Dresdner Kreuzchor
Encyclopedia
The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir
of the Kreuzkirche
in Dresden
. It has a seven century history. Today the choir has about 150 members from the age of 9-19 from Dresden and the surrounding region. Most of the boys live in a boarding school. The Choir Boys are also called "Kruzianer". The director of the choir is the Cantor Roderich Kreile. From 1971 until 1991 Martin Flämig
was the Cantor.
The repertoire of the choir includes compositions from the early Baroque (Heinrich Schütz
, Johann Sebastian Bach
), the early 19th century and modern work. Several recordings are available from Berlin Classics, Deutsche Grammophon and Capriccio. The choir often performs with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
.
The choir sings Vespers
almost every Saturday at 6 pm in summertime and 5 pm in wintertime and on Sunday at 9:30 am in the Church Service. Every year they go on several concert tours in Germany, but also in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Canada, Latin America and the United States. Altogether the choir performs about 100 times every year, 50 Church Services and Vespers, 10 concerts at their church (including always Bach's Christmas Oratorio
and St Matthew Passion and A German Requiem of Brahms) and 40 concert on tours. All in all 150.000 people are visiting the performances of the choir every year.
The Dresdner Kreuzchor has performed at the Rheingau Musik Festival
several times, notably in the first season in 1988 - the Inner German border still in effect - a concert in the Marktkirche Wiesbaden
. They concluded a program of motets from the Renaissance to Bach, Brahms and Bruckner with words about peace, O Herr, mache mich zum Werkzeug deines Friedens (the Prayer of Saint Francis
), in the presence of the composer Kurt Hessenberg
.
Renowned opera house like the Semperoper
in Dresden, the Komische Oper Berlin
or the Deutsche Oper Berlin
engaged members of the Dresdner Kreuzchor as soloists for example as the three boys in The Magic Flute
or as the shepherd-boy in Tosca
.
Boys' choir
A boys' choir is a choir primarily made up of choirboys who have yet to begin puberty or are in the early to middle stages of puberty and so retain their more highly pitched childhood voice type...
of the Kreuzkirche
Kreuzkirche
The Church of the Cross in Dresden is the largest church in Saxony, and home to the Dresdner Kreuzchor boy choir. Known since the early 12th century, it was officially dedicated on 10 June 1388 to the Holy Cross. Since 1491, it has burned down five times...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. It has a seven century history. Today the choir has about 150 members from the age of 9-19 from Dresden and the surrounding region. Most of the boys live in a boarding school. The Choir Boys are also called "Kruzianer". The director of the choir is the Cantor Roderich Kreile. From 1971 until 1991 Martin Flämig
Martin Flämig
Martin Flämig was a German church musician, cantor of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1971 to 1991.- Biography :...
was the Cantor.
The repertoire of the choir includes compositions from the early Baroque (Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...
, Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
), the early 19th century and modern work. Several recordings are available from Berlin Classics, Deutsche Grammophon and Capriccio. The choir often performs with the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden is an orchestra based in Dresden, Germany founded in 1548 by Kurfürst Moritz of Saxony. It is one of the world's oldest orchestras...
and the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra
The Dresdner Philharmoniker is a symphony orchestra based in Dresden, Germany. The orchestra was founded in 1870 and gave its first concert in the Gewerbehaussaal on 29 November 1870, under the name Gewerbehausorchester. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1915...
.
The choir sings Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
almost every Saturday at 6 pm in summertime and 5 pm in wintertime and on Sunday at 9:30 am in the Church Service. Every year they go on several concert tours in Germany, but also in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Canada, Latin America and the United States. Altogether the choir performs about 100 times every year, 50 Church Services and Vespers, 10 concerts at their church (including always Bach's Christmas Oratorio
Christmas Oratorio
The Christmas Oratorio BWV 248, is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It was written for the Christmas season of 1734 incorporating music from earlier compositions, including three secular cantatas written during 1733 and 1734 and a...
and St Matthew Passion and A German Requiem of Brahms) and 40 concert on tours. All in all 150.000 people are visiting the performances of the choir every year.
The Dresdner Kreuzchor has performed at the Rheingau Musik Festival
Rheingau Musik Festival
The Rheingau Musik Festival is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres...
several times, notably in the first season in 1988 - the Inner German border still in effect - a concert in the Marktkirche Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
. They concluded a program of motets from the Renaissance to Bach, Brahms and Bruckner with words about peace, O Herr, mache mich zum Werkzeug deines Friedens (the Prayer of Saint Francis
Prayer of Saint Francis
The Prayer of Saint Francis is a Christian prayer. It is attributed to the 13th-century saint Francis of Assisi, although the prayer in its present form cannot be traced back further than 1912, when it was printed in France in French, in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette as an...
