857 under the name „One Horse Open Sleigh“. It is not a Christmas carol, but a song about sleigh races in Massachussetts where James Pierpont was born. Pierpont led a wild and unsettled life. At 14, he ran away to sea (aboard a ship called „Shark“); later, he joined the gold rush in California where he worked as a photographer. He lost all his possessions in a fire. After that, he returned to Massachussetts. In 1853, he followed his brother John to Savannah, Georgia, where he took up a post as organist. By 1860, John was back in the North, but James stayed, fighting for the confederacy and writing battle songs such as We Conquer or Die. Jingle Bells is often parodied, and it was the first song broadcast from space. In December 1965, Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra reported seeing a command module with eight smaller modules in front, with a pilot in a red suit, and then played Jingle Bells to their mission control. Text Dashing through the snow In a one horse open sleigh O’er the fields we go Laughing all the way Bells on bob tails ring Making spirits bright What fun it is to laugh and sing A sleighing song tonight Chorus Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells Jingle all the way Oh, what fun it is to ride In a one horse open sleigh A day or two ago I thought I'd take a ride And soon Miss Fanny Bright Was seated by my side The horse was lean and lank Misfortune seemed his lot We got into a drifted bank And then we got upsot Chorus

Vienna Boys Choir




Now the ground is white, Go it while you're young, Take the girls tonight And sing this sleighing song; Just get a bob tailed bay Two forty as his speed Hitch him to an open sleigh And crack, you'll take the lead. Chorus Notes © Tina Breckwoldt

vienna boys choir: christmas in...

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