Vienna Boys Choir – November 4, 2022

Program notes compiled by Tina Breckwoldt

Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
Come, Ye Sons of Art

Henry Purcell was a chorister with the Chapel Royal. After his voice changed, he held a number of musical posts at the court, including organ maker and keeper of the king’s instruments, composer-in-ordinary for the king’s violins and organist of Westminster Abbey, and of the Chapel Royal. During his lifetime, he served three consecutive kings of England: Charles II, James II and William III.

It was part of Purcell’s duties to compose works for royal occasions, coronations, weddings, birthdays and funerals. Come Ye Sons of Art is the last of six birthday odes composed for Queen Mary II, who loved music. Come Ye Sons was written for the popular Queen’s 30th birthday on 30 April 1694; her last, as it turned out.

The text, probably by Nahum Tate who was Poet Laureate to the Court at the time, is flowery and highly complimentary of the Queen, although it leaves something to be desired for poetic merit. One line in Sound the Trumpet deserves comment; “you make the listening shores rebound” is a play on the word “shore” and the name of the Sergeant Trumpeter to the English king, a Matthias Shore, whose abilities on the trumpet sparked a number of virtuoso compositions for that instrument.

Text

Come, come, ye sons of Art, come, come a way.

Tune all your voices and instruments play,

to celebrate this triumphant day.

Hans Leo Hassler (1564–1612)
Cantate Domino (Sing to the Lord)

Hans Leo Hassler was born in Nuremberg as son of composer Isaak Hassler. He started his musical training with his father. In 1584, Hassler went to Venice to study with Andrea Gabrieli; he was among the first German musicians to do so.

In 1586, Hassler was back in Germany, and became chamber organist to the wealthy and hugely influential Fugger Family in Augsburg. In 1600, he became director of music of the city of Nuremberg, and in 1608, he was appointed chamber organist of the Prince Elector of Saxony in Dresden, quite a prestigious post. Hassler’s last post was in Frankfurt, where he was “Kapellmeister”, i.e. court music director.

Hassler was a protestant, yet he wrote numerous works for both catholic and protestant services. His Latin masses and motets show the influence of the Venetian School, his German compositions are influenced by Orlando di Lasso, a widely travelled Flamish composer who worked in Munich from 1556. Contemporaries especially liked Hassler’s madrigals and songs. He reused the tune of his popular love song “Mein G’müt ist mir verwirret (My spirit is confounded)” in the famous chorale “O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden”, which appears in J.S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion.

The text of “Cantate Domino” is taken from Psalm 96, which would have been sung in Biblical times at the New Year festival to celebrate God as ruler of the universe.

Text

Cantate Domino canticum novum, cantate Domino omnis terra.

Cantate Domino, et benedicite nomini eius:

annuntiate de die in diem salutare eius

annuntiate inter gentes gloriam eius

in omnibus populis mirabilia eius

Translation

Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the world.

Sing to the Lord and bless his name,

Tell aloud of his salvation, day by day.

Tell the nations of his glory

and all peoples of his miracles.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt (No one could overcome Death)

Bach wrote the cantata “Christ lag in Todesbanden” in 1707, probably in application for a post at Divi Blasii, a church in Mühlhausen, Thuringia. He was 22 at the time, and a professional organist looking for better employment. The entire cantata is based on an Easter hymn by Martin Luther, with Bach drawing on the hymn’s medieval roots and beautifully illustrating the words. 

The cantata’s second verse, “Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt,” is set as a soprano and alto duet. In Bach’s cantatas, the soprano voice often represents the pure soul, the alto mankind; the two struggle with each other. The text is basically a helpless statement in the face of invincible and implacable death. Bach has the two singers repeat the word „death“ over and over, they – literally – stop dead at death. On “Reiche,” realm, the voices plunge into the depths of what Bach probably sees as some kind of Hades, and the word “gefangen,” imprisoned, has a dissonance, i.e. disagreement between the soul and man. But there is nothing to be done, and the verse ends, as it should, with a final Hallelujah, with the voices chasing one another.

Text

Den Tod niemand zwingen konnt
bei allen Menschenkindern;
das macht alles unsre Sünd,
kein Unschuld war zu finden.
Davon kam der Tod so bald
und nahm über uns Gewalt,
hielt uns in seinem Reiche gefangen.
Halleluja.

Translation

No one could overcome Death,

of all mankind,

This is because of our sins,

no innocent could be found.

Therefore Death came along

and took us in thrall,

keeping us imprisoned in his realm.

Hallelujah.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Mi lagnerò tacendo (I languish in silence), Notturno K. 437 (1783)

Mi lagnerò tacendo was composed in Vienna in 1783. The text is by court poet Pietro Metastasio; it is one of the arias from his opera libretto “Siroe, re di Persia”. This play about the historic Sasanian king  Sheroe (590–628 AD), also known as Kavad II, was hugely popular in the 18th century: it was set to music 35(!) times, by famous contemporary composers like Nicola Porpora, Antonio Vivaldi, G.F. Handel, and Johann Adolph Hasse.

