Over the centuries, the choir has worked with many composers including Mozart, Caldara, Salieri, Heinrich Isaac, Hofhaimer, Biber, Fux, Gluck, and Bruckner.
History
The choir is the modern-day descendant of the boys' choirs from the Viennese Court, dating back to the late Middle Ages. The choir was, for practical purposes, established by a letter written by Maximilian I of Habsburg on 7 July 1498. In the letter the Emperor instructed court officials to employ a singing master, two basses and six boys. Jurij Slatkonja became the director of the ensemble.
The role of the choir (numbering between fourteen and twenty) was to provide musical accompaniment to the church mass. The boys received a solid musical education, which in most cases had a significant impact on the rest of their lives, as many went on to become professional musicians. The composers Jacobus Gallus, Franz Schubert, and the conductors Hans Richter, Felix Mottl and Clemens Krauss were members of the choir. The Haydn brothers were members of the St. Stephen's Cathedral choir, directed at the time by Georg Reutter II who used this choir in his duties for the imperial court which at the time had no boy choristers of its own.
In 1920 the Hofkapelle (court musicians) was disbanded. However, the rector at the time, Josef Schnitt, sought a continuation of the tradition. In 1924 the "Vienna Boys' Choir" was officially founded and has evolved into a professional music group. Since 1948 the Palais Augarten has served as their rehearsal venue and boarding school which goes from kindergarten level up to middle school level. The choir adopted its now-famous blue and white sailor suits, replacing the imperial military cadet uniforms that included a dagger. The composer HK Gruber is one of the graduates of the reformed choir.
The choir is a private, not-for-profit organization. There are approximately 100 choristers between the ages of ten and fourteen. The boys are divided into four touring choirs, named for Bruckner, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert, which perform about 300 concerts each year in front of almost 500,000 people. Each group tours for about nine to eleven weeks.
After Dr. Eugen Jesser died in May 2008, Walter Nettig became the choir's president and Franz Schlosser its director. Gerald Wirth became the choir's artistic director in 2001.
Since the turn of the 21st century, the choir has come under pressure to modernise and has faced criticism of their musical standards leading to a split with the Vienna State Opera. The choir has for the first time had to advertise for recruits after a rival choir school was established by Ioan Holender, director of the opera company. He complained of both falling standards and of poor communication with the choir. He said that the State Opera sometimes trained boys for particular stage roles only to find out on the day of performance that they were unavailable as they had gone on tour with the choir. Some boys were attracted to the rival choir school by the prospect of a more relaxed atmosphere and of performance fees being paid directly to them.[4] The Vienna Boys Choir has sought to update its image, recording pop music selections and adopting an alternative uniform to the sailor suits used since the 1920s, allowing the boys to dance as they sing.
Selected discography
Christmas
* Wiener Sängerknaben Goes Christmas (2003)
* Frohe Weihnacht (Merry Christmas) (1999)
* Christmas in Vienna / Heiligste Nacht (1990)
* The Little Drummer Boy (1990)
* Merry Christmas from the Vienna Choir Boys (1982)
* Christmas with the Vienna Choir Boys (with Hermann Prey)
* Christmas with the Vienna Boys' Choir, London Symphony Orchestra (1990)
* Weihnacht mit den Wiener Sängerknaben (Gillesberger 1980)
* Die Wiener Sängerknaben und ihre Schönsten ... (1967)
* Frohe Weihnacht (1960)
* Christmas Angels (RCA Gold Seal)
Pop music
* I Am from Austria (2006)
* Wiener Sängerknaben Goes Pop (2002)
Other recordings
* Orff: Carmina Burana (with Andre Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra) (1994)
Maria durch ein Dornwald ging
Wiener Sängerknaben Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kyrieleison!
Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging,
der hatte in sieben Jahr'n kein Laub getragen!
Kyrieleison!
das trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen.
Kyrieleison!
das trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen.
Kyrie eleison
Da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen,
Kyrie eleison
Als das Kindlein durch den Wald getragen,
da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen!
