Wiener Sängerknaben
Die Wiener Sängerknaben (Vienna Boys' Choir) - the famous sailor-suited ensemble which has enthralled audiences worldwide with performances of motets and lieder as well as Strauss waltzes and polkas - is also known for performances of songs collected on the choir's travels. On 24 April 2008, shortly after arriving in Japan for a musical tour, the group's twenty-six teens and pre-teens met members of the press in Tokyo. They sang (from memory) a newly-learnt bereavement piece Sen no kaze ni natte (literally '[They] became a thousand winds' - a reference to the minds/spirits of those who died in Japan at the end of the World War II), with choirmaster Andy Icochea Icochea at the piano. The choir is touring to various venues in Japan until 15 June, featuring this new song. Inspired by a poem with disputed authorship, 'Do not Stand at My Grave and Weep', Man Arai, a Japanese novelist and singer-songwriter, translated the poem into Japanese, set it to music, used 'a thousand winds' from the poem's third line as the song's title and sang it himself. The piece has been a hit since its 2006 CD release featuring Japanese tenor Masafumi Akikawa. 'We feel an affinity for A Thousand Winds', said Icochea at the press conference. 'Its melody conveys a similar sense of melancholy to that which is innate in some of our songs.' The 26 skilled musicians also perform works from their wide range of repertoire, included in two programmes for the Japan concerts. Programme A features Orff's 'O Fortuna' from Carmina Burana, Schubert's lyrical 'Psalm 23', Schumann's Zigeunerleben and the J Strauss polka Éljen a Magyar. Programme B features the Gregorian chant Veni creator spiritus, Kodály's a cappella Esti dal, the Strauss Emperor Waltz and Aaron Copland's 'The Little Horses' (from Old American Songs book 2). The Vienna Choir Boys was founded more than five hundred years ago when Emperor Maximilian I established court in Vienna and employed six boy choristers among his palace musicians; the ensemble became a private musical institution in the 1920s after the monarchy ended. Today, the organisation runs its own school for 250 youngsters, including girls, who receive musical as well as general education, and chooses gifted boys for four touring groups. In recent years, two Japanese singers have enrolled, and one of them, Hibiki Sadamatsu, who joined the choir in 2005, is currently on tour in Japan. Asked about their impressions of Japan, one chorister told the press he was surprised at finding Tokyo bigger than he had expected; another said he was amazed by Japan's advanced technology. 'All but the Japanese boy have seen Japan for the first time', said Icochea. 'I encourage them to find good things about Japan so that they enjoy singing for their Japanese audience.' The choir's performances in Japan are on Sunday 11 May 2008, 2pm at Muza Kawasaki Symphony Hall, Saturday 17 May, 2pm at The Symphony Hall, Osaka, Tuesday 27 May, 7pm at Acros Fukuoka Symphony Hall and Tuesday 3 June, 7pm at Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara. They'll also perform at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, 2pm on Saturday 31 May, Sunday 1 June, Saturday 7 June and Saturday 14 June 2008.
Information: www.japanarts.co.jp
Posted: 8 May 2008
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