He was picked by Mr. Bernstein after a long, difficult search for just the right boy soloist to bring his vision to life. I’m sure that’s why Mr. Bernstein looks so pleased and moved by the performance. All of the pieces came together perfectly to bring the world this gift.
Look how happy/pleased Mr. Bernstein looks after Markus sings. The look of an artist that has found the perfect performer after a long search to find the one that would bring his masterpiece to life.
The same! Sang this in 1976 also at Carnegie Hall. When I was attending LaGuardia. At the time it was just Music & Art High School. I still love it and I’m here today because my soul needed it. Love Bernstein, he also attended this high school a generation before me. Just wonderful!
Valerie Howard sorry I’m not seeing this until now but that’s great! I was in high school in Nebraska at the time and for some odd reason our small little school was asked to sing! I like to listen to this periodically just for the memories
This piece always has, and always will make me weep. I scrolled down quite a ways and don't see that anyone has posted the translation. For me, listening with the words of the Psalms quoted in the piece in mind makes it ever so more impactful, and this prayer really rings true in today's world. I. Awake, psaltery and harp: I will rouse the dawn! Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before His presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, He is God. It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endureth to all generations. II. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk Through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, For Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff They comfort me. Why do the nations rage, And the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His anointed. Saying, let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens Shall laugh, and the Lord Shall have them in derision! Thou preparest a table before me In the presence of mine enemies, Thou anointest my head with oil, My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy Shall follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. III. Lord, Lord, My heart is not haughty, Nor mine eyes lofty, Neither do I exercise myself In great matters or in things Too wonderful for me. Surely I have calmed And quieted myself, As a child that is weaned of his mother, My soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord From henceforth and forever. Behold how good, And how pleasant it is, For brethren to dwell Together in unity. Amen.
My grandmother, a German Jew, was born in Poznan, then part of Germany and called Posen. It is very moving for me to hear this performance, in Hebrew, by a Polish orchestra and chorus.
Still cry every time I hear it. We this was actually sung by our high school chorus. We had to get a boy soprano. This was 50 years ago and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s hard to sing when your crying. Our chorus director was Jewish.
I remember this moving performance being broadcast on BBC TV and it is perfect. The choir and orchestra are in impressive top form under Maestro Lennie's direction. The boy soloist is just beautiful and on seeing Lennie hug him, it brought tears to my eyes all those years ago. He was so clearly moved. I'm so pleased to find this on RU-vid. Why there was never a commercial Video/DVD recording made of this concert is a mystery.
If Lenny is conducting anything in HEAVEN, I can bet you that this is one of the creations he made being heard upon HIGH! God gave him an incredible gift. To call his talent a "gift" seems too little praise. Leonard Bernstein, although mortal at the time, was an Angel to all of us with whom he shared his creations. We are all blessed for eternity as long as his music is performed.
I had a wonderful high school choir teacher who had us sing this (along with the local university symphony and soloists) in the early 70s. Still in love with it.
I used to be in Chorus of the University of Bologna as a tenor, and we spent a full year to perform this masterpiece of Bernstein with an orchestra from Utrecht. This gives me goosebumps!
This is music history. How maestro Leonard Bernstein in his late days finally found a boy who could do justice to his own "Adonai ro-i", 2nd movement of 3, in his "Chichester Psalms". He originally wrote it for a boy to sing, but during the years it was found too difficult and voice-demanding for boys and was mostly performed by women, counter tenors and groups. - That is until Bernstein discovered this Tölzer Knabenchor boy Markus Baur and took him to the great World Piece Gala in Warszawa in 1989. - A tremendous success!
52sport6469 I sung this Adonai Roi in 1968 with the Leeds Philharmonic Chorus and the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. It was a very proud moment in my musical career. A “Good Luck” message from Leonard Bernstein was the icing on the cake, announced after the performance!
Markus Baur was a rare talent among talents. Tolzer has had many excellent soloists, but Markus was one of the exceptional standouts. I do wonder if he still sings today.
That's a sweeping and faintly ridiculous statement. There is nothing about this that is "too difficult" for a boy. Markus Baur was a very good singer but I have heard the Chichester Psalms done many, many times with a boy singing this equally as well. English Cathedrals and Collegiate Choirs do it well all the time. I have heard counter-tenors trying it with far less success, often straining at the top.
I remember singing this piece in high school choir with a piano accompaniment. I fell in love with this piece, and still love it today, for than forty years later.
I am so moved especially by the second movement that starts out with "The lord is my shepherd", only to be interrupted by "why do the nations rage"( Psalm 2) then to return back to the teacupful assurance of Psalm 23. This is genius writing at its best
This piece has followed me since 1977. I learned in in senior choir the hard way, did it regionally then took it to state and finally sang it in the all state choir. Directed by the composer himself and backed by the Chicago Symphony. Probably one of the grandest musical experiences of my life. Then the first year at college they did it as a fall dance [modern] on one of the anniversaries of Hiroshima. Then it found me again woking in a children's museum in Spokane of all places, where they were not only amazed that I can sing, but I sing well and in Hebrew. Now with covid and over 225,000 dead Americans, I thought it was time to revisit.
Well, Bernstein was a musical genius as they said - listening to Bernstein conduct Chichester Psalms now and learning it when I was 18 - it is so enlarged and magnified. No wonder Bernstein was considered the greatest conductor. But Stanley Sperber did well by this piece and teaching it to inexperienced singers with "strange" melody and rhythm. Now I love it.
I had the most blessed experience of seeing Maestro Bernstein conduct the Chichester Psalms @ the