St. Martins Choirboys Biberach
| St. Martins Choirboys Biberach | |
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| Seat: |
 Biberach an der Riss
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| Founding: | 1962 |
| Genus: | Boys' choir |
| Founder: | Paul Pfaff (1930-2006) |
| Head : | Johannes Striegel |
| Voices : | 90 ( SATB ) |
| Website : | www.chorknaben-biberach.de |
The St. Martins Choirboys Biberach are a full-part boys choir in the Upper Swabian town of Biberach an der Riß . The choir was founded in 1962 and has been a member of the Pueri Cantores ever since . In Biberach he continues a tradition of boys' choir that has been documented since 1400. The St. Martins choirboys regularly organize the services in their home church St. Martin and the surrounding parishes. In addition, the choir boys give concerts in Biberach and the surrounding area. They also appear abroad on their annual concert tour.
history
1400-1962
Spiritual boy choir singing has been documented in Biberach since 1400. From this year at the latest, four students from the Biberach Latin School sang in the daily mass celebrations.
In the 16th century the boys' choir was reorganized in Biberach - also as a result of the Reformation . The church service chants were now performed by alumni . These were boys who were housed in the Biberach hospital . In 1568 the Catholic Alumnate was founded, with which eight alumni were financed. In 1590 the Protestant alumni followed, which was designed for six alumni. Since 1653 the alumni no longer lived in the hospital, but with their families and instead received money and natural goods for their livelihood.
In her youth, the composer Justin Heinrich Knecht (1752–1817) and the painter Johann Baptist Pflug (1785–1866) were Biberach alumni.
The history of the Protestant alumnate breaks off in 1938 - as a result of the harmonization of musical life in Biberach after the National Socialist takeover. The Catholic alumni, however, persisted and only ended in 1961.
The founding of the St. Martins Choirboys in 1962 does not constitute a continuation of the alumnate as an institution. However, the choir boys took on similar tasks with the musical organization of the services. In this respect, they can be classified in the centuries-old tradition of Biberach boys' choir singing.
1962-1974
The St. Martins Choirboys Biberach celebrated their founding party on December 9, 1962 (initially under the name “pueri cantores St. Martin”). The founder of the choir was the chaplain at the time, Paul Pfaff (1930-2006). On the one hand, he wanted to enrich the services with festive choral songs; His primary goal, however, was to get children and young people off the streets in order to keep them in faith by studying and performing spiritual choral singing and at the same time to enable them to experience a solid community life. For this purpose, Pfaff converted his house, the chaplain, into a youth club, where the choirboys were given their own rooms in the attic.
Its original name already indicates that the St. Martins Choirboys saw themselves as the choir of the Pueri Cantores from the beginning. As early as 1963 they took part in the diocesan boys' choir meeting of the choir association in Ulm. In 1965 they were represented at the first German national congress in Essen and in 1967 they attended an international boys' choir meeting in Rome for the first time.
1974-1992
1974 Paul Pfaff left Biberach. Thereupon choirs continued to conduct the choir on a voluntary basis. In 1981 Günther Höhne became choirmaster. In 1988 Wolfgang Hirsch took over the overall management. He was followed by Franz Raml in 1990 .
1992 – today
In 1992 Johannes Striegel (née Friedrich) became choirmaster of the St. Martins Choirboys. A permanent contract was created for him for the first time. This supported the "phase of consolidation and upward development" that began with Striegel.
In 2006 the choirboys had to leave the chaplaincy. After a three-year interim solution, in September 2009 they moved into their current premises in the newly built community center.
repertoire
The St. Martin's choirboys sing sacred choral music - usually a cappella , i.e. without instrumental accompaniment. Her repertoire spans all epochs of music history - from Gregorian chant to Bach and Mozart to modern composers such as Poulenc or Miškinis .
The choir rehearses twice a week to rehearse the pieces. If necessary, the singers receive voice training lessons. In addition, a rehearsal weekend takes place at the beginning of every half year.
