This is simply one of the best musical documentaries I've seen. Expecting this to be a history on the Thomanerchor (St. Thomas Boys Choir), celebrating its 800th birthday this year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is more about the 'day in the life of' both chorister and director of this famed choir. Actually, it's "A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir, Leipzig."
We follow several age groups of boys (and young men), from the newly selected choristers (aged 9) to veteran members (aged 18 to 19) who serve as mentors to the younger members, helping the younger choristers in their daily lives- with their normal, everyday struggles, the desire and requirements to be serious musicians, and their extracurricular activities, such as card playing, videos games and soccer. There is the added pressure of being members of one of the oldest musical legacies in the history of classical music.
Georg Christoph Biller, the choir's current cantor (since 1992) has some very large shoes to fill. This was none other than Johann Sebastian Bach's position with the same choir beginning in 1723 and ending with his death in 1750. (It might be worth noting that Bach's grave is located inside St. Thomas' Church. To this day, choir members show reverence by placing flowers at his grave. Luckily this is shown several times in this excellent documentary). We see Biller takes his job as cantor with utmost seriousness. He has an admiration for his young charges, though he keeps his distance, always being 'the tamer' as he puts it; you get the sense that he'd like to be their friend and in some ways he is, if at a distance.
The documentary presents what I believe is a non-biased look at the choir. While Cantor Biller stresses to the youngsters that Bach's music is religious and the true meaning goes deeper than just the notes and words on the page, he's also faced with the reality that given today's society, there is actually a large percentage of non-religious boys that make up the choir, even some who are atheists. But you find too, that some older boys, who were less into religion going into the choir, later find themselves being baptized and confirmed.
We see that these are normal boys like anyone else, and while we expect to see most of them interested in classical music, some are clearly more interested in heavy metal music, or girls. Soccer plays an important part in the lives of the boys too, and we're treated to a match between the Thomanerchor and another boy choir, the Dresdner Kreuzchor.
As for school life, the boys attend St. Thomas School, Leipzig, also established in 1212. Classes are co-ed and the choristers are often the more successful students at the school. Many of the older members have girl friends who openly praise the boys for being so much more smarter than the other boys in class. I should point out too that the choir has a unique system of mentorship, where the young choir member has an older member assigned to him. This works out great in both the socialization of the younger members (most who are away from home the first time in their lives) and the musical upbringing, if you will, of the younger charge.
The musical performances presented in the documentary are stunning. We get a chance to see Herr Biller give the boys a pep talk right before a performance of Bach's B Minor Mass. Biller stresses that their task is special, "You are part of something great, so take part with greatness." The payoff is seeing (hearing) the results.
As for technical details about the documentary, the original language is German and there are excellent subtitles in English. The aspect ratio is 16:9 - 1.85:1
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One of the Best Musical Documentaries I've Seen.
This is simply one of the best musical documentaries I've seen. Expecting this to be a history on the Thomanerchor (St. Thomas Boys Choir), celebrating its 800th birthday this year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is more about the 'day in the life of' both chorister and director of this famed choir. Actually, it's "A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir, Leipzig."We follow several age groups of boys (and young men), from the newly selected choristers (aged 9) to veteran members (aged 18 to 19) who serve as mentors to the younger members, helping the younger choristers in their daily lives- with their normal, everyday struggles, the desire and requirements to be serious musicians, and their extracurricular activities, such as card playing, videos games and soccer. There is the added pressure of being members of one of the oldest musical legacies in the history of classical music.Georg Christoph Biller, the choir's current cantor (since 1992) has some very large shoes to fill. This was none other than Johann Sebastian Bach's position with the same choir beginning in 1723 and ending with his death in 1750. (It might be worth noting that Bach's grave is located inside St. Thomas' Church. To this day, choir members show reverence by placing flowers at his grave. Luckily this is shown several times in this excellent documentary). We see Biller takes his job as cantor with utmost seriousness. He has an admiration for his young charges, though he keeps his distance, always being 'the tamer' as he puts it; you get the sense that he'd like to be their friend and in some ways he is, if at a distance.The documentary presents what I believe is a non-biased look at the choir. While Cantor Biller stresses to the youngsters that Bach's music is religious and the true meaning goes deeper than just the notes and words on the page, he's also faced with the reality that given today's society, there is actually a large percentage of non-religious boys that make up the choir, even some who are atheists. But you find too, that some older boys, who were less into religion going into the choir, later find themselves being baptized and confirmed.We see that these are normal boys like anyone else, and while we expect to see most of them interested in classical music, some are clearly more interested in heavy metal music, or girls. Soccer plays an important part in the lives of the boys too, and we're treated to a match between the Thomanerchor and another boy choir, the Dresdner Kreuzchor.As for school life, the boys attend St. Thomas School, Leipzig, also established in 1212. Classes are co-ed and the choristers are often the more successful students at the school. Many of the older members have girl friends who openly praise the boys for being so much more smarter than the other boys in class. I should point out too that the choir has a unique system of mentorship, where the young choir member has an older member assigned to him. This works out great in both the socialization of the younger members (most who are away from home the first time in their lives) and the musical upbringing, if you will, of the younger charge.The musical performances presented in the documentary are stunning. We get a chance to see Herr Biller give the boys a pep talk right before a performance of Bach's B Minor Mass. Biller stresses that their task is special, "You are part of something great, so take part with greatness." The payoff is seeing (hearing) the results.As for technical details about the documentary, the original language is German and there are excellent subtitles in English. The aspect ratio is 16:9 - 1.85:1
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2012
We follow several age groups of boys (and young men), from the newly selected choristers (aged 9) to veteran members (aged 18 to 19) who serve as mentors to the younger members, helping the younger choristers in their daily lives- with their normal, everyday struggles, the desire and requirements to be serious musicians, and their extracurricular activities, such as card playing, videos games and soccer. There is the added pressure of being members of one of the oldest musical legacies in the history of classical music.