Mozart wrote his setting of the well-known text for the evenings he spent with the Jacquin family: Nikolaus von Jacquin was an eminent botanist who loved to entertain. Evenings in Jacquin’s house were spent chatting, playing pool or bowling, and making music. Mozart was friends with Jacquin’s teenage children, Gottfried and Franziska, and the notturni might have been invented on the spot during one of these get-togethers, possibly even in a collaborative effort.

Text

Mi lagnerò tacendo della mia sorte avara;

ma ch’io non t’ami, o cara, non lo sperar da me.

Crudele, in che t’offendo;

se resta a questo petto

il misero diletto di sospirar per te.

Translation

I will bemoan my bitter fate in silence,

But do not expect from me not to love you anymore.

Cruel one, what does it concern you

When all that remains for this heart

Is the miserable pleasure of pining for you.

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Abendlied zu Gott (Evening song for God), Hob. XXVc : 9 (1796)

Joseph Haydn, who was mentor and friend to Mozart and Beethoven, greatly influenced the music of his time. His substantial output comprises masses, oratorios, symphonies, concerts for solo instruments and orchestra as well as chamber music, such as string quartets, trios and piano sonatas. Already during his lifetime, Haydn was celebrated as a musical genius throughout Europe.

Haydn, son of a wheelwright, grew up in the town of Rohrau east of Vienna. When he was eight years old, Georg Reutter, manager and conductor of the Imperial Court Music and of the music at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, visited Rohrau and heard Joseph Haydn and his younger brother Michael sing. In the following years, both boys became choristers at St. Stephen’s and at the court. Haydn, whose voice did not break until he was sixteen years old, did not have an easy time in the choir, but it was the beginning of an eminent career.

The son of a protestant pastor and the fifth of eleven children, Gellert is an important exponent of the German enlightenment. He was professor of theology and philosophy at Leipzig University where Goethe was one of his students. Gellert is noted in particular for his hymns, simple and poetic sacred poems which greatly influenced contemporary religious beliefs and thinking. A number of his hymns are still part of the protestant hymnal.

Text

Herr, der du mir das Leben

bis diesen Tag gegeben,

dich bet ich kindlich an!

Ich bin viel zu geringe

der Treue, die ich singe,

und die du heut an mir getan.

Translation

Lord, you who have given me life

Until this day,

I pray to you as a child would.

I am much too insignificant

Compared to the faith of which I sing

And which you have shown me today.

Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
Widerspruch (Contradiction), D. 86

Franz Peter Schubert is probably the most famous alumnus of the Vienna Boys Choir. He was born in Lichtenthal (now a district of Vienna) in 1797. His father, a teacher, gave him violin and piano lessons. In 1808 Schubert auditioned for the imperial choir and was given one of two places in the choir. Antonio Salieri became his teacher. Schubert did well at the choir school and wrote his first compositions there.

In spite of his enormous talent Schubert was never able to live off his music; he had to eke out a meagre living from teaching. First he worked as an assistant at his father’s school, later he taught music at the Hungarian estate of Count Esterházy. Schubert wrote eight symphonies, six masses and chamber music. He is most famous for his lieder, he wrote more than six hundred songs on poems by Goethe, Heine, Shakespeare and others. Schubert died of typhus at the age of 31.

“Widerspruch” is a poem by Johann Gabriel Seidl. The speaker lives through a whole gamut of emotions, crashing through the woods. Seidl uses first person narrative to draw the listener into his universe. The poet uses images from nature to express contradicting emotions, which Schubert captures in music, veering from timidity to courage, from dejection to elation. It is a reflection of the contradictions in life – somewhere between art and nature lies freedom – and perfection.

Text

Wenn ich durch’ Busch und Zweig

brech’ auf beschränktem Steig

wird mir so weit so frei,

will mir das Herz entzwei.

Rings dann im Waldeshaus

rücken die Wänd’ hinaus,

wölbt sich das Laubgemach

hoch mir zum Schwindeldach,

webt sich der Blätter schier

jedes zur Schwinge mir,

dass sich mein Herz so weit

sehnt nach Unendlichkeit.

Doch wenn im weitem Raum

hoch am Gebirgessaum

über dem Thal ich steh’

nieder zum Thale seh’,

ach, wie beschränkt, wie eng,

wird mir’s im Luftgedräng!

Rings auf mein Haupt so schwer

nicken die Wolken her,

nieder zu stürzen droht

rings mir das Abendroth,

und in ein Kämmerlein

sehnt sich mein Herz hinein.

Wenn ich durch’ Busch und Zweig

brech’ auf beschränktem Steig

wird mir so weit so frei,

will mir das Herz entzwei.

Translation:

When I crash through bushes and undergrowth

On the narrow footpath

The feeling of vastness and freedom

Would tear my heart in two.

All around me, my house of wood,

The forest’s walls expand

And my chamber of leaves arches

Upwards, high, transforming itself into a dizzying roof,

The leaves weave as though

They were each one a wing for me,

And my heart yearns so far

For eternity.

But when I stand in such vastness

High on the edge of the mountain

Above the valley

Looking down into the valley

Oh, how closed in, how tight

Is my chest!

Around me, on to my head,

The clouds crowd and nod down heavily,

And around me the evening red 

Threatens to come crashing down

And my heart yearns

To creep away into a little room.