Kyrieleison!
The Wiener Sängerknaben's song "Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" tells the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, walking through a thorny forest while pregnant with her child. The song begins, "Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging. Kyrieleison!" (Maria walks through a thorn forest. Lord, have mercy!). Mary walks through the forest, which hasn't had any leaves for seven years until she reaches the end, where the baby Jesus is born. The lyrics describe the journey as a difficult one, as Mary bears the child under her heart while walking through the thrones, but they are also filled with hope for the arrival of Jesus.
The song emphasizes symbolically Mary's suffering, and as she is a symbol of faith and purity, the Dornwald (thorny forest) is seen as the sin, danger and difficulties faced during one's life's journey. However, walking through the forest with much courage and faith, Mary is able to change it into a rose garden as a result of the birth of Christ who marks the beginning of the redemption of the world.
Overall, the song conveys a message of hope, strength, and faith amidst struggles, as Mary brings joy to a bleak and difficult place, representing the beauty and promise that arise from hardships.
Line by Line Meaning
Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging.
The Virgin Mary walked through a thorny forest.
Kyrieleison!
Lord, have mercy!
Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging,
The Virgin Mary walked through a thorny forest.
der hatte in sieben Jahr'n kein Laub getragen!
The forest had not borne leaves for seven years.
Kyrieleison!
Lord, have mercy!
das trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen.
The Virgin Mary carried her child in her womb.
Kyrie eleison
Lord, have mercy!
Ein kleines Kindlein ohne Schmerzen,
A small child without pain,
das trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen.
The Virgin Mary carried her child in her womb.
Kyrie eleison
Lord, have mercy!
Da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen,
The thorns bore roses.
Kyrie eleison
Lord, have mercy!
Als das Kindlein durch den Wald getragen,
As the child was carried through the forest,
da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen!
The thorns bore roses!
Kyrieleison!
Lord, have mercy!
Writer(s): U. Theimer Aume
Contributed by Aiden S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Kolja Krassotkin
Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging.
Kyrieleison!
Maria durch ein' Dornwald ging,
der hatte in sieben Jahr'n kein Laub getragen!
Kyrieleison!
2.
Was trug Maria unterm Herzen?
Kyrieleison!
Ein kleines Kindlein ohne Schmerzen,
das trug Maria unter ihrem Herzen.
Kyrieleison!
3.
Da haben die Dornen Rosen getrag'n;
Kyrieleison!
Als das Kindlein durch den Wald getragen,
da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen!
Kyrieleison!
•M./T.: August von Haxthausen
Anja Zimmerling
Sehr schönes Lied, was einem immer wieder Kraft gibt, egal wie weit der Weg auch sein mag. In einer Zeit, wo nur auf Konsumrausch Weihnachten verramscht wird und nicht auf das Wesentliche, das uns Gott neues Leben gibt. Jesus Christus öffnet uns die Augen, dass das Leben ein Geschenk ist und führt uns auf rechten Weg. Amen❤
Bea D.
Mein allerliebstes Weihnachtslied. So sanft und wunderschön, geht mir immer richtig unter die Haut. Ich liebe dieses Lied!
Luca Hlr
So ein schönes Lied... jedes mal Gänsehaut in der Kirche an Weihnachten
stylishousmee
Thank you so much for uploading this version of "Maria durch ein Dornwald ging". The beautiful sound of the boys' voices almost makes me cry :-) I just love a capella (Choir-)music!
Rapunzel Brainstorm
Beautiful, and what lovely voices!
Belkis Martin
Que bonita obra!!!!
Feliz Navidad!!🌲🌿🌲
Belkis Martin
Esplendida.!!!!!
Unas voces preciosas.🌿🌟🌿
Leonora Emine Wienzek
meine mama liebt es
Belkis Martin
No me canso de oírla.!!!!!🌟🎄🌟
Miss.always. Hungry
Ich liebe dieses Lied einfach! Jedes Jahr von neuen. Wie sehr liebe ich es im Musik Unterricht zu singen.