Figure 1.--The Knabenchor Hannover has a contemprary uniform of a blazer and turtle-neck shirt.

The famous Knabenchor Hannover is inextricably linked with the name of its founder, Heinz Hennig. For 50 years, the 50 boys who make up the choir have sung works from Monteverdi, Mozart, Schubert, Stravinsky and Charpentier, although they are equally famous for their interpretation of the Bach cantatas. "I am convinced that the musical education gives each person the opportunity to discover his own character," says the choir's founder. Choristers are selected from the age of 6 years. From that point onwards, they follow a musical education.

Foundation

The Hannover Boys' Choir was founded in 1950 and follows an old choral tradition that can be traced back to the 19th century "Royal Hanoverian Hof-und-Schlosskirchenchor" and to the Late Gothic Market Church Boys' Choir and Latin School in Hannover, Germany.

Music

The primary focus of the choir is the challenge of coaching young people to a high musical standard. The founder and director of the choir, Heinz Hennig, laid the basic foundations of a still-ongoing scientific debate on the subject of German and international choir repertoire.

Performances

The choir has released a wide range of CDs and records in addition to having participated in numerous radio and television transmissions. The Hannover Boys' Choir can be found on the artists list of Konzertdirektion Schmid, Hannover.

Training

Boys normally join the choir at the age of 6 or 7. They have to pass a preliminary test before joining. New classes, led by an experienced music teacher, begin each year in Spring. Initially the boys sing playfully, combining the development of music-and-movement skills with novices' aural skills.

The boys are gradually trained to read the repertoire with which they will later be confronted. However, singing starts with the idea of a song, which is gradually differentiated into more complex music in preparation for the polyphonic music sung by the main choir. At the age of 9 the boys enter the main choir, when they undergo intensive vocal training. The boys and men of the choir meet once a week for a joint rehearsal. The men have an additional rehearsal every week.

Youth and adult members of the choir have normally been members of the choir as children. Returning as basses or tenors after their voices have broken, they already know the repertoire and have an appropriate musical education behind them.

The members of the Hannover Boys' Choir do not board, but the excellent musical and educational guidance compensates for this. The choir's success is based upon the enthusiastic participation of its members in music and singing.

When their voices begin to break the boys are tutored in music theory to increase the knowledge they have acquired during their earlier years of singing.

Family Surroundings

The men help look after the boys, thus creating familiar surroundings that ensure the smooth running of rehearsals and top-flight concert tours, without being too strict or severe.

Facilities

Since 1986 the choir has owned its own rehearsal rooms (financed by donations) which have further improved rehearsal standards.