Dresden Boys' Choir receives support from the USA

The Dresdner Kapellknaben are receiving financial support from the USA for a CD production. The boys' choir will interpret music by Johann Adolph Hasse as it sounded in the 18th century. The Concerto Vocale Foundation from the US state of Tennessee, which is committed to early music and historical performance practice, is financing the recording with a five-figure sum, as the boys' choir announced.

Foundation President delighted with the Kapellknaben

The recordings ended on Monday evening in Dresden Cathedral. Foundation President Peter Catalano was delighted: "Brilliant. They are very big voices that fill the room wonderfully. And it is one of the best you can hear from singers in a boys' choir anywhere in the world," the Kapellknaben quoted Catalano as saying.

For the Dresden Chapel Boys' Choir, this is the first recording under the direction of Christian Bonath, who was appointed cathedral conductor and choirmaster in 2022. The pieces selected for the recording have never before appeared on a music carrier, it was said. Hasse, who worked as court conductor in Dresden for 30 years from 1733, composed "Litaniae Lauretanae", "Salve Regina" and "Sub tuum praesidium" in 1762 while in exile in Vienna, where he had fled during the Seven Years' War.

Boys take on the soprano solos

According to the boys' choir, the recording is based on the historical instrumentation. In Hasse's time, it was forbidden for women to sing in churches. Chapel boys therefore took on the soprano solos.

The choir, which was founded in 1709 under Saxon Elector Augustus the Strong, sings exclusively with soprano and alto voices and is accompanied by cathedral organist Sebastian Freitag on the Silbermann organ. The CD is due to be released in the fall.

Journey to Rome highlight of choral life in 2024

Last year, the Dresdner Kapellknaben once again attracted international attention. At the end of September, they traveled to Rome and were received by the Pope in a private audience. Concerts were also on the program, including a service for the World Synod, which was attended by hundreds of bishops and cardinals.

The choir is made up of around 50 boys aged between 9 and 18. They perform during church services in Dresden Cathedral. But the choirboys can also be seen in concerts.