Hannover Boys Choir
Encyclopedia
The Knabenchor Hannover is a boys choir
founded in 1950 by Heinz Hennig
and conducted until the end of 2001. Since 2002, the conductor has been Jörg Breiding.
. The choir's five Schütz recordings, conducted by Hennig between 1982 and 1999, set standards for performances of this repertoire, four of them won prizes such as the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis. The choir turned to works of Andreas Hammerschmidt
in 1998, recording his sacred choral music.
The Knabenchor Hannover was among the first choirs to take an interest in historically informed performance
and achieved international acclaim. Conductors such as Gustav Leonhardt
, Ton Koopman
and Christoph Eschenbach
have worked with the choir, as have orchestras such as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra
, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
and German radio orchestras.
Besides performing at festivals both in Germany and abroad (including Israel, Japan, Russia, South and Central America, the US and South Africa), the Knabenchor Hannover has recorded regularly and can frequently be heard on radio.
In 2000 the choir celebrated 50 years with a recorded performance in Hannover
of Bach's St Matthew Passion together with the Thomanerchor
.
In 2006, the Knabenchor Hannover was awarded the Echo Klassik in the category "choral works - recording of the year" for the CD "Verleih uns Frieden" including the world's first recording of several works by Andreas Hammerschmidt that were believed lost for more than 350 years.
In 2009 Harald Weiss
dedicated his requiem composition Schwarz vor Augen und es ward Licht to the Knabenchor Hannover, premiered on 31 October 2009 with the NDR Symphony Orchestra and soloists Dorothee Mields
and Andreas Karasiak
.
In 2010 the choir celebrates 60 years with Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610, 400 years after the works first publication.
Boys' choir
A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type...
founded in 1950 by Heinz Hennig
Heinz Hennig
Heinz Hennig was a German choral conductor and an academic, known for founding the Knabenchor Hannover in 1950 and leading it until 2001.- Biography :...
and conducted until the end of 2001. Since 2002, the conductor has been Jörg Breiding.
History and music
The Knabenchor Hannover has traditionally performed of seventeenth century composers, namely Heinrich SchützHeinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...
. The choir's five Schütz recordings, conducted by Hennig between 1982 and 1999, set standards for performances of this repertoire, four of them won prizes such as the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis. The choir turned to works of Andreas Hammerschmidt
Andreas Hammerschmidt
Andreas Hammerschmidt , the "Orpheus of Zittau," was a German composer and organist, of Bohemian birth, of the early to middle Baroque era...
in 1998, recording his sacred choral music.
The Knabenchor Hannover was among the first choirs to take an interest in historically informed performance
Historically informed performance
Historically informed performance is an approach in the performance of music and theater. Within this approach, the performance adheres to state-of-the-art knowledge of the aesthetic criteria of the period in which the music or theatre work was conceived...
and achieved international acclaim. Conductors such as Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt
Gustav Leonhardt is a highly renowned Dutch keyboard player, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. Leonhardt has been a leading figure in the movement to perform music on period instruments...
, Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman
Ton Koopman is a conductor, organist and harpsichordist.Koopman had a "classical education" and then studied the organ , harpsichord and musicology in Amsterdam...
and Christoph Eschenbach
Christoph Eschenbach
Christoph Eschenbach , born February 20, 1940, Breslau, Germany is a German-born pianist and conductor. He currently holds positions in Washington, D.C. as music director of the National Symphony Orchestra and music director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.-Early...
have worked with the choir, as have orchestras such as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam.The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979 and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir in...
, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin is a German chamber orchestra founded in East Berlin in 1982...
and German radio orchestras.
Besides performing at festivals both in Germany and abroad (including Israel, Japan, Russia, South and Central America, the US and South Africa), the Knabenchor Hannover has recorded regularly and can frequently be heard on radio.
In 2000 the choir celebrated 50 years with a recorded performance in Hannover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
of Bach's St Matthew Passion together with the Thomanerchor
Thomanerchor
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age...
.
In 2006, the Knabenchor Hannover was awarded the Echo Klassik in the category "choral works - recording of the year" for the CD "Verleih uns Frieden" including the world's first recording of several works by Andreas Hammerschmidt that were believed lost for more than 350 years.
In 2009 Harald Weiss
Harald Weiss
Harald Weiss is a German composer, director, screenwriter, and free-lance artist.Weiss's compositions are influenced by minimalism, as well as jazz and rock musics...
dedicated his requiem composition Schwarz vor Augen und es ward Licht to the Knabenchor Hannover, premiered on 31 October 2009 with the NDR Symphony Orchestra and soloists Dorothee Mields
Dorothee Mields
Dorothee Mields is a German soprano concert singer of Baroque and contemporary music.-Career:Mields was born in Gelsenkirchen. She studied at the University of the Arts Bremen with Elke Holzmann, Harry van der Kamp and Gabriele Schreckenbach...
and Andreas Karasiak
Andreas Karasiak
- Biography :Andreas Karasiak studied voice at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz with Claudia Eder. He studied Baroque music at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with René Jacobs in Basel....
.
In 2010 the choir celebrates 60 years with Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610, 400 years after the works first publication.
External links
- Knabenchor Hannover website
- Knabenchor Hannover on the website of the state of NiedersachsenLower SaxonyLower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
- Knabenchor Hannover on the website of Konzertdirektion Schmid
- Knabenchor Hannover on The Boy Choir & Soloist Directory
- CD Label "Rondeau"
- Entries for recordings by the Knabenchor Hannover on WorldCatWorldCatWorldCat is a union catalog which itemizes the collections of 72,000 libraries in 170 countries and territories which participate in the Online Computer Library Center global cooperative...