Tölzer Knabenchor

This is a boys choir from Bad Tölz near Munich in Germany. They do concerts all over the world and have such a different sound to choirs over here. They often do opera performances too and are just amazing. A bit like the Vienna Boys choir - they are more than one choir. They also wear a funny Bavarian costume as a choir uniform.




They have a really gutsy style of singing and you never see guys in that choir just mouthing the words like they dont really want to be there. They go all out for it!







Here is a bit from the Magic Flute where the three boys on the left are trying to persuade the boy (Pamina) on the right from committing suicide. They all sing with such passion and I think the teen on the left of the three is just fab...

A terrible moment

Poor Guy. I found this on Youtube. His voice started to break on the day of a performance of Schubert's Ave Maria. Listen to what he mutters at 1m02 and you get an idea of what he's feeling

First Attempt

Well this is my first attempt at a blog. I don't know where to start really. I suppose the reason for starting the blog. I love singing. I sing in a choir and its a boys only choir, like the old tradition.

In the U.K. choirs like this normally have boys in them from age 7 until age 13 then you have to leave. Even if your voice hasn't broken. What happens to guys who are 14, 15, 16 etc if their voices haven't broken? There are choirs abroad and some here where you sing until it goes. I'm one of them. I'm 16 and I still sing soprano. A lot of people like the way I sing, they say it has a bit more fullness to it. I'm not the greatest singer but I still like what I do.

I have been singing for as long as I know. I joined a choir when I was 7 and Im still at it. People say it's good because I have the experience and training and now I have some of the brain to put it into practice. When you see choirs with older guys in them, they sing so much better, more musically, more tone and emotion. I'm not getting at younger boy trebles or sopranos but more that they are growing into something better.

Most guys lose their voices just when they are becoming useful in the choir. I didn't because I had a few problems. Switch off now if you get squeamish. I had retracted testicles and they ended up being removed when I was 13 to prevent cancer and because they had problems. So technically you might call me a castrato. Although I don't really call myself a castrato because castrati were castrated because of singing. I wasn't. I just happen to sing so I call myself a teen soprano. Like a lot of adults who sing in the soprano register call themselves Male sopranos.

There is a wikipedia explanation of castrato here castrato

This is a bit of a ramble I suppose. I hope I get better at blogging later on so check back and I will try and put pictures and sound clips up and things like that once I learn how to.

Here is my first attempt at a picture posting too. One choir that I admire and everyone will have heard of. The Vienna Boys Choir. There are boys in that choir that sing all the way to 18 and I love the real rich sound they make.