When I crash through bushes and undergrowth

On the narrow footpath

The feeling of vastness and freedom

Would tear my heart in two.

Zoltán Kodály (1882–1967)
Esti dal (Evening song) (1930)

Zoltán Kodály, one of the most respected figures of Hungarian arts, was one of pioneers of ethnomusicology. From 1905 onwards, he visited remote villages to collect and record songs. Around this time Kodály met fellow composer Bela Bartok, with whom he maintained a lifelong collaboration and friendship. In his music, Kodály successfully blends elements of Western European classical music with Eastern European folk music, and there is a particular affinity to 16th century polyphony. All his vocal works are strongly based on the text. Much of his music was written for children: Kodály was very interested in education, and wrote a great deal on music education, ultimately resulting in the creation of what is known as the ‘Kodály Method’.

Text
Erdő mellet esvélëdtem,
Subám fejem alá tëttem,
Összetëttem két kezemet,
Úg’kértem jó Istenëmet:
Én Istenëm, adjál szállást,
Már mëguntam a járkálást, a bujdosást,
Az idegën földön lakást.
Adjon Isten jó éjszakát,
Küldje hozzám szent angyalát,
Bátoritsa szívünk álmát,
Adjon Isten jó éjszakát.

Translation
Evening darkness overtook me near the woods;
I have put my coat under my head,
I have put my hands together
to pray to the Lord, like this:
Oh, my Lord, give me a place to sleep,
I am weary with wandering,
with walking around and hiding,
with living on foreign land.
May the Lord give me a good night.
May he send me a holy angel.
May he encourage our hearts’ dreams.
May he give us a good night.

Pau Casals (1876–1973)
Nigra sum sed formosa (I am dark and beautiful, 1942)

Pau (or Pablo) Casals is considered one of the greatest cellists of all time. He was born in Spain; but boycotted Spain once Franco came to power. In the 1950s, he settled in Puerto Rico, where the Vienna Boys Choir actually visited him and his young wife on tour. 

Casals was also active as a composer, and his motets, in particular his setting of „Nigra sum“ are very popular among choirs. The text is taken from the Song of Songs, which celebrates love; it is a metaphor for the love of God and his people, the love of God and an individual soul, of God and Mary. Mary is the beloved, the bride: she is black and beautiful.

Text

Nigra sum sed formosa, filiæ Jerusalem.

Ideo dilexit me Rex et introduxit me in cubiculum suum. 

Et dixit mihi : surge et veni amica mea. 

Jam hiems transit imber abit et recessit. 

Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra. 

Tempus putationis advenit. 

Alleluia.

Translation 

I am dark and beautiful, you daughters of Sion.

Therefore the king loved me and led me into his chamber.

And he said to me: Rise and come, my friend.

Winter is already over, the rain is gone and away.

Flowers have appeared in our land.

The time for pruning has come.

Alleluja.

Ēriks Ešenvalds (*1977)
O salutaris hostia (O saving sacrifice)

Latvian Ēriks Ešenvalds is a highly successful contemporary composer best known for his choral works. From 2011 to 2013, he served as Fellow Commoner in Creative Arts at Trinity College, Cambridge. For him, harmony is the main focus in his writing; he aims to create a truthful soundscape for each of his pieces.

Salutaris hostia is a hymn written by St. Thomas Aquinas for the feast of Corpus Christi, to be used during the eucharist. Ešenvalds’s setting is for two solo voices, performing over harmonies supplied by the choir.

Text:

O salutaris Hostia, 

Quae caeli pandis ostium: 

Bella premunt hostilia, 

Da robur, fer auxilium.

Uni trinoque Domino 

Sit sempiterna gloria, 

Qui vitam sine termino 

Nobis donet in patria. 

Amen.

Translation:
O saving sacrifice,

who opens the gates of heaven wide:

While hostile forces exert pressure,

give strength, deliver aid.

To the One and Threefold Lord

be everlasting glory,

who gives us life without end

in (our) true home.

Amen.

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
Spiritual; Arr. Rollo Dilworth

“Joshua” is a traditional African-American spiritual, which likely originated among the slave population in the early 19th century. It may have been copyrighted by a Jay Roberts in 1865; if the date is correct, this cannot be James Martin Roberts. In 1882, it was published in two different collections of spirituals. 

Text

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho,

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho

and the walls came tumbling down.

You may talk about your king of Gideon,

you may talk about your man of Saul,

there’s none like good old Joshua

at the battle of Jericho

Chorus

Up to the walls of Jericho

he marched with spear in hand,

“Go blow them ram-horns” Joshua cried,

“’cause the battle is in my hand.”

Chorus

Then the lamb ram sheep horns begin a blow,

trumpets begin a sound.

Joshua commanded the children to shout,

and the walls came tumbling down. 

Bulgaria

Petar Liondev (Lyondev) (1936–2018)
Kaval sviri (A Kaval flute plays, 1979)
Arr. Tanya Parvanova

Petar Lyondev made his name as a collector and editor of folk music; he transcribed more than 40,000 songs. His own compositions were mainly written for choir. 