In the past few years, the choir has performed an average of 45 performances a year.
organization structure
The St. Martin's Choirboys differ from other boys' choirs primarily in their grassroots democratic organizational structure, in which ideas from the youth movement are continued. The male voices decide on all fundamental questions of the choir in a democratic vote. The choir director also only has one vote in these votes. The freedom of choice granted to the young men is linked to the obligation to implement the decisions made on their own responsibility. The choirboys are of the opinion that this enables them to be educated in responsible engagement and a healthy sense of self.
In 2002 the St. Martins Choirboys received the honorary award of the Biberach district for their long-term commitment to youth work .
membership
Although the St. Martin's Choirboys are Catholic boys' choirs, membership is not tied to a denomination or religion. New singers are usually accepted between the ages of 6 and 9. They first go through a basic musical training in which they learn to read notes and sing with several voices. After a practical and written exam, the new singers will then be solemnly accepted in a church service. During the time of their voices breaking , the mutants remain involved in the activities of the choir and then re-enter the performance choir as male voices.
dress
Garment:
The choirboys wear robes at all liturgical appearances . It consists of a white alb with a hood . A white cord serves as a cingulum . The choirboys wear a wooden cross around their necks. The garment is deliberately based on the clothing of the Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois ( German Little Singers from the Wooden Cross ). The international choir association Pueri Cantores emerged from this Paris boys' choir, whose principles the choirboys feel closely connected to.
Concert dress:
At concerts , the choir wears concert dress :
- The boys wear black trousers and a white shirt with a coat of arms with the logo of the choirboys attached. The singers wear the so-called "Mäschle", a dark red, specially tied bow around their necks . In winter there is no "Mäschle" and the choirboys wear a red sweater over a white shirt with the choir's logo printed on it.
- The men wear black suits with white shirts and black bow ties . A badge with the coat of arms of the Pueri Cantores is attached to the suit.
Concert tours
Every year the St. Martins choirboys go on a two and a half week concert tour, which is organized by the male voices independently. It usually takes the singers to other European countries. The concert tour to California (1999) was an exception . Each concert tour is divided into two parts:
- In the concert part of at least 9 days , the choir makes a tour through different cities and gives concerts or organizes church services there. Special venues in recent years have been the collegiate church of Einsiedeln Abbey , the Beauvais Cathedral (largest Gothic church vault in the world) and the Friedenskirche in Schweidnitz (largest half-timbered church in Europe).
- The leisure part consists of a tent camp lasting several days.
With their concert tours, the St. Martins Choirboys also want to contribute to international understanding . At the individual stages of the concert part, the choirboys try to stay with host families as far as possible in order to get to know the country and its people better.
A visit by the choirboys to Asti in July 1973 and the return visit of a delegation from Asti in Biberach in September of the same year contributed to the development of a friendship between the two cities, which finally resulted in a twinning in 1981 .
In August 2002 the St. Martins Choirboys made a stop in Guernsey . Residents of this channel island were interned in the Lindele camp during the Second World War . With their visit, the choir boys were able to contribute to the development of partnership relations between Guernsey and Biberach. At a memorial service for the dead of the Lindele camp in Biberach, attended by the highest government and church representatives of Guernsey, the then bailiff Sir de Vic Carey particularly emphasized the sensitivity of the choirboys during their stay.
financing
The Catholic parish of St. Martin and St. Maria zu Biberach and the entire Catholic parish of Biberach finance the choir director and the voice trainer. The parish of St. Martin also provides the choirboys with rooms in their parish center (office and lounge).
The choir boys use a hall in the town of Biberach as a rehearsal room.
The Friends and Friends of St. Martins Choirboys Biberach eV supports the choir u. a. in purchasing sheet music and in financing concert tours.
Due to falling church tax income, it must be expected that the parish of St. Martin will no longer be able to finance the choir conducting and voice training to the same extent as before. That is why the St. Martin Boys Choir Foundation was founded in 2010 , which is intended to cover part of these costs in the future.
