Introducing Die Choirjungen

Die ChorjungenWhen one resides in Germany, it’s only natural to express interest in the local talent. Yet the first musical formation I discovered, Die Choirjungen (literally The Choirboys), evoked memories of the English boy band The Choirboys, a group of cathedral choristers that was active from 2005 to 2007. Like its English counterpart, the German group also has three members: Nicolas Schwandner (13), Jan Enderle (13) and Georg Starz (14) and they are also former members of a Cathedral choir –one of the best in Germany – The Augsburg Cathedral Boys’ Choir.

The description of the English Choirboys, as published on the Samon Promotions website, perfectly fits Die Chorjungen.

die choirjungen
“So what are The Choirboys? They are cute. They are commercial….They might sing like angels but they have discarded their traditional uniform of cassocks and surplices for Gap chinos, designer suits and trendy haircuts.” / 1/

More similarities are to be found in Die Choirjungen’s repertoire of music. Their debut album (due to be released in April of 2014) features songs such as Eric Clapton‘s famous ballad Tears in Heaven, Ecce Homo, Amazing Grace, Ave Maria and Miserere. The label promises an exciting secret collection of hymns and pop music. With a German speaking boy band, one can expect to hear stunningly beautiful performances in their native language as well.

Die Choirjungen are signed by the German classical record label Deutsche Grammophon (the oldest surviving established record company). Producer Steven Abbott calls the members of band “The best boy’s voices in Germany”.

Worldwide, there are many people who value the apparent ability of young boys collectively to create the “sound of angels”.  It’ll be interesting to see if the German Choirboys will able to repeat the success of their English counterparts, whose self-titled debut album sold more than 800,000 copies and has since gone platinum two times.

At the official site of Die Choirjungen on klassikakzente.de you can discover more about them (the content is entirely in German) and you can also preview some of the songs included in their upcoming album.

Nico, Jan & Georg – die Chorjungen

 

1.The Choirboys at Samon Promotions website (link)