A kaval is an end-blown shepherd’s flute played in Turkey and throughout the Balkans. Playing it requires considerable skill; a player uses the air flow and the position of mouth and lips – the embouchure – to change pitch and key. Some players employ a technique known as circular breathing, which allows them to play without pausing for breath. This skill was and is widely admired – the kaval player mentioned in the song clearly is a virtuoso: His playing is good enough to attract the ladies. 

Text

Kaval sviri, mamo,
gore, dole, mamo, gore, dole, mamo.
Kaval sviri, mamo,
gore dole, mamo, pod seloto. 

Ya shte ida mamo da go vidya,
da go vidya mamo, da go chuya. 

Ako mi e nashencheto
shte go lyubya den do pladne,
ako mi e yabandzhiyche,
shte go lyubya dor do zhivot. 

Translation

A kaval is playing, mother,
up, down, mother, up, down, mother.
A kaval is playing mother,
up, down, mother, near the village. 

I will go, mother, to see it,
to see it, mother, to hear it. 

If it’s someone from our village
I’ll love him only for a short time,
If it’s a foreigner (i.e. from another village)
I’ll love him all my life. 

Sweden
Vem kan segla förutan vind (Who can sail without wind?)
Folk song from the Åland Islands
Arr. Gerald Wirth

Who can sail without wind? is the question posed by this melancholy song from the Ålands, 6500 islands and islets between Finland and Sweden. It is in truth a song about friendship, for it is possible to sail without wind, to row without oars. But it is impossible to be without friends.

Text

Vem kan segla förutan vind,

vem kan ro utan åror,

vem kan skiljas från vännen sin

utan att fälla tårar?

Jag kan segla förutan vind,

jag kan ro utan åror,

men ej skiljas från vännen min

utan att fälla tårar.

Translation

Who can sail without wind,

who can sail without oars?

Who can part from their dearest friend

without shedding tears?

I can sail without wind,

I can row without oars,

but I cannot part from my dearest friend

without shedding tears.

Sholom Secunda (1894–1974), Aaron Zeitlin (1898-1973)
Arthur Kevess, Sheldon Secunda, Teddi Schwartz
Dona, Dona (Dos kelbl) (Hargail Version)
from the musical “Esterke” (1940-41)

©EMI Mills Music Inc.
By kind permission of EMI Music Publishing Germany GmbH

Sholom Secunda was born in 1894 in Alexandria, then part of the Russian Empire. He was a prodigy with a stunning voice; he became cantor as a child. In 1907, his family immigrated to the USA, and Sholom continued to sing. From 1913, he studied music at what is now the Juilliard School. He wrote songs for Yiddish plays to earn money. In 1932, he penned “Bay mir bistu sheyn”. In 1940, Aaron Zeitlin came to New York for performances of his purim play “Esterke”, which tells the love story of the Polish king Casimir the Great (1310-1370) and the beautiful Jewish girl Esther – for Esther’s sake, the King grants the Jews in Poland special privileges. 

“Dona, Dona” is sung several times in the play. Zeitlin’s lyrics are based on another ancient legend: Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi (~165-217), famous for his edition of the Mishnah and generally considered the highest authority on spiritual questions, told a calf being led to its slaughter to go, as this was its purpose in life. God punished him for this with 13 years of pain; Yehuda recognised this. The farmer in the poem reacts like the famous patriach, dispassionate and brutally matter-of-fact: a calf will be killed, a swallow may fly. It is a parabel of fate and resignation; the wind comments by laughing. This raises the question whether fate must be borne, whether fate can be changed. In 1940, it was a reflection of the grim situation of Jews in Europe. Zeitlin and Secunda were likely thinking of the pogroms they knew, they could not have imagined the horrors of the holocaust.

In 1960, Joan Baez sang the English version – and Dona Dona became the anthem of the flower power movement. The melancholy tune is a song against oppression, a plea for freedom. The refrain is universal, and very often, when Dona Dona is performed, audiences will sing along.  The “king of klezmer”, Giora Feidman, has compared it to glue – something that connects and sticks to memory. The “word” Dona probably comes from Polish folk music; a meditative kind of lalala or maybe the wind.

Text

Solo

Oyfn forel ligt a kelbl
ligt gebundn mit a shtrik
hoykh in himl flit a schwelbl,
flit un dreyt zikh hin un ts’rik.

Chorus
Lakht der vind in korn,
lakht un lakht un lakht.
Lakht er op a tog a gantsn
un a halbe nacht.

Dona, dona . . .

Solo
Shreyt dos kelbl, zogt der poyer:
„Ver zhe heyst dikh zayn a kalb?
Voltst gekent, doch zayn a foygl,
voltst gekent doch zayn a shvalb!“

Chorus

Solo
Bidne kelblekh tut men bindn,
un men shlept zey un men shekht.
Ver’s hot fligl, flit aroyf tsu,
is bay keynem nisht keyn knekht.

Chorus

Translation

On a handcart lies a calf,

lies bound with a rope.

High in the heaven a litte swallow

flies and swirls forth and back.

Chorus:

The wind laughs in the corn,

laughs and laughs and laughs,

laughs for an entire day

and half the night.

The calf screams, and the farmer says,

„Who told you to be a calf?