Membership fees are also raised from the singers. An additional participation fee has to be paid for the concert tour.
Television appearances
SWR:
The St. Martins choir boys have already performed several appearances on SWR television :
- September 18, 1982: Guest in the evening show
- December 12th, 1999: Musical participation in the program Bunter Abend Advent
- December 3, 2008: Musical advent calendar as part of the coffee or tea program
- December 24, 2008: Musical contribution to the program Music and Texts for Christmas Eve
- December 1, 2009: Musical advent calendar as part of the coffee or tea program
ZDF:
On June 17, 1984 the choirboys helped to shape the television service on ZDF .
Private television:
In October 2010 representatives of the choirboys were guests on the talk show Alpha & Omega - the church magazine . The program was broadcast on various private television channels, including Regio TV Schwaben , bw family.tv and Bibel TV .
media
Composition:
Missa 1962 (composer: Gregor Simon, 2012)
- The mass was composed exclusively for the St. Martin's choirboys and serves to acquire donations for the choirboy foundation. Part of the fair premiered on December 9, 2012.
DVD:
Behind the voices - the choirboys from Biberach (approx. 58 min.)
- The documentary had its premiere in November 2009 at the Biberach Film Festival . The DVD was released in July 2010.
CDs:
- Sacred choral music (2002)
- Cantate Domino (2009)
In addition, two CDs have been released by Hänssler Classic on which the choir boys are represented with individual contributions:
- The Musical Advent Calendar Vol. 6 (2008)
- The Musical Advent Calendar Vol. 7 (2009)
Records:
- Gloria in Excelsis Deodorant (1970)
- Ave Maria (1974)
- Sacred choral music from five centuries (1981)
- Christmas in Biberach (1986)
- Cantate Domino (1989)
Cassettes:
- Bastien and Bastienne (1986)
- Advent choral music from Biberach (1988)
literature
- Andrea Riotte: "It's beautiful in God's world." History of boys' choir singing in Biberach . Biberacher Verlagsdruckerei, Biberach 2012, ISBN 978-3-943391-19-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Riotte, p. 15f
- ↑ Riotte, p. 30ff.
- ↑ Riotte, p. 52.
- ↑ Riotte, pp. 62, 67.
- ↑ Riotte, p. 91ff.
- ^ Founding party of the pueri cantores St. Martin . In: Schwäbische Zeitung , December 12, 1962.
- ↑ Gunther Dahinten : St. Martin's choirboys have a new conductor. The 27-year-old Johannes Friedrich brings with him specialist training, choir experience and enthusiasm . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, March 14, 1992.
- ↑ Gunther Dahinten: Good relationship with the new conductor Johannes Friedrich. The St. Martins Choirboys are in a spirit of optimism again . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, September 17, 1992.
- ↑ Franziska Rötzsch: The first part of the community center is finished - and the group is moving into the rectory . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, September 12, 2009.
- ↑ Wolfgang Manecke: Kreis awards honorary award for the first time . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, November 29, 2002.
- ↑ St. Martin's choirboys excited in the USA . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, June 16, 1999.
- ↑ From church to church. Beginning of a friendship between the city of Asti and Biberach . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, September 18, 1973.
- ^ Eefje Koppers: Choir strengthens Biberach ties . In: Guernsey Press, August 5, 2002.
- ↑ Dierk Andresen: Worthy Remembrance and Reconciliation . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, September 10, 2002.
- ↑ Franziska Rötzsch: Fear of the future: Foundation should save choirboys. Schwäbische Zeitung, April 12, 2010, accessed January 20, 2013 .
- ↑ Günter Vogel: After 860 bars, the "Missa 1962" is over for the time being. Schwäbische Zeitung, December 11, 2012, accessed January 20, 2013 .
- ↑ Franziska Rötzsch: Choirboys are great leading actors . In: Schwäbische Zeitung, November 4, 2009.