UMS Concert Program, December 9, 1984: Vienna Choir Boys --

Season: 106th
Concert: Forty-first
Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

THE UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Vienna Choir Boys
Peter Marschik, Conductor
Sunday Afternoon, December 9, 1984, at 4:00 Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
PROGRAM
Omnes de Saba Venient............................................Eybler
O Vos Omnes................................................ Palestrina
Solo or Duet (to be announced)
From A Ceremony of Carols........................................Britten
Wolcum Yolc Balulalow
There Is No Rose Deo Gracias
This Little Babe
(pause) Operetta, Monsieur and Madame Denis........................... Offenbach
INTERMISSION
Die Nacht..................................................... Schubert
Zigeunerleben................................................. Schumann
Solo or Duet (to be announced)
Folksongs (to be announced)
Polkas and Waltzes (to be announced).............................J. Strauss
Philips and RCA Records. Forty-first Concert of the 106th Season Special Concert
Synopsis of "Mr. and Mrs. Denis"
Gaston has eloped with Lucille from her College, the two taking refuge in the Denis' home. Only the maid Nanette is in, but as the two young people sit down to tea there is a knock at the door. It is the police, and Nanette overhears that they have warrants to arrest the young couple. On the spur of the moment she decides to pass them off as Mr. and Mrs. Denis, using their wigs and nightgowns as a disguise.
Bcllcrose, the Sergeant of the Guard, enters to find the two apparently asleep, and even when they wake up, he is still fooled. Later, however, a quarrel develops between Bellerose and Gaston, during which Gaston inadvertently reveals the sword underneath his nightgown. Bellerose notices this and leaves, pretending to be satisfied, but really to fetch help. When Nanette hears him return, she tries to get the couple away through the back door. To win time, she dresses manikins to represent the fugitives. Bellerose outwits her, however, and his soldiers take Gaston and Lucille prisoner. Nanette has another idea. She manages to persuade Bellerose to drink toasts to the King, then to the Queen, then to Mr. and Mrs. Denis until, in the end, the whole of the company is drunk. All of Bellcrose's men arc locked in, to be freed by Nanette only on the condition that the young people are allowed to escape.
About the Artists
For nearly five centuries the Vienna Choir Boys have enchanted millions through their films, recordings, television appearances, and tours. The ensemble was founded by Imperial decree in 1498 by the humanist Emperor Maximilian I, to fulfill his wish to have choristers in the Imperial Chapel. From its inception, this organization has attracted the finest musicians in the West. Christoph Willibald Gluck spent his most creative years as composer to the Hapsburg court in Vienna and wrote for the Imperial Chapel. Mozart did the same on his promotion as composer to the Court in 1787. Although Josef Haydn was not a member of the Imperial Chapel, he experienced the life of a choirboy to the fullest, and many of his works are to be found in their repertoire. The greatest prodigy, and without a doubt the most famous choirboy, was Franz Schubert, who sang from 1808 to 1813. Anton Bruckner became organist of the Imperial Chapel in 1867 and added his influence to that of his illustrious predecessors.
In 1918, however, the collapse of the Hapsburg dynasty and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire threatened to end the world-famous institution. Fortunately, Josef Schnitt retained the chaplaincy of the Imperial Chapel, and in 1924 he decided to revive the boys choir. Now called the Vienna Choir Boys, they began to embark on concert tours around the world, the beginning of their enormous worldwide success.
Boys who wish to be considered for choir membership attend a special preparatory school where they receive a thorough education. Special attention is paid to the theory and practice of singing, as well as instruction on one musical instrument. Candidates take their examinations at the age of nine, where musical ability plays the decisive role in selection. Once accepted, the boys live in a private boarding school -since 1948 the beautiful Augartcn Palace in Vienna -where a staff of thirty fully qualified secondary school teachers provide an intensive program of study in classes that seldom exceed more than ten students.
Since their first United States tour in 1932, the Vienna Choir Boys have visited America no fewer than 39 times, have completed nine Asian tours, have performed an equal number of times in Australia, and appeared numerous times in South America and South Africa. They have been received by innumerable heads of state, including audiences with Popes Pius XI, Pius XII, and Paul VI.
The University Musical Society first presented the Vienna Choir Boys in Ann Arbor in 1933. This afternoon's concert brings their total appearances here to nine.
Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" Ballet
Four performances in the Power Center December 14-16: Fri. & Sat. at 8:00, Sat. & Sun. at 2:00
Tickets from S8 to S12
Ann Arbor May Festival, May 1-4, 1985
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Festival Chorus
Guest conductors: Sixten Ehrling, Philippe Entrcmont, Sir Alexander Gibson
Soloists: Itzhak Perlman, violinist, Entrcmont, pianist; Dame Kiri Tc Kanawa,
soprano; Henry Herford, baritone; Anne Martindale Williams, cellist
New brochures with complete information available in the lobby.
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY
Burton Memorial Tower, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1270 Phones: (313) 665-3717, 764-2538