If you wanted, you could be a bird,

if you wanted, you could be a swallow.“

Chorus

Wretched calves are bound,

they are carried off and butchered.

Who has wings, flies upwards,

is not anyone’s servant.

Chorus

Sebastián de Yradier (1809–1865)
La Paloma (The Dove). Canción americana
Arr. Gerald Wirth

La Paloma (“The Dove”) is a melancholy habanera written by the Spanish-Basque composer Sebastián Yradier after a visit to Cuba, c.1860; Yradier himself registered it as “American song”. La paloma was first performed in Mexico City and quickly became popular around the world. It is one of the first universal hits, with countless versions in different languages. One of the very first sound recordings was made of La paloma. It has been recorded in many different styles and remains one of the most-recorded songs to date. In 2004, it was performed by what may well have been the largest choir ever: More than 88,000 people sang it together to mark the 815th anniversary of the Port of Hamburg, Germany.

In many cultures, the dove is a well-known image for a soul; since antiquity, doves have been thought to bring messages from loved ones. Yradier’s dove carries a message of love and hope from a sailor lost at sea, and the singer asks his lady to treat the dove gently.

Text

Cuando salí de la Habana

¡Válgame Dios!

Nadie me ha visto salir

Si no fui yo.

Y una linda Guachinanga

Allá voy yo

Que se vino tras de mí, que sí, señor.

Chorus

Si a tu ventana llega una paloma,

Trátala con cariño que es mi persona.

Cuéntale tus amores, bien de mi vida,

Corónala de flores que es cosa mía.

Ay, chinita que sí!

Ay, que dame tu amor!

Ay, que vente conmigo, chinita,

A donde vivo yo!

Cuando el curita nos eche la bendición

En la Iglesia Catedral, allá voy yo

Yo te daré la manita con mucho amor

Y el cura dos hisopazos que sí señor

Chorus

Translation

When I left Havana

May God bless me!

Nobody saw me leave

who wasn’t me

and (maybe) a beautiful Cuban girl –

off I go.

Who came after me, yes, sir.

Chorus

If a dove arrives at your window,

Treat her with love; it is my self.

Tell her of your loves, love of my life,

Festoon her with flowers, which is my thing.

Oh, darling, oh yes!

Oh, give me your love!

Oh, come with me, my darling,

To where I live!

When the priest gives us the blessing

In the Cathedral, off I go,

I will give you my hand with much love

And the priest some holy water, yes, sir.

Niška banja (The hot springs of Niš)
Jocular song from Serbia
Arr. Gerald Wirth

Niška Banja (also known as Duj duj) is a song praising the famous hot springs near the city of Niš; it is hugely popular in the Balkans, and the United States. It is thought to be a folk song; there are several variants with different rhythms and words. Part of the lyrics are numbers; the singers count from 1 to 10 and back. The idea is to speed up the song while you are at it. The choir’s version is set in 9/8 time.

Text

Niška Banja, topla voda za Nišlije ziva zgoda.

Em ka lavlam, em kamavla, 

and’o niši ka mekav la.

Jedan, dva, tri, četir, pet, šest, sedam, osam, devet, deset.

Deset, devet, osam, sedam, šest, pet, četir, tri, dva, jedan.

Nulla!

Duj, duj, duj, duj, 

čumidav la and’o muj.

Em ka lavlam, em kamavla, 

and’o niši ka mekav la.

Translation

At the hot springs of Nish, the water is warm,

very agreeable for the young people of Nish.

I want to hold her, I want to love her,

and I will leave her in Nish.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

Zero!

Duj, duj, duj, duj, 

I would love to kiss her on the mouth,

I want to hold her, I want to love her,

but I will leave her in Nish.

Wellerman (Soon may the Wellerman come)
Whaling shanty from New Zealand
Arr. Gerald Wirth

In 1831, the Weller brothers founded a whaling station in Otakou on New Zealand’s South Island. Up to 85 staff (so-called „wellermen“) worked in Otakou; they shipped provisions to the whalers. Whaling ships hunted whales with smaller boats; the blubber was cut off in strips („tonguing“) and boiled down to oil on land. The Wellerman shanty was perhaps sung while doing this, to facilitate the work. A soloist sings what is in essence the ballad of the „Billy o’ Tea“, a ship trying in vain to catch a right whale, rather like Ahab trying to catch Moby-Dick. In this shanty, it is the whale who wins. 

Text

Solo

There once was a ship that put to sea

The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea

The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down

Blow, me bully boys, blow

Hah!

Soon may the Wellerman come

To bring us sugar and tea and rum

One day, when the tonguing is done

We’ll take our leave and go.

Hah!

Solo

She had not been two weeks from shore

When down on her a right whale bore

The captain called all hands and swore

He’d take that whale in tow

Hah!

Soon may the Wellerman come

To bring us sugar and tea and rum

One day, when the tonguing is done

We’ll take our leave and go

Hah!

Solo

Before the boat had hit the water

The whale’s tail came up and caught her

All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her

When she dived down below

Hah!

Soon may the Wellerman come

To bring us sugar and tea and rum

One day, when the tonguing is done

We’ll take our leave and go.

