Thomanerchor
Encyclopedia
The Thomanerchor is a boys' choir
in Leipzig
, Germany
. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called Thomaner, live in a boarding school
, the Thomasalumnat, and attend Thomasschule zu Leipzig
, a Gymnasium school
with a linguistic profile and a focus on musical education. The younger members attend the primary school 76. Grundschule in der Manetstraße. Johann Sebastian Bach
served as Thomaskantor
, director of the choir, from 1723 to 1750.
Although the choir's main musical field traditionally consists of the vocal work of Johann Sebastian Bach
, the repertoire comprises chants from different eras, from the Renaissance
to contemporary music. Georg Christoph Biller
is the 16th Thomaskantor since Bach.
The Forum Thomanum is a meeting place in the Bach Quarter of Leipzig. The construction has already began and it will be a big musical campus with the Thomasalumnat, Kindergarten, Primary School, High School, Choir, Luther Church, Youth hostel, Administration buildings, gym, a rehearsal hall and more amenities. There are some critical voices as well, that the Forum Thomanum project will change the way that the Thomaner are instructed and recruited.
Most of the 93 members of the Thomanerchor live in the Thomasalumnat in Hiller street. The boys are separated in Stuben and not school classes or groups. One Stube is not only a sleeping room, but also an administrative entity with a closed hierarchy and a clear assignment of tasks. There's always an older choir boy with younger ones in each Stube in order to create a hierarchy and didactic relationship. Hence, the education on the Thomanerchor is enforced by the older members and the teachers don't really play a big role. Therefore, it is possible that only 5 teachers look after 90 children. Every year the Stuben are distributed again, the ages of the children are considered for the changes and the possibility to influence the social order on the Stube.
The Stuben have only lockable wardrobes (Köte) and one table for each boy. There are also other furnishings, namely shelves, for books, newspapers and satchels, radios, plants and chairs. Televisions and computers are not allowed and every room has about 10 beds.
The Thomasalumnat also has a gym, a rehearsal hall, and a dining-hall where all boys eat together thrice per day, a shop where the tailor sews the boys' suits for the concerts, an archive, a wing of the building for the teachers who live there, a room for the band, a model railway room, a fitness room, a living-room for the older boys, a "press room" for the school's newspaper, a sauna, a library with computers and internet, an infirmary, and a television room. Restrooms are not available for every boy: restrooms are on the hallway for the whole Stube. There are only two shower rooms for all boys.
The Thomanerchor offers concerts across all of Germany (at least two big tours a year) and abroad. The choir also sings three times a week in the Thomaskirche, "Motette" every Friday evening at 6 and every Saturday afternoon at 3, service on Sundays at 9 o'clock. The choir also sings at Protestant festivities. The children have vacations during the summer school vacations.
The tour of 2011, the choir's 800th year, presents a program of Scarlatti
's Exultate Deo, Kyrie and Gloria from Palestrina
's Missa sine nomine, Bruckner
's motet
s Vexilla regis and Christus factus est pro nobis, and Bach's motet Jesu, meine Freude, performed for example on 6 July in the Eberbach Abbey
at the Rheingau Musik Festival
.
in 1539, the school and the choir have belonged to the city of Leipzig; it is also influenced by the Protestant Church of Saxony
. This makes the Thomanerchor the oldest cultural entity in the city and one of the oldest in Europe. When Johann Sebastian Bach
served as director, the choir only had 16 boys. After Bach's death, other famous musicians served as director, among them Doles
, Hiller and Moritz Hauptmann
.
By the end of the 19th century, the Thomasschule next to the Thomaskirche was demolished and the choir moved to the Hiller street, now the Leipziger "Music Quarter". During the Nazi era, the choir was incorporated into the Hitler Jugend in 1937. But the Nazi government did not succeed in infiltrating their ideology into the choir's repertoire because the then director Ramin concentrated on religious works. He also tried to prevent the boys from being enlisted as long as possible.
Since 1992 Georg Christoph Biller
, who was a Thomaner himself, has directed the choir.
State decorations:
Eponyms
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...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The choir was founded in 1212. At present, the choir consists of 92 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called Thomaner, live in a boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, the Thomasalumnat, and attend Thomasschule zu Leipzig
Thomasschule zu Leipzig
St. Thomas School, Leipzig is a co-educational and public boarding school in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1212 and is one of the oldest schools in the world.St. Thomas is known for its art, language and music education...
