Get Bach! Vienna Boys Choir go Lutheran in Lugano

An Englishman could be forgiven for assuming that the ancient roots of the world-renowned Vienna Boys Choir go so deep that the liturgical music of Johann Sebastian Bach would be firmly in its repertoire. It has been singing services at the city’s Imperial chapel since 1498, so surely Bach features regularly? Not so. That notion overlooks the distinct differences between Lutheran Leipzig and Catholic Vienna.

This unique choir, established by no less a figure than Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, is anchored in the rich, nurturing soil of the Latin mass, particularly examples by Joseph Haydn and Franz Schubert – composers who sang in the choir in their youth. Their works are scheduled most Sundays, accompanied by members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, with tenors and basses drawn from the chorus of the Vienna State Opera. That’s an extraordinary line-up for a regular Sunday morning, and an exceptional experience for the boys of the choir, some as young as 10.

So the opportunity to hear this choir sing a selection of Bach cantatas when it visits LuganoMusica in February is a special one. Of course, it is not as though the boys are unfamiliar with the music of Bach. Indeed, the choir made several recordings with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Hans Gillesberger in the 1960s and 1970s – a mirroring of the sonic world that Bach knew in Leipzig, with a top line supplied by boy trebles, rather than sopranos. In Lugano, the boys will sing both the treble and alto line, with tenors and basses and accompaniment provided by the vocal and instrumental Claudiana Ensemble. The group, which specialises in Bach and Monteverdi, is led by the Lugano-based lutenist Luca Pianca, who trained under Harnoncourt, so there’s a neat connection there.

Bach’s vocal works form part of the choir’s extensive musical education, which takes place in a special campus in Vienna – an education so wide it covers everything from Renaissance motets to songs from the shows and pop covers. It’s a long way from the days when Maximilian I moved his court to Vienna and established the Hofmusikkapelle, the group of musicians serving the Imperial Court Chapel, the direct forerunner to the Vienna Boys Choir. Caldara, Gluck, Salieri, Mozart and Bruckner all wrote for the choir, which sang exclusively for the Viennese court until 1918, when Austria became a republic in the wake of the first world war.

Someone who knows most about the choir is its archivist and dramaturg, Tina Breckwoldt. She has written a book on its history, traditions and its phenomenal touring: so far, more than 1,000 tours to 100 countries. “The choir has been on the road since 1926,” she said, pointing out that performing was vital to fund its activities and education. Today, some 29,000 concerts later, the choir is not just one body, but four separate choirs, each made up of a dozen boys, aged 10 to 14.

And now there is also a girls’ choir, established in 2004, and oversubscribed – unlike the boys’ choirs. “I wish we could attract more boys,” says Breckwoldt, “but we must remember that there are many people living in Vienna who may not have heard of the choir and who have a different tradition of singing.”

It seems extraordinary that this world-famous institution finds it a challenge to attract local talent. As Breckwoldt points out, the experience is invaluable. “The fact that a 10-year-old can sing regular services with members of the Vienna Philharmonic and State Opera chorus is exceptional. They are so well trained beforehand that just one full rehearsal with the orchestra will suffice.”

Outreach programmes aim to attract boys from outside the city to apply, and members also come from overseas, with boys auditioning from as far away as South Korea. “We have a fairly playful approach to auditions,” says Breckwoldt. “Ideally, children come to us to join our primary school. All we ask is that they must love to sing, are keen to be part of a team, and have a good ear and sense of rhythm. All the year groups sing every day and the primary school has its own mixed choir, which appears regularly, including the annual Christmas tea hosted by the President of Austria for charities and volunteers.”

There are 330 children on the campus, cared for by 70 staff, including voice and instrumental tutors and seven choirmasters. Older boys selected to sing in the four touring choirs board during the week on campus and go home at the weekends, unless they are from overseas. They sing for at least two hours each day, with additional solo and instrument practice. Most learn the piano or violin “but we also have a boy learning the flugelhorn at the moment”. Girls have a similar training, but funding is still being raised to build them a boarding house.

Another thing that differs from the English choral tradition is the sound the boys make. “English boys’ choirs produce that ethereal sound, but here it is very different. We encourage the boys to sing out in a bel canto style.” Breckwoldt recalls talking to the late Sir Stephen Cleobury at King’s College, Cambridge about the differing qualities of young voices. “Sir Stephen believed it was difficult to distinguish between boys’ and girls’ voices before puberty. Beyond that age, both boys and girls undergo a voice change, girls about two years before the boys, so it makes sense to have separate choirs for boys and girls in that age range – between 10 and 14.”

For the four boys’ choirs, and the girls’ choir, the academic year is divided into terms. Two are dedicated to school work, while the third term is devoted entirely to touring. “We look upon this as part of their education. They get to learn something of the language and to meet people from other countries,” says Breckwoldt. “They stop their formal education for this period. No teachers travel with them, but the choirmaster and two tutors look after their welfare. They are there to learn, but in a different way.”

The income derived from touring made a significant contribution in 1948, when the choir was expanding and had outgrown its old headquarters in the Imperial palace. It was proposed that the choir move to the Palais Augarten, a former Habsburg palace in Leopoldstadt, Vienna. But the Palais had been badly bombed during the Second World War and required extensive restoration, which the choir helped fund by touring the United States – the first of many visits to that nation. Painstaking work restored the building to its original condition and now the boys and girls live and study amid the splendour of a palace which in the 19th century hosted grand Viennese balls, with Wagner and Liszt among the guests. The palace takes its name from the 130-acre garden that surrounds it, now restored to its original Baroque design (though the choir’s campus occupies only a small portion).

Just before their appearance in Lugano, the choir is making several appearances in the Canary Islands, and in March they will be touring works by Johann Strauss, father and son, to Spain, with concerts in Alicante, Madrid and Valencia. In May, they will be back on home turf at the Musikverein, joining the Tonkünstler Orchestra in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony.

For the Vienna Boys Choir, the music never stops.

Vienna Boys Choir perform Bach with the Claudiana Ensemble at LAC on 23rd February.

This article was sponsored by Fondazione LuganoMusica.