Wiener Sängerknaben / Vienna Boys Choir

525th Year Anniversary (21CD Box Set)

The Vienna Boys Choir, known for its polished artistry, robust sound, and ebullient charm, is probably the most famous boys’ choir in the world, and likely the most visible. The 90–100 active choristers are divided into four touring choirs: Over the last century, the boys have undertaken more than 1,000 tours in over 100 different countries, clocking up a staggering 29,000 concerts. Between them, the choirs sing almost 300 concerts per year, reaching half a million people around the world live.

MORE INFORMATION

The 21 CDs of this box are intended to take you through the Choir’s history, beginning with Renaissance motets which would have been heard on state occasions and ending with contemporary music. Each CD focuses on a period, a composer or a group of composers. CDs 1–14 offer sacred music from the 15th to the 21st century in chronological order; much of it still part of the choir’s repertoire in the Imperial Chapel. Three CDs contain music by Joseph Haydn and his younger brother Michael, both of whom sang with the imperial choir as boys. Four CDs contain sacred music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, three are dedicated to the sacred works of Franz Schubert, who was a court choir boy from 1809 to 1813. CD 10 features Beethoven and his contemporaries. CDs 15 and 16 contain secular songs by Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Brahms, works which you may well hear in a Vienna Boys Choir concert. CD 17 is a selection of popular music from around  the world, and CD 18 has traditional folk music from Austria and Germany. CD 19 is dedicated to the music of the waltz king, Johann Strauss and his brother Josef; CD 20 is a selection of holiday music: A Vienna Boys Choir Christmas choice. Finally, we have assembled a bonus CD of truly historical recordings – the oldest date to 1907; a blast as it were from the Choir’s imperial past, the actual sound of history. For good measure, we have included several unpublished tracks made between 2008 and 2023. The box contains a total of 357 tracks recorded between 1907 and 2023, giving an overview of the Choir’s recordings, almost 20 hours of music. Many of the tracks selected have never been released on CD; the original master tapes had to be researched, digitized and restored for this collection. Agostino Steffani’s “Stabat mater” – a stunning recording made in 1969 under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt and given only a limited release on vinyl at the time – had to be rescued, literally. You will find it on CD 2.

TRACK LIST

CD 1 Emperor Maximilian I to Emperor Rudolf II - The Beginnings CD 2 Emperor Rudolf II To Emperor Charles VI - From Renaissance to Baroque CD 3 Caldara at the court of Emperor Charles VI - High Baroque CD 4 HAYDN Masses CD 5 HAYDN Sacred Songs CD 6 MICHAEL HAYDN & W.A. MOZART Sacred Songs CD 7 MOZART Masses & Motets I CD 8 MOZART Masses & Motets II CD 9 MOZART Requiem · Sacred Songs CD 10 SALIERI · BEETHOVEN · EYBLER · HERBECK Sacred Songs CD 11 SCHUBERT Sacred Songs CD 12 SCHUBERT Mass in E flat CD 13 SCHUBERT · BRAHMS · MENDELSSOHN Sacred Songs CD 14 BRUCKNER · FAURÉ · VERDI · BRITTEN Sacred Songs CD 15 FROM MOZART TO SCHUMANN - Lieder CD 16 FROM MENDELSSOHN TO BRITTEN - Lieder CD 17 Popular Songs from around the World CD 18 Folksongs from Austria & Germany CD 19 Johann Strauss & Co. CD 20 A Vienna Boys Choir Christmas Choice CD 21 HISTORIC RECORDINGS (1907–1950) ARTISTS Vienna Boys’ Choir