Georg Christoph Biller, the choir's current cantor (since 1992) has some very large shoes to fill. This was none other than Johann Sebastian Bach's position with the same choir beginning in 1723 and ending with his death in 1750. (It might be worth noting that Bach's grave is located inside St. Thomas' Church. To this day, choir members show reverence by placing flowers at his grave. Luckily this is shown several times in this excellent documentary). We see Biller takes his job as cantor with utmost seriousness. He has an admiration for his young charges, though he keeps his distance, always being 'the tamer' as he puts it; you get the sense that he'd like to be their friend and in some ways he is, if at a distance.
The documentary presents what I believe is a non-biased look at the choir. While Cantor Biller stresses to the youngsters that Bach's music is religious and the true meaning goes deeper than just the notes and words on the page, he's also faced with the reality that given today's society, there is actually a large percentage of non-religious boys that make up the choir, even some who are atheists. But you find too, that some older boys, who were less into religion going into the choir, later find themselves being baptized and confirmed.
We see that these are normal boys like anyone else, and while we expect to see most of them interested in classical music, some are clearly more interested in heavy metal music, or girls. Soccer plays an important part in the lives of the boys too, and we're treated to a match between the Thomanerchor and another boy choir, the Dresdner Kreuzchor.
As for school life, the boys attend St. Thomas School, Leipzig, also established in 1212. Classes are co-ed and the choristers are often the more successful students at the school. Many of the older members have girl friends who openly praise the boys for being so much more smarter than the other boys in class. I should point out too that the choir has a unique system of mentorship, where the young choir member has an older member assigned to him. This works out great in both the socialization of the younger members (most who are away from home the first time in their lives) and the musical upbringing, if you will, of the younger charge.
The musical performances presented in the documentary are stunning. We get a chance to see Herr Biller give the boys a pep talk right before a performance of Bach's B Minor Mass. Biller stresses that their task is special, "You are part of something great, so take part with greatness." The payoff is seeing (hearing) the results.
As for technical details about the documentary, the original language is German and there are excellent subtitles in English. The aspect ratio is 16:9 - 1.85:1
One of the Best Musical Documentaries I've Seen.
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2012
This is simply one of the best musical documentaries I've seen. Expecting this to be a history on the Thomanerchor (St. Thomas Boys Choir), celebrating its 800th birthday this year, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is more about the 'day in the life of' both chorister and director of this famed choir. Actually, it's "A Year in the Life of the St. Thomas Boys Choir, Leipzig."Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2012
We follow several age groups of boys (and young men), from the newly selected choristers (aged 9) to veteran members (aged 18 to 19) who serve as mentors to the younger members, helping the younger choristers in their daily lives- with their normal, everyday struggles, the desire and requirements to be serious musicians, and their extracurricular activities, such as card playing, videos games and soccer. There is the added pressure of being members of one of the oldest musical legacies in the history of classical music.
Georg Christoph Biller, the choir's current cantor (since 1992) has some very large shoes to fill. This was none other than Johann Sebastian Bach's position with the same choir beginning in 1723 and ending with his death in 1750. (It might be worth noting that Bach's grave is located inside St. Thomas' Church. To this day, choir members show reverence by placing flowers at his grave. Luckily this is shown several times in this excellent documentary). We see Biller takes his job as cantor with utmost seriousness. He has an admiration for his young charges, though he keeps his distance, always being 'the tamer' as he puts it; you get the sense that he'd like to be their friend and in some ways he is, if at a distance.
The documentary presents what I believe is a non-biased look at the choir. While Cantor Biller stresses to the youngsters that Bach's music is religious and the true meaning goes deeper than just the notes and words on the page, he's also faced with the reality that given today's society, there is actually a large percentage of non-religious boys that make up the choir, even some who are atheists. But you find too, that some older boys, who were less into religion going into the choir, later find themselves being baptized and confirmed.
We see that these are normal boys like anyone else, and while we expect to see most of them interested in classical music, some are clearly more interested in heavy metal music, or girls. Soccer plays an important part in the lives of the boys too, and we're treated to a match between the Thomanerchor and another boy choir, the Dresdner Kreuzchor.
As for school life, the boys attend St. Thomas School, Leipzig, also established in 1212. Classes are co-ed and the choristers are often the more successful students at the school. Many of the older members have girl friends who openly praise the boys for being so much more smarter than the other boys in class. I should point out too that the choir has a unique system of mentorship, where the young choir member has an older member assigned to him. This works out great in both the socialization of the younger members (most who are away from home the first time in their lives) and the musical upbringing, if you will, of the younger charge.
The musical performances presented in the documentary are stunning. We get a chance to see Herr Biller give the boys a pep talk right before a performance of Bach's B Minor Mass. Biller stresses that their task is special, "You are part of something great, so take part with greatness." The payoff is seeing (hearing) the results.
As for technical details about the documentary, the original language is German and there are excellent subtitles in English. The aspect ratio is 16:9 - 1.85:1
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