REVIEW: Vienna Boys Choir at Carnegie Hall

Photo: Choirmaster Manuel Huber poses for a selfie with the Vienna Boys Choir. Photo courtesy of Lukas Beck / Provided by Kathryn King Media with permission.

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NEW YORK — The Vienna Boys Choir, known as Wiener Sängerknaben, have been spreading holiday cheer and their beautifully realized choral music for hundreds of years. They are made up of 100 choristers, broken into four touring groups of 25 singers each. These boys, aged 9-13, offer authentic and powerful renditions of famous choral music and Christmas carols during their annual tour of the United States.

The boys recently offered another tremendous concert at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The Dec. 8 matinee performance was dubbed “Christmas in Vienna,” but it could have easily been “Christmas in the Americas.” For the first half of the program, the choir interspersed music from North and South America with classic European compositions, all complementing one another and building toward a fully diverse and effective experience.

The proceedings began with choirmaster Manuel Huber and the 25-person choir walking through the parterre section of Carnegie Hall, singing “Domine exude orationem meam,” a plainsong chant based on a psalm from the Bible. The performance was perfectly atmospheric, almost haunting, and set the mood for the next two hours.

Huber was in full command of the choir, offering up contextual commentary in between the tunes and clearly leading the young singers with precision and meticulousness. His swaying arms, mimicking the notes being sung, kept them on point, and his piano work was impressively complementary, never overpowering the voices or dazzling beyond its necessary accompaniment.

Other first-act selections included Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina’s “Hodie Christus natus est,” or “Christ Is Born Today.” The Americas were represented with Antonio de Salazar’s “Tarará qui yo soy Antón,” or “Tarara, I Am Anton.” This latter song was composed in the Mexican vallancico style.

Early highlights included Gerald Wirth’s “Sanctus — Benedictus,” a 1988 piece from the artistic director of the Vienna Boys Choir, and “Gamelan,” a 1979 piece by Raymond Murray Schafer, a Canadian composer writing in the style of an Indonesian orchestra. “Gamelan” had the boys singing in a completely different style and cadence, and with different words and sounds as compared to the other songs. The selection showcased their dedication to diversity and uncanny ability to travel many miles with their wondrous voices.

The United States in the 20th century received some love with Aaron Copland’s “I Bought Me a Cat,” Leonard Bernstein’s “Somehwere” from West Side Story and George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” from Girl Crazy. “I Wanna Be Like You,” as the Act-I finale, was humorously performed, although it felt a little out of place.

Act II was the Christmas celebration. Well-known carols and compositions were presented, including “Adeste Fidelis,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “Joy to the World” and “White Christmas.” However, the true highlights were the selections that offered either the collective power of the choir (such as “Les anges dans nos campagnes,” a traditional and recognizable French carol) or when the solo work brought a tear to the eye and a innocent sound to the ceiling of the music hall (such as with “O Holy Night”).

Any Vienna Boys Choir holiday concert would not be complete without “Stille Nacht,” the original Viennese version of “Silent Night.” The song, which is 201 years old, provided a musical avenue for the boys to highlight their simplicity and measured grace — one last time for an appreciative audience. What a finale to a Christmas-themed classical treat.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

The Vienna Boys Choir will play Wednesday, Dec. 11 at the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean Community College in Toms River, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.