, a Gymnasium school
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
with a linguistic profile and a focus on musical education. The younger members attend the primary school 76. Grundschule in der Manetstraße. 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...
served as Thomaskantor
Thomaskantor
The Thomaskantor is the musical director of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig, founded in 1212. He is appointed by Leipzig's city council and his duties are to lead the weekly services called Motette, Sunday services and other services in the Thomaskirche, also to conduct recordings and tours.Johann...
, director of the choir, from 1723 to 1750.
The choir
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 repertoire comprises chants from different eras, from the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
to contemporary music. Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
is the 16th Thomaskantor since Bach.
The Forum Thomanum is a meeting place in the Bach Quarter of Leipzig. The construction has already began and it will be a big musical campus with the Thomasalumnat, Kindergarten, Primary School, High School, Choir, Luther Church, Youth hostel, Administration buildings, gym, a rehearsal hall and more amenities. There are some critical voices as well, that the Forum Thomanum project will change the way that the Thomaner are instructed and recruited.
Most of the 93 members of the Thomanerchor live in the Thomasalumnat in Hiller street. The boys are separated in Stuben and not school classes or groups. One Stube is not only a sleeping room, but also an administrative entity with a closed hierarchy and a clear assignment of tasks. There's always an older choir boy with younger ones in each Stube in order to create a hierarchy and didactic relationship. Hence, the education on the Thomanerchor is enforced by the older members and the teachers don't really play a big role. Therefore, it is possible that only 5 teachers look after 90 children. Every year the Stuben are distributed again, the ages of the children are considered for the changes and the possibility to influence the social order on the Stube.
The Stuben have only lockable wardrobes (Köte) and one table for each boy. There are also other furnishings, namely shelves, for books, newspapers and satchels, radios, plants and chairs. Televisions and computers are not allowed and every room has about 10 beds.
The Thomasalumnat also has a gym, a rehearsal hall, and a dining-hall where all boys eat together thrice per day, a shop where the tailor sews the boys' suits for the concerts, an archive, a wing of the building for the teachers who live there, a room for the band, a model railway room, a fitness room, a living-room for the older boys, a "press room" for the school's newspaper, a sauna, a library with computers and internet, an infirmary, and a television room. Restrooms are not available for every boy: restrooms are on the hallway for the whole Stube. There are only two shower rooms for all boys.
The Thomanerchor offers concerts across all of Germany (at least two big tours a year) and abroad. The choir also sings three times a week in the Thomaskirche, "Motette" every Friday evening at 6 and every Saturday afternoon at 3, service on Sundays at 9 o'clock. The choir also sings at Protestant festivities. The children have vacations during the summer school vacations.
The tour of 2011, the choir's 800th year, presents a program of Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
's Exultate Deo, Kyrie and Gloria from Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition...
's Missa sine nomine, Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
's motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s Vexilla regis and Christus factus est pro nobis, and Bach's motet Jesu, meine Freude, performed for example on 6 July in the Eberbach Abbey
Eberbach Abbey
Eberbach Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near Eltville am Rhein in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its impressive Romanesque and early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the most significant architectural heritage sites in Hesse, Germany...
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...
.
History
The Margrave of Meissen founded St. Thomas' priory for Augustinian Canons (Augustiner-Chorherrenstift zu St. Thomas) in 1212. A school was annexed to the monastery, the intended purpose of which was to develop future priests. Since the ReformationProtestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
in 1539, the school and the choir have belonged to the city of Leipzig; it is also influenced by the Protestant Church of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. This makes the Thomanerchor the oldest cultural entity in the city and one of the oldest in Europe. When 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...
served as director, the choir only had 16 boys. After Bach's death, other famous musicians served as director, among them Doles
Johann Friedrich Doles
Johann Friedrich Doles was a German composer and pupil of J.S. Bach.Doles was born in Steinbach-Hallenberg. He attended the University of Leipzig...
, Hiller and Moritz Hauptmann
Moritz Hauptmann
Moritz Hauptmann , was a German music theorist, teacher and composer.Hauptmann was born in Dresden, and studied violin under Scholz, piano under Franz Lanska, composition under Grosse and Francesco Morlacchi,...
.