Hah!

Solo

No line was cut, no whale was freed

The captain’s mind was not on greed

But he belonged to the Whaleman’s creed

She took that ship in tow

Hah!

Soon may the Wellerman come

To bring us sugar and tea and rum

One day, when the tonguing is done

We’ll take our leave and go

Hah!

Solo

For forty days or even more 

The line went slack then tight once more

The boats were lost, there were only four

But still that whale did go

Hah!

Soon may the Wellerman come

To bring us sugar and tea and rum

One day, when the tonguing is done

We’ll take our leave and go

Hah!

Solo

As far as I’ve heard, the fight’s still on

The line’s not cut, and the whale’s not gone

The Wellerman makes his regular call

To encourage the captain, crew and all

Soon may the Wellerman come

To bring us sugar and tea and rum

One day, when the tonguing is done

We’ll take our leave and go

Hah!

Soon may the Wellerman come

To bring us sugar and tea and rum

One day, when the tonguing is done

We’ll take our leave and go.

Austria
Wann du durchgehst durch’s Tal (When you walk through the valley)
Love song from Carinthia
Arr. Gerald Wirth

This is a well-known song in three-four time. The pensive, melancholy text deals with the less pleasant aspects of love, the yearning for a love lost. The melody is sung by the middle voice. The yodels at the end of each verse echo the melody; the singers continue without words as it were: emotion keeps the song going.

Text

Wann Du durchgehst durchs Tal, Bua, jauchz noch amal,

dass i di no mal hör, vielleicht nacha nia mehr,

Holla rei . . .

Wann i wischpl und schrei, und du hörst mi net gleich,

ja, da muaß i verstehn, dass i weita soll gehen. 

Holla rei . . .

Und i hör nix mehr wischpln, i hör nix mehr schrein,

da Bua wird scho längst über d’Granitzn sein.

Holla rei . . .

Translation

When you pass through the valley, boy, shout for joy once more,

So I can hear you once more, maybe afterwards no more.

Yodel

When I whisper and yell, and you don’t hear me immediately,

Well, I must understand that I should go on.

Yodel

And I hear no more whispering, I hear no more yelling,

The boy will have long since crossed the mountain (pass).

Yodel

Es gibt schene Wasserl (There are beautiful waters)
Dance from Mühlviertel, Upper Austria
Arr. Gerald Wirth

This song was first written down in 1932 in Upper Austria’s so-called “Mühlviertel” (Mill district); it is a cross between a dance, a local song, and a love song. It was probably performed while dancing around the maypole, in the slow, measured “German” style. The pace picks up in the chorus, which mentions Linz, the capital of Upper Austria.

Text

Es gibt schene Wasserl, es gibt kalte Brünn,

es gibt saubre Dianderl in der Steiermark drin.

I pfeif auf die Wasserl, i pfeif auf die Brünn,

ja weil i a Mühlviertler bin.

Draufgsangl:

Drum san ma Landsleut, linzerische Buama,

Kauf ma uns a Sträußerl, steck mas uns auf Hüaterl,

drum san ma Landsleut, linzerische Buam.

Geh Dianderl, bist launi? Geh, sei wieder guat,

greif her auf mein Herzerl, wias hammerschlagen tuat.

Es hammert und schlagt ja nur allweil für di,

geh, Diandl, sei gscheit und liab mi.

Translation:

There are beautiful waters, there are cold springs,

there are beautiful girls in Styria.

I don’t care about the waters, I don’t care about the springs,

because I am from Mühlviertel.

Chorus:

That’s why we are countrymen, boys from Linz,

we’ll buy some flowers, attach them to our hat,

because we are countryen, boys from Linz.

Why, darling, are you angry? Why, be good again,

touch my little heart, feel it beating hard.

It beats and beats only for you,

why, darling, be smart and love me.

Rudolf Sieczyński (1879–1952)
Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume (Vienna, City of My Dreams), opus 1 (1912)
Arr. Gerald Wirth

Sieczynski, a civil servant born and bred in Vienna, was also active as a writer and composer; he was the president of the Austrian composers’ association in the 1920s, 1930s and late 1940s. He has not many compositions to his name, but his opus 1 proved to be an international and enduring hit.

Wien, Wien, nur du allein – a serenade to the city of waltz – is arguably the most famous Wienerlied; it is the epitome of Austrian Gemütlichkeit, gentle charm and ambiance, for which there is no real English translation. It was written with a fond memory for supposedly better times past (the grass is always greener), and indicates perhaps that, to a certain extent, time stands still in Vienna.

Text

Wien, Wien, nur du allein 

sollst stets die Stadt meiner Träume sein,

dort wo die alten Häuser steh’n,

dort wo die lieblichen Mädchen geh’n,

dort wo ich glücklich und selig bin,

ist Wien, mein Wien.

Translation

Vienna, only you

shall be the city of my dreams.

Where the old houses are,

where beautiful girls take walks,

where I am happy and ecstatic:

that is Vienna, my Vienna.

