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Decca DL 73673 |
The Texas
Boys' Choir, made up of twenty-six
young
vocalists ranging in ages from eight to fifteen, is truly a unique
choral group: it has been
featured
in more than
800
major concert engagements
throughout the U.S.A. and Europe and has
scored
repeated hits on popular radio and television
programs, as well as great success in its series
of
yearly concert tours. And everywhere it has
been
acclaimed for its exquisite tone
quality,
remarkable
interpretive versatility, engaging showmanship
and marvelously disciplined musicianship.
All this, to be sure, reflects
the many-sided quality of the Choir's repertoire and the
flexibility of their approach,
with programs ranging from early
liturgical music and delightful
English madrigals to lusty Western songs and homespun American folk
songs, many performed with
special choreographic effects. In addition, they have been
responsible for several
notable additions to the boy choir repertoire,
commissioned especially for them from outstanding
contemporary composers.
The
twenty-six boys are actually a top-level
group selected from a permanent
choir organization and year-round choir school headquartered in
Fort Worth. Here some one
hundred fifty boys,
chosen from all over the Southwest in keenly competitive
auditions held twice yearly, are trained.
They are divided into three
groups and given a
well-rounded general education along with intensive
special schooling in all branches of music.
From this total choir is drawn
the Concert Group: each
year twenty-six youngsters are hand-picked
for
additional intensive training to form the touring
un it. which fulfills professional singing engagements
throughout the world.
In the
Texas Boys' Choir. we have an inspiring
example
of a genuine American organization
guided
by a dedicated group of outstanding local
citizens
who have. worked to foster what stands
today as
an authentic representation of their America, for the Choir has
since developed into a major cultural force in the Southwest.
Also, ever since
the
group was founded in 1946,
George Bragg, its
founder
and director, has held up the highest
standards
and ideals to his young charges.
In addition to the prominence
and popularity the Choir enjoys
in the U.S.A., it has
also won signal honors
for itself, its state, and its country on the international
scene. It has appeared over the combined
radio and television networks of the British
Broadcasting Company and on the radio in The
Netherlands, France, and
Switzerland. In personal
appearances,
the Choir
earned the enthusiastic
praise
of critics at Wales' historic Eisteddfod choir
competition,
where
it emerged in first place among
the
leading choral aggregations from all parts of
the
world that participated. The Choir also triumphed
in the famous Festival of Holland. prompting
the influential Rotterdam newspaper, Algemeen
Dagblad,
to write: "Twenty-six boys from Texas
showed
that America can be proud of having a
choir
that can sustain comparison with the best of
Europe!"
In response to invitations to appear at
some of
the historic cathedrals of Europe, the
Choir
was honored to sing at Westminster Abbey in London, Notre Dame and
Sacred Heart Cathedrals
in Paris, the cathedral in Pisa and St. Peter's
Cathedral in Rome.
The
present album offers a generous selection of fifteen hymns, known
and loved by generations
of
Americans. A deeply religious atmosphere pervades
the performance, and the Texas boys, whom
George
Bragg has trained so thoroughly, sing with
extraordinarv composure and rare beauty of tone.
Their
singing is heart-felt and unaffected, reflecting
their feeling of deep reverence, making this
truly a
rich devotional treasure for every record
collector's lasting listening pleasure. |
