High Life

HIGH LIFE 111 St. Florian Boys’ Choir is by some accounts the third oldest boys’ choir still in existence, predated by only Aachen Cathedral Choir and Regensburg Cathedral Choir, founded in 796 and 975 respectively (the latter was for three decades conducted by Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, elder brother of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI). Over the years, the choir has produced a stellar list of graduates, including composer Anton Bruckner, tenor Kurt Azesberger and countertenor Alois Mühlbacher. A men’s choir section was founded in 1989, consisting mainly of former choirboys. Born out of religion and music, St. Florian Boys’ Choir used to concern itself exclusively with the making of church music at the eponymous monastery. It was not until the 1980s that the choir began embarking on world tours, recording albums, participating in operas and giving concerts abroad. Having performed with leading conductors, soloists and ensembles at the most prestigious venues around the world, St. Florian Boys’ Choir went on a seven-leg grand tour across China this summer, gracing Beijing, Tianjin, Baoding, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zhongshan and Shenzhen. The final concert was a spellbinding musical journey from the 15th century to the present day. Beginning with lesser-known Renaissance pieces by Heinrich Isaac, Giovanni Gastoldi and Thomas Morley, the concert progressed through canonical arias and art songs by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioachino Rossini, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner and Franz Lehár, to contemporary compositions by John Rutter. Alois Mühlbacher’s interpretation of Henry Purcell’s “Music for aWhile” and George Frideric Handel's “Ombra mai fu” was mesmerizing. The talismanic boy soprano of yesteryear, whose compelling portrayal of the Young Shepherd in Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser and Oberto in Handel’s Alcina earned him rave reviews, has evolved into a countertenor of versatility and virtuosity, different from but surely soon to rival Max Emanuel Cenčić and Philippe Jaroussky.