Josef Strauss (1827–1870)
Feuerfest! (Fireproof!) French polka, opus 269
Words: Rudolf Effenberger / Elke Wirth; Arr. Gerald Wirth

Josef Strauss was the younger brother of the waltz king. He did not see himself as a musician: Josef was an engineer, and quite happy in his profession. He invented a street cleaning machine for the Viennese magistrate. In 1853, his brother Johann suffered a nervous breakdown, and the entire family begged Josef to step in for his brother: the family depended on the concerts for their livelihood. Josef, who hated being the centre of attention, finally gave in and conducted the Strauss Kapelle whenever his brother was unable to do so.

Feuerfest – fireproof – was a slogan used by the Wertheim company in the mid – 1800s to advertise their safes. The company put its products to a number of spectacular fire tests: papers stored in a Wertheim safe emerged unscathed from a baking session in a kiln. In 1869, Wertheim built its 20.000th safe, and commissioned Josef Strauss to write the eponymous polka in celebration of the event.

Text

Sagt der Amboss zu dem schweren Hammer:

„Warum trifft mich denn dein Schlag so hart?

Lieber Hammer, schau, beacht’, bedenke,

wir sind beide doch von gleicher Art.“

Dieses alte Sprichwort las ich einmal,

und es kommt mir klug und weise vor,

aufgeschrieben, schön und fein verzieret

über einer Schmiede Tor.

Und der Hammer sprach: „Wir beide sind ja

von Eisen und von Stahl.

Klopf’ ich fest auf deinen Rücken, dann

gibt es frohen Widerhall.“

Leuchtend rot und heiss erstrahlt es im Feuer,

Blasebalg bläst ein.

Und der Hammer, der schlägt drauf!

Und der Amboss, der schreit auf!

Schlag drauf mit aller Kraft,

schlag mit dem Hammer drein!

Das Eisen muss behauen sein.

So schlägt der Hammer auf den Amboss,

auf das heisse und das harte Eisen.

Schlägt und klopft, dass die Funken fliegen,

doch das heisse Eisenstück ist feuerfest!

Am Werktag ist ein jeder Schmiedgesell

verrusst, teufelschwarz hinein bis in das Fell.

Die Hände, Haare, auch das Gesicht

sieht man voller Russ, voller Staub fast nicht.

Am Sonntag ist er sauber und rein,

geputzt wie die grossen Herren fein.

Im neuen Rock, die Schuhe frisch gelackt,

so tanzt mit dem Mädel er im Polkatakt.

Wie froh ist der Hammerschmiedgeselle

wenn er den Hammer schwingt.

Leuchten seine Augen helle,

wenn hell das Eisen klingt.

Mit Schwung wendet er das Eisen schnelle,

damit es gut gelingt!
Hat er es fertig dann

kommt schon ein neues dran,

lustig fängt er wieder dann zu hämmern an.

Coda:

Feuerfest! Klang! Klang! Klang!

Translation

Says the anvil to the heavy hammer

“Why does your beating hit me so hard?

Dear hammer, please think about this,

We are one of a kind.”

I read this old saying once,

and it seems very wise to me,

it was engraved and beautifully adorned

above a smithy.

The hammer said: “We are both

made of iron, of steel.

If I hit your backside hard,

There is a lovely echo.”

Bright red and hot (the iron) shines in the fire,

the bellows blow air.

The hammer hits hard,

The anvil screams in return.

Hit with all your might,

Hit with the hammer.

The iron must be forged.

And the hammer hits the anvil,

Hits the hot and hard iron.

Hits and beats so hard sparks fly,

But the hot iron is fireproof.

On a work day, each apprentice

is black with soot all over his skin.

Hands, hair, the entire face

Obscured by soot and dust.

On Sundays, he is clean and bright as a button,

turned out like a gentleman.

With a new coat, freshly polished shoes,

He dances the polka with his girl.

How happy is the smith’s apprentice

When he uses the hammer.

His eyes shine

At the clanging sound of the iron.

He turns the iron over quickly,

To ensure the best results.

Once he is done

He takes the next piece,

And begins to hammer again cheerfully.

Coda:

Fireproof! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Johann Strauss II (1825–1899)
Wiener Blut (Viennese spirits), waltz opus 354 (1873)
Arr. Helmuth Froschauer 

Johann Strauss II, the „waltz king“, was the second Strauss with the first name Johann, but he is undoubtedly the most famous. At least four members of the family were active as composers: his father Johann (1804–1849), Johann himself and his brothers Josef (1827–1870) and Eduard (1835–1916). When Johann was ten years old, his father became Hofball-Musikdirektor (Music Director at the Court Balls). A high honour, but father Strauss did not want his sons to become musicians (a rather suspect profession) and enrolled his son in a trade academy. Johann, aided and abetted by his mother, had music lessons behind his father’s back. At nineteen, he founded his own very successful orchestra. Much of Strauss’s music is influenced by gypsy music and Jewish Klezmer music. There is an inherent ambiguity in his music: Strauss, who made the entire city of Vienna dance, was a nervous, ill-tempered and lonely man, and he could not dance.

Wiener Blut was written for and first performed at the court opera’s annual ball on 22 April 1873, by the opera’s own orchestra conducted by its composer. Strauss donated the composition and its proceeds to the court opera’s pension fund. Later editions bear a dedication to King Christian IX of Denmark, and Strauss reused the waltz in the eponymous operetta, which was discovered only after his death.

