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In 1983 the Aurelius Sängerknaben Calw (= ASKC) were founded by Hans-Jörg Kalmbach. The name 'Aurelius' was choosen in remembrance of the first patron of the Hirsau monastery, which over centuries inspired the cultural and spiritual live in Western Europe. From simple beginnings the choir has increasingly become much-requested body of singers capable of both choral and solo duties. Spiritual and contemporary choir music is enchanted by the Aurelius Sängerknaben. Since 2001 Johannes Sorg continues to lead as the new director of music the educational and choir tradition as established in the early years. In 2002 he and his Aurelius Sängerknaben received the honour of the Bruno-Frey-Preis and he achieved the first prize at the "German Choir Contest" at Osnabrück with his men ensemble. Today the boy choir has an excellent reputation far beyond the borders of Germany.
An intensive education of solo parts is an essential core of the instructions. Since 1987 the boys sing solo parts at national and international stages and operas, predominantly the part of the "three boys" in W. A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Important engagements were, among others, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, the opera at Frankfurt, the Württembergische Staatstheater Stuttgart, the opera at Bonn, the Nationaltheater Mannheim and the Badische Staatstheater Karlsruhe. Furthermore the solists of the Aurelius Sängerknaben Calw were engaged at the Ludwigsburger Festspielen, the Mozartfesten Würzburg as well as at the operas of Strassbourg, Nice and Toulouse, Lisbon, Madrid, Edinburgh and Graz. On top solo parts were covered by solists of the Aurelius Sängerknaben in operas (i.e. in Benjamin Britten's Turn of the Screw and A Midsummernight's Dream, Weill's Ja-Sager) and in concerts (i.e. George Frideric Handel's Messiah, Felix Mendelssohn's Elias, Eötvös; Altlantis)
The co-operation with famous conductors and orchestras became more important over the last decade. The Aurelius Sängerknaben Calw performed among others with the Wiener Philharmoniker under Claudio Abbado, with the Bamberger Symphoniker under Herbert Blomstedt. Successful performances were also achieved with the orchestra of the Ludwigsburger Festspiele under Wolfgang Gönnenwein, the SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden/Freiburg under the lead of Michael Gielen as well as with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez. Especially remarkable was the contribution to Krzyszof Pendereckis Credo under Helmuth Rilling and to Sankt-Bach-Passion by Mauricio Kagel in the summer 2000. Under the lead of the composer the Aurelius Sängerknaben Calw sang in 2003 together with the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker first the Lukas-Passion and later the Credo by Krzysztof Penderecki. The spectrum got enlarged by productions, oriented by historic performances, as the Taverner Consort under Andrew Parrott.
A highlight in the history of the Aurelius Sängerknaben was in 2003 the self production of the opera Pollicino by Hans Werner Henze as part of the Hirsauer Klosterspiele. A DVD was produced at this significant event.
Radio- and CD- productions, national and international choir tours are examples for the multiple tasks of the choir work. The Aurelius Sängerknaben Calw took part as an ambassador of Baden-Württemberg at a festival in Moskow and performed at events hosted by the state government. These are selected examples representing the activities and challenges in which the young singers like to engage again and again. |
