Regensburger Domspatzen

Regensburger Domspatzen
German postage stamp, 2003

The Regensburger Domspatzen (Regensburg Cathedral Choir) is the official choir for the liturgical music at St Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. The choir consists of boys and young men only.

Contents

History and organization

The Domspatzen, literally "Cathedral Sparrows", trace their origins back to the year 975 when bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg founded a cathedral school that – among other things – instructed boys to sing in the liturgy. The choir has seen various ups and downs during its more than 1,000-year history. In the 20th century, however, the Domspatzen became world-famous, especially through the achievement of the two directors who were to shape them over the course of 70 years: Theobald Schrems (Domkapellmeister 1924-1964) and Georg Ratzinger (Domkapellmeister 1964-1994).

Schrems laid the foundations that enabled the choir’s success by giving the Domspatzen their current institutional makeup: a boarding school for boys aged 10-19, a private secondary school with emphasis on musical education, and the choir at the center of the structure. In this way the boys can practise singing together and learn under the same roof, which allows for greater efficiency and thus also helps to avoid exhaustion of the students. Ratzinger oversaw the choir becoming a stable concert presence and consolidated and enhanced its quality. In recent times, however, doubts have been expressed about the morals of the management during this period.[1]

Since 1994 Roland Büchner has been Domkapellmeister; after centuries the first layman to hold the position. He has so far continued the choir's success story.

Recordings

The choir has made numerous recordings (e.g. J. S. Bach: Christmas Oratorio, J .S. Bach: Motets, H. Schütz: Psalms of David; G. F. Handel: Messiah) and concert tours throughout the world (among others to the USA, Scandinavia, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, Ireland, Poland, Hungary and the Vatican; and a tour through Germany every year).

Performances

The choir performed in honor of Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of her State Visit to Germany in 1978, and at Pope John Paul II’s visit to Munich in 1980. They also gave a concert in Bonn for the state guests at the NATO summit in 1982 under the auspices of then German president Karl Carstens. In 2006 they gave a concert in the Vatican City for Pope Benedict XVI, the brother of the former Domkapellmeister Georg Ratzinger. The main purpose of the choir, however, remains the music in the liturgy of St Peter's, where the religious services of Holy Week constitute the prime event of the liturgical, and thus also the musical, year.

References

  1. ^ [1]

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Regensburger Domspatzen — Sitz: Regensburg / Deutschland Träger: Regensburger Dom Gründung: 975 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Regensburger Domspatzen — Regensburger Domspatzen,   Chor von Knaben und jungen Männern, hervorgegangen aus einer in der Karolingerzeit gegründeten Singschule. Leitung seit 1994: Roland Büchner (* 1954) …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Regensburger Domspatzen — Le Regensburger Domspatzen, littéralement Les moineaux de la cathédrale de Ratisbonne est un chœur composé de jeunes garçons et de jeunes hommes qui est chargé de chanter aux offices célébrés dans la cathédrale Saint Pierre de Ratisbonne en… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Musikgymnasium der Regensburger Domspatzen — Schulform Gymnasium Gründung 975 Ort Regensburg Land Bayern Staat Deutschland Koordinaten …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Domspatzen — Regensburger Domspatzen http://www.domspatzen.de http://www.domspatzen pielenhofen.de Sitz: Regensburg / Deutschl …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Regensburger Dom — Dom St. Peter Ansicht von der Dreieinigkeitskirche aus …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Regensburger — 1Re|gens|bur|ger; Regensburger Domspatzen   2Re|gens|bur|ger, die; , (eine Wurstsorte) …   Die deutsche Rechtschreibung

  • Les Moineaux de la cathédrale de Ratisbonne — Regensburger Domspatzen Le Regensburger Domspatzen, littéralement Les moineaux de la cathédrale de Ratisbonne est un chœur composé de jeunes garçons et de jeunes hommes qui est chargé de chanter aux offices célébrés dans la cathédrale Saint… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Georg Ratzinger (Kirchenmusiker) — Georg Ratzinger (* 15. Januar 1924 in Pleiskirchen bei Altötting in Oberbayern) ist ein deutscher römisch katholischer Priester und Kirchenmusiker. Er ist der Bruder von Papst Benedikt XVI. und Großneffe des Reichstagsabgeordneten Georg Ratzinger …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Joseph Birkl — Roland Büchner (* 1954 in Karlstadt) ist ein deutscher Kirchenmusiker und Chorleiter. Er ist seit 1994 Domkapellmeister am Regensburger Dom und somit Chorleiter der Regensburger Domspatzen. Leben Roland Büchner studierte an der Regensburger… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”