), in the presence of the composer Kurt Hessenberg
Kurt Hessenberg
Kurt Hessenberg was a German composer and professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main.- Life :...
.
Renowned opera house like the Semperoper
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
in Dresden, the Komische Oper Berlin
Komische Oper Berlin
The Komische Oper Berlin is an opera company in Berlin, Germany, which specializes in German language productions of opera, operetta and musicals....
or the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
engaged members of the Dresdner Kreuzchor as soloists for example as the three boys in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
or as the shepherd-boy in Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
.
Former members of the choir
- Theo AdamTheo AdamTheo Adam is a distinguished German classical bass-baritone who had an active international career in operas, concerts, and recitals from the 1940s through the 1990s. He particularly excelled in portraying roles from the operas of Richard Wagner...
opera singer (bass-baritone) - Olaf BärOlaf BärOlaf Bär is a German operatic baritone.- Life :Bär received his musical training in his home city of Dresden, studying at the city's Hochschule für Musik. His career has concentrated on lieder and on the lyric baritone roles of the operatic repertoire...
opera singer (baritone) - Hartmut HaenchenHartmut HaenchenHartmut Haenchen is a German orchestra conductor.Haenchen began his musical career as a member of the Dresden Kreuzchor. By the age of 15, he was already conducting performances as cantor. As a 17-year-old, he attracted widespread attention with his revival of Johann Adolph Hasse's Requiem...
conductor - René PapeRené PapeRené Pape is a German opera singer, a bass.-Biography:Rene Pape was born in Dresden, then part of East Germany. His mother is a hairdresser and his father a chef. His parents divorced when he was two years old and he sometimes lived with his grandmother, who opened the way for his interest in music...
opera singer (bass) - Eckart PreuEckart PreuEckart Preu is an East German-born conductor.At the age of 10 he became a member, soloist and assistant conductor of the Boys Choir Dresdner Kreuzchor In Germany he earned a Masters Degree in Conducting from the Hochschule für Musik in Weimar studying under Gunther Kahlert and Nicolás Pasquet...
conductor of the Stamford Symphony and the Spokane SymphonySpokane SymphonyThe Spokane Symphony is a 70-piece orchestra based in Spokane, WA that performs more than 60 concerts per year for more than 150,000 listeners. It was originally incorporated in 1945 as the Spokane Philharmonic before being renamed the Spokane Symphony in 1962... - Karl Richter conductor, organist, harpsichordist
- Peter SchreierPeter SchreierPeter Schreier is a German tenor and conductor.-Early life:Schreier was born in Meissen, Saxony, and spent his first years in the small village of Gauernitz, near Meissen, where his father was a teacher, cantor and organist...
opera singer (tenor) - Jens Sembdner Die PrinzenDie PrinzenDie Prinzen is a German music group. The band is made up of former members of the Thomanerchor and a former member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor.-Overview:Early albums consist of a cappella music...
- Eckehard Stier Music Director of the Auckland Philharmonia OrchestraAuckland Philharmonia OrchestraThe Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra was established in the early 1980s and has become one of New Zealand's major performing organisations. The instigation of its Composer-in-Residence programme in 1990 has made the orchestra an important force in the promotion of New Zealand composed...
- Hans Thamm Founder of the Windsbach Boys ChoirWindsbach Boys ChoirThe Windsbach Boys Choir is a German choir of boys and young men in Windsbach, Germany.-History:Founded in 1946 by Hans Thamm und since 1978 under the direction of Karl-Friedrich Beringer, the choir is one of the most renowned boys choirs of the world...
- Udo ZimmermannUdo ZimmermannUdo Zimmermann was born in Dresden on October 6, 1943. He is a German composer, music director, and conductor.- Biography :Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962. He then continued his music education at the Dresden Music School. He studied composition with Johannes...
composer, conductor
Literature
- Karlheinz Blaschke: Dresden, Kreuzkirche, Kreuzschule, Kreuzchor, Kruzianer - musikalische und humanistische Tradition in 775 Jahren. Gütersloh/München 1991, ISBN 3-570-06664-9
- Dieter Härtwig, Matthias Herrmann: Der Dresdner Kreuzchor – Geschichte und Gegenwart, Wirkungsstätten und Schule. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-374-02402-5
- Jürgen Helfricht: Dresdner Kreuzchor und Kreuzkirche. Eine Chronik von 1206 bis heute. Husum 2004, ISBN 3-89876-180-0
- Hans John: Der Dresdner Kreuzchor und seine Kantoren. Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-374-00177-7