Tölz Boys Choir — Tölzer Knabenchor
English Baroque Ensemble
Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, conductor
Captivating quality — an interpretation of high value. As one of the earliest testimonies of the historically informed performance, this recording of the renowned Tölz Boys Choir, led by Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, is a high-calibre reissue — very much longed for. Incl. new Interview with Prof. Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden. A coproduction with BR Radio Broadcast. Corp. Munich.
»I am still particularly attached to this record, because I developed this project together with Nicolaus Harnoncourt. We sat at the Attersee for a whole day, and I am still grateful to him that he devoted so much time to me … The recording has been a piece of luck for me, both with respect to the arrangement of the orchestra as well as the outstanding quality of my young singers. It has been a jewel among our records for the last forty years.«
Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, 2010
Tölz Boys Choir — Tölzer Knabenchor
English Baroque Ensemble
Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, conductor
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI (1710 – 1736):
STABAT MATER F MINOR (1736)
FOR SOPRANO, ALTO, STRINGS AND ORGAN
Duetto: Stabat mater dolorosa
Aria (Sopran): Cujus animam gementem
Duetto: O quam tristis et afflicta
Aria (Alt): Quae moerebat et dolebat
Duetto: Quis est homo, qui non fleret
Aria (Sopran): Vidit suum dulcem natum
Aria (Alt): Eja mater, fons amoris
Duetto: Fac, ut ardeat cor meum
Duetto: Sancta mater, istud agas
Aria (Alt): Fac, ut portem Christi mortem
Duetto: Inflammatus et accensus
Duetto: Quando corpus morietur
Bonus track: »Ich habe alles erreicht« — New Interview with Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden (Michael Atzinger, BR, August 2010)
»»» Detailed informations, texts, photos, etc. inside CD (booklet)
English booklet enclosed / German booklet enclosed (20 pages)
Total recording time: 65:20 | Format: 1 Audio-CD | RD: 10/2010
Original Recording: 01/1979 – Kirche St. Ottilien (Möschenfeld) | Digitally remastered: 2010 | Interview Recording: 08/2010 – BR Radio Broadcast. Corp. Munich
(p) & (c) SPEKTRAL 2010 | Series SPEKTRAL CLASSICS
Order-No.: SRL4-10084 | GTIN (EAN): 4260130380847
In 2006, the Tölz Boys Choir celebrated 50 years of existence. It has been led by Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden since its inception. At present, it consists of over 200 boys who are instructed by seven vocal coaches. The joy of singing is the fundamental basis of the choristers’ comprehensive musical education. The various groups and soloists that make up the choir appear throughout the world in more than 200 concerts and opera performances each year. The broad musical palette of the Tölz Boys Choir embraces vocal music from the Middle Ages to the Modern Period. The choir also focuses on solo roles and choral parts from the great operatic works of the last 400 years. They undertake regular tours that lead them to Japan, China, Israel, and the United States, in addition to all of the European countries. Many top conductors have worked with the choir. The Tölz Boys Choir has been awarded many prizes for their recordings, including the “Deutscher Schallplattenpreis”, the French “Diapason d’Or”, and the “Echo-Klassik-Preis”.
Further information: www.toelzerknabenchor.de
Prof. Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden was born in Karlsbad in 1937 and obtained his training as a conductor at the Musikhochschule in Munich with Kurt Eichhorn. He also worked with Kurt Thomas, the choir director of St. Thomas in Leipzig, for three years. His collaboration with Nikolaus Harnoncourt also played a decisive roll in his musical development. Together, they made many recordings and gave many opera performances. As an conductor, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden has appeared amongst others at the Salzburg Festival, La Scala in Milan, and the Teatro La Fenice in Venice. As an internationally recognized vocal pedagogue and children’s vocal specialist, he held a choral conducting professorship at the Salzburg Mozarteum from 1980 to 1988. From 1984 to 1989 he was also the choral director at La Scala. He has given courses in vocal coaching for singers, choir directors and music teachers in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, South Africa, and Japan. In 1983, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden received the Bundesverdienstkreuz (Federal Cross of Merit). In 1994 he was decorated with the Bayerischen Verdienstorden (Bavarian Order of Merit), and at the same time was awarded the Prize of the Bavarian Volksstiftung foundation. In 2000, the President of Austria bestowed upon Schmidt-Gaden the title Professor for Life.