By the end of the 19th century, the Thomasschule next to the Thomaskirche was demolished and the choir moved to the Hiller street, now the Leipziger "Music Quarter". During the Nazi era, the choir was incorporated into the Hitler Jugend in 1937. But the Nazi government did not succeed in infiltrating their ideology into the choir's repertoire because the then director Ramin concentrated on religious works. He also tried to prevent the boys from being enlisted as long as possible.
Since 1992 Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller
Georg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
, who was a Thomaner himself, has directed the choir.
Cantors
Cantors of the Thomanerchor, called Thomaskantor in German, have included (in brackets their time in the office):- Georg RhauGeorg RhauGeorg Rhau was a German publisher and composer. He was one of the most significant music printers in Germany in the first half of the 16th century, during the early period of the Protestant Reformation...
(1518–1520) - Johannes GalliculusJohannes GalliculusJohannes Galliculus was a German music theorist and composer.He was active ca. 1520 in Leipzig. He was the cantor of the Thomanerchor from 1520 to 1525.-Works:...
(1520–1525) - Sethus CalvisiusSethus CalvisiusSethus Calvisius or Setho Calvisio, originally Seth Kalwitz was a German music theorist, composer, chronologer, astronomer, and teacher of the late Renaissance....
(1594–1615) - Johann Hermann Schein (1615–1630)
- Sebastian KnüpferSebastian KnüpferSebastian Knüpfer was a German composer. He was the cantor of the Thomanerchor in Leipzig from 1657 to 1676, and director of the city’s music.-Life:...
(1657–1676) - Johann SchelleJohann SchelleJohann Schelle was a German baroque composer.Schelle was born in Geising and died in Leipzig. He was the cantor of the Thomanerchor from 1677 to 1701....
(1677–1701) - Johann KuhnauJohann KuhnauJohann Kuhnau was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist.-Biography :Kuhnau was born in Geising, Saxony. He grew up in a religious Lutheran family. At age nine, he auditioned successfully for the Kreuzschule in Dresden...
(1701–1722) - Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann 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...
(1723–1750) - Johann Friedrich DolesJohann Friedrich DolesJohann Friedrich Doles was a German composer and pupil of J.S. Bach.Doles was born in Steinbach-Hallenberg. He attended the University of Leipzig...
(1756–1789) - Johann Adam Hiller (1789–1801)
- Johann Gottfried SchichtJohann Gottfried SchichtJohann Gottfried Schicht was a German composer and conductor.He was the conductor of the Gewandhausorchester from 1785 to 1810, and then the cantor of the Thomanerchor until 1823....
(1810–1823) - Christian Theodor WeinligChristian Theodor WeinligChristian Theodor Weinlig was a German music teacher, composer, and choir conductor in Dresden and Leipzig....
(1823–1842) - Moritz HauptmannMoritz HauptmannMoritz Hauptmann , was a German music theorist, teacher and composer.Hauptmann was born in Dresden, and studied violin under Scholz, piano under Franz Lanska, composition under Grosse and Francesco Morlacchi,...
(1842–1868) - Ernst Friedrich Richter (1868–1879)
- Wilhelm RustWilhelm RustWilhelm Rust was a German musicologist and composer. He is most noted today for his substantial contributions to the Bach Gesellschaft edition of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach....
(1880–1892) - Gustav SchreckGustav SchreckGustav Ernst Schreck was a German composer and music educator. He was the cantor of the Thomanerchor from 1893 to 1918.-External links:...
(1893–1918) - Karl StraubeKarl StraubeMontgomery Rufus Karl/Carl Siegfried Straube was a German church musician , organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. He studied organ under Heinrich Reimann in Berlin from 1894 to 1897 and became a widely respected concert organist...
(1918–1939) - Günther RaminGünther RaminGünther Werner Hans Ramín was an influential German organist, conductor, composer and pedagogue in the first half of the 20th century....
(1939–1956) - Kurt ThomasKurt Thomas (composer)Kurt Thomas was a German composer, conductor and music educator.He was born in Tönning and died in Bad Oeynhausen....
(1957–1960) - Erhard MauersbergerErhard MauersbergerErhard Mauersberger was a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor as the fourteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
(1961–1972) - Hans-Joachim RotzschHans-Joachim RotzschHans-Joachim Rotzsch is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor from 1972 until 1991 as the fifteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach. He is also a tenor and an academic.- Biography :...