Text

Wiener Blut, Wiener Blut,

lockt zum Tanz, macht das Herz frohgemut.

Freudig klingt, hoch beschwingt,

unser Lied, das die Herzen bezwingt.

Jeder Mann, jede Frau, jedes Kind,

ohn’ Unterschied, singt freudig mit

das Walzerlied,

selbst die Vögel im Wald, dass es hallt,

singen mit Lust 

und Vetter Specht, der klopft den Takt dazu.

Die Mädchen, sie tanzen im Walzerschritt,

sind ganz vergnügt und still beglückt,

wenn die Burschen sich dreh’n im Dreivierteltakt

und ein Herz das andere fragt.

Und die Schürzen, die Kleider, sie drehen sich bunt

und sie wirbeln im Takt in der fröhlichen Rund,

und ob alt oder jung, alles lachet und singt

und die Herzen, sie schlagen, sie jauchzen so beschwingt.

Und vom Kahl’nberg über Nussdorf hin,

übers ganze Wien mit dem Steffel drin,

hörst du singen, hörst du klingen fein

ein Lied, das lustig und frohgemut, 

s’ist Wiener Blut.

In den Strassen, den Gassen, dem Häusermeer,

es freut dich so sehr, dein Herz klopft viel mehr,

wenn Walzermusik von Lanner und Strauss

von überall tönt heraus. 

Das ist mein Wien, du allein

lässt überglücklich uns nun sein,

du meine Stadt, du mein Traum,

bist für mich ein Blütentraum.

Ich tanze, ich springe, ich lache, ich singe,

bin lustig und frohgemut immer, immerzu.

Translation

Viennese spirits,

make you want to dance, make your heart light;

cheerful and fast,

that is our song, drawing you in.

Every man, woman, child,

without fail, sings along happily,

even the birds in the forest sing loudly,

with gusto,

and cousin woodpecker keeps the beat.

The girls dance the waltz,

completely happy and quietly content,

as the boys dance in three four time,

as one heart joins the other.

The aprons and dresses whirl by as colors,

they whirl to the beat of the cheerful assembly,

old and young, everyone is laughing and singing,

hearts beating fast and rejoicing.

From Kahlenberg to Nussdorf,

in all of Vienna with St. Stephen’s Cathedral in its centre, 

you hear singing, you hear music,

a cheerful, joyful song – 

that is Viennese spirit.

In the streets and alleys, in the houses,

and you are happy, your heart beating fast,

as waltzes by Lanner and Strauss

are heard.

That is my Vienna, you alone

make us deliriously happy,

my city, my dream,

you are a splendid dream to me.

I dance, I jump, I laugh, I sing,

am forever cheerful and happy.

Vienna Boys Choir

The angelic-voiced musicians of the Vienna Boys Choir celebrate the magic of the holiday season with a delightful program of Austrian folk songs, classical masterpieces, Christmas hymns, and holiday carols. For six centuries, these young cultural ambassadors have been adored the world over for their wide range of repertoire, purity of tone, and generosity of musical spirit.

The Wiener Sängerknaben or Vienna Boys’ Choir is the world’s foremost children’s choral group. It is also among the oldest of all musical organizations, having been founded pursuant to an Imperial decree of Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I on July 7, 1498; the Emperor wished boys’ voices to be added to the choir of the Imperial Chapel, or Hofkapelle. This established a tradition of having the boys sing in weekly Sunday masses in the Imperial Chapel of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, a tradition that continues today.

Over the centuries, illustrious composers have written masterpieces for the Boys’ Choir of the Imperial Chapel, including Mozart, Bruckner, Gluck, and Schubert. Many great musicians got their start as members of the Boys’ Choir; among them were the great conductors Hans Richter, Clemens Krauss, and Lovro von Matacic. During the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the choir became renowned for its secular performances as well, appearing in colorful Imperial-style military uniforms, each complete with a dagger. After World War I, wide popular and governmental disfavor of all things Imperial resulted in the dissolution of many long-standing institutions, including the Imperial Chapel Choir. However, Chaplain Joseph Schnitt remained in his position at the chapel and re-gathered the choir. Sparing no personal expense, he re-established a boarding school for the choristers. He replaced the imperial uniforms with a distinctive sailor-style uniform.

The Vienna Boys’ Choir has the most stringent training and admittance policy in the world. Boys wishing to join must first gain entrance to a preparatory school where they receive a complete elementary education. Their instruction includes elements of musical theory, sight-singing, and the practice of singing, and instruction on at least one instrument; at the age of nine, they have to pass an examination based strictly on musical ability and vocal quality. There is no religious requirement. The teaching is purposely intensive in order that their education not be slighted due to the frequent touring. There are usually two choirs away on a tour at any given time, most frequently for three months. They are accompanied by their choirmaster, their tutor, and a nurse. Vienna Choir Boys have visited the United States well in excess of 50 times since 1932 and have traveled to all six inhabited continents. They are beloved the world over for their lively singing style and beautiful tone and have commissioned a number of new works, including Britten’s The Golden Vanity.

www.viennaboyschoir.org

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