Five hundred and fifteen years ago, the Holy Roman Emperor decreed singing boys amongst his musicians in Vienna, and the Vienna Boys Choir was born. Ninety-five years ago the boys branched out from singing only for the imperial court, and since then have toured the world in four choirs, one of which, the Bruckner Choir, performed at Benaroya Hall Sunday evening.
They sing all kinds of music now, and the 24 boys with their young conductor and choirmaster Manolo Cagnin sang largely classical and sacred music in the first half and lighter fare in the second, all of it from memory and in up to four parts.
Last time they came I was a little disappointed, but not so this time. The boys, between ages 10 and 14, appeared to be mostly from the younger end of the range, but their training showed. Singing music from Orff’s Carmina Burana, plus works by Schubert and Victoria, Mascagni, and Haydn among others in the first half, they displayed clear tone, decisive enunciation and synchronization as well as well-nigh perfect harmony in exquisite sound.
What I did miss was more expression. They used dynamics as directed, louder or softer, but I didn’t hear nuances of phrasing as much as I’d have liked, and this was not helped by their deadpan facial expressions throughout. However, this is probably how they are required to behave, along with their stance: feet slightly apart, hands by their sides, totally unfidgety.
Several boys sang solos, large and small, all done well, but two boys stood out. One had a singularly beautiful timbre to his voice, heard clearly as he sang the mezzo line in A.L. Weber’s “Pie Jesu.” The boy who sang the upper line appeared to be one of the youngest in the group, but he had a surprisingly big voice for his size, reaching the highest notes easily. His voice sounded well supported, and this impression was enhanced towards the end of the program when he sang solo in Johann Strauss, Jr.’s “By the Beautiful Blue Danube.” We are used to this as an instrumental waltz — not arranged as it was here with all its fast swirling notes. But the choir sang it with complete ease, with ornamentation and articulated arpeggios sung beautifully by this one child.
This was extraordinary bel canto singing with fine vocal technique, delivered in a boy’s pure soprano. He could easily have sung the role of, for instance, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, or as we heard just recently, Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment. He is lucky to live today. Three centuries ago, he would have been castrated to keep his voice as it is.
The boys sang two other familiar Strauss pieces, “Voices of Spring” and the “Chitchat Polka,” as well as J.A. Freylinghausen’s “Oh Happy Day,” Abba’s “Thank You for the Music” and others, some lively, syncopated, jazzy and fun. Their English was fine, and they also sang in German, Italian, and Latin.
Conductor and choirmaster Cagnin, also young, conducted from the piano when he was not needing both hands for some very florid accompaniments. Unfortunately, his pianism is not up to the caliber of the choir. He often used more pedal than necessary; in Haydn’s “Insanae et vanae curae” (“Mad and Vain Worries”), for instance. His playing was often messy, and runs undifferentiated in faster passages. His conducting, however, was clear, as he used his whole body, coattails flying, wild curls tossing, long arms delicately or with grand sweeps indicating just what he wanted from the boys.
All in all, the choir lived up to its formidable reputation.
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