(1972–1991) - Georg Christoph BillerGeorg Christoph BillerGeorg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
(since 1992)
Famous Thomaner
- Carl Philipp Emanuel BachCarl Philipp Emanuel Bachright|250pxCarl Philipp Emanuel Bach was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and second son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach...
- Günther RaminGünther RaminGünther Werner Hans Ramín was an influential German organist, conductor, composer and pedagogue in the first half of the 20th century....
- Diethard HellmannDiethard HellmannDiethard Hellmann was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich.-Professional career:...
- Jörg-Peter WeigleJörg-Peter WeigleJörg-Peter Weigle is a German conductor and music professor. He is the uncle of the conductor Sebastian Weigle and the violist Friedmann Weigle....
- 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...
- Hans-Jürgen Beyer
- Georg Christoph BillerGeorg Christoph BillerGeorg Christoph Biller is a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor since 1992 as the sixteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
- Jürgen Golle
- Reiner Süß
- Erhard MauersbergerErhard MauersbergerErhard Mauersberger was a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor as the fourteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach...
- Martin Christian Vogel
- ensemble amarcordEnsemble amarcordThe ensemble amarcord is a German male classical vocal ensemble based in Leipzig, founded in 1992 by five former members of the Thomanerchor. Their focus is Medieval music, Renaissance music and the collaboration with contemporary composers.- Singers :...
- Christoph GenzChristoph Genz- Biography :Christoph Genz was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied at the King’s College, Cambridge where he was a member of the King’s College Choir. He studied voice with Hans-Joachim Beyer at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig and with Elisabeth...
- Hanns-Martin Schneidt
- Matthias Weichert
Films
- Die Thomaner. Documentary film. East Germany 1979. Director: Lew Hohmann.
- Das fliegende Klassenzimmer. Literal adaptation of Erich KästnerErich KästnerEmil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
's novel The Flying ClassroomThe Flying ClassroomThe Flying Classroom is a 1933 novel for children written by the German writer Erich Kästner.In the book Kästner took up the predominantly British genre of the school story, taking place in a boarding school, and transferred it to an unmistakable German background...
. Germany 2003. Director: Tomy Wigand. - Paul Gerhardt - der Film. Mit dem Thomanerchor Leipzig. Documentary film. Germany 2007. Director: Gerold Hofmann.
- Die Thomaner Documentary film. Germany march 2012. Directors: Paul Smaczny, Günter Atteln.
Awards and recognition
Awards:- 2011 Bach PrizeRoyal Academy of Music Bach PrizeThe Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize is an award given by the Royal Academy of Music and sponsored by the Kohn Foundation to performers and scholars who have made an outstanding contribution to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach....
of the Royal Academy of MusicRoyal Academy of MusicThe Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
(London). - 2002 Brahms Prize of the BrahmsJohannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
Society of Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
(German: Brahms Preis) - 2002 ECHO Classic Award for Best Choral Performance of the Year (German: ECHO Klassik)
- 2001 European Cultural Award of the European Cultural FoundationEuropean Cultural FoundationThe European Cultural Foundation is an independent foundation based in the Netherlands that has been operating across Europe for nearly 60 years. The ECF supports arts and culture in Europe via its activities, programmes, grants and online platforms...
- 1999 BILD-OSGAR Award
- 1994 Grants-in-Aid from the Ernst von Siemens Foundation for Music
- 1985 Osaka Music Prize
State decorations:
- 1987 Fatherland's Order of Merit in Gold, of East Germany (German: Vaterländischer Verdienstorden)
- 1954 Fatherland's Order of Merit in Silver, of East Germany (German: Vaterländischer Verdienstorden)
Eponyms
- 1924 The asteroid 1023 Thomana1023 Thomana1023 Thomana is an asteroid. It was discovered by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth on June 25, 1924. Its provisional designation was 1924 RU. It was named after the boys' choir of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, Germany....
discovered by Karl Wilhelm ReinmuthKarl Wilhelm ReinmuthKarl Wilhelm Reinmuth was a German astronomer.He was a prolific discoverer of asteroids , beginning with 796 Sarita in 1914, working at the Landessternwarte Heidelberg-Königstuhl astronomical observatory on the Königstuhl hill above Heidelberg, Germany from 1912 to 1957.His most notable...
was named after the boys' choir