Wiesbadener Knabenchor


The Wiesbadener Knabenchor is a mixed boys' choir founded in 1960 in Wiesbaden, the capital of Hesse, Germany. First a parish choir at the Ringkirche, it developed into a concert choir which has appeared internationally in countries such as Bulgaria, Malaysia and Australia, and has made recordings.

History

The pastor at the Ringkirche in Wiesbaden, Hugo Herrfurth, founded a boys' choir with boys' and men's voices in 1960, based on the long traditions of boys' choirs in Germany. It developed into a concert choir of approximately 70 voices aged 6 to 35, which has been conducted by Roman Twardy since 2001. They perform in services in Wiesbaden churches, and in concert both at home and on tour. The choir has been a member of the Verband Deutscher Konzertchöre since 1998. In 2002, the choir became a member of the European Federation of Choirs in Brussels.
The Wiesbadener Knabenchor performs a broad repertoire, from a cappella folk songs to contemporary music, with a focus on Baroque music such as the oratorios by Johann Sebastian Bach and the works of Johann Rosenmüller. The choir has participated in concerts with artists such as Montserrat Caballé and orchestras such as the Brandenburgische Philharmonie Potsdam. It has appeared on radio and television for Hessischer Rundfunk and made several recordings. The choir has toured in several European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia. On an invitation from the Goethe-Institut in 1997, the choir toured in Malaysia and Australia. In 2003, the choir performed Bach's St John Passion in Switzerland and France, including the festival Printemps Baroque. In 2004, the Wiesbadener Knabenchor was the first German boys' choir to perform in Bulgaria after the end of socialism, singing in Sofia, Plovdiv, Blagoevgrad, Dupnitsa and Sandanski. The choir maintains contact with other boys' and youth choirs, for example singing Bach's Christmas Oratorio jointly with the choir from Kaunas, Lithuania. The choir has a tradition of concerts during Advent and Christmas, singing regularly at St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden.
In 2013, the Wiesbadener Knabenchor was awarded the Kulturpreis der Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden, the culture prize of Wiesbaden. The jury wrote that the choir has enriched the cultural life of the city for more than fifty years, with constantly high artistic quality, and that it has been an ambassador of the capital and worked in exchange with youth choirs in other countries.

Recordings

YearTitleComposerConductorSoloists / orchestraNotes
1980KrönungsmesseVincenzo RighiniKonrad-Jürgen KleinickeAnnedore Reichwein-Hahn, Rose-Marie Stoye, Axel Reichardt, Friedmann Seiler / members of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden
1983Te Deum / RequiemVincenzo RighiniKonrad-Jürgen KleinickeEva Schmidt, Rose-Marie Stoye, Uwe Heilmann, Friedmann Seiler / members of the Hessischen Staatstheater Wiesbaden
1989Die Geburt ChristiHeinrich von HerzogenbergKonrad-Jürgen KleinickeEva Schmidt, Olga Sandu, Gerd Rixmann, Axel Wagner, Leopoldinum
1991Da haben die Dornen Rosen getragenKlaus Ullrich
1994Die Freude ist nahKlaus Ullrich
1997Vesper Psalms / MagnificatJohann RosenmüllerKlaus UllrichLa Soranza, Trinity Baroquelive
2007Das Lied des Lammes Johann MatthesonRoman TwardyNicole Taburro, Marc Dostert, Florian Rosskopp, Stefan Grunwald / Musica Mattiacalive
2009So singen wir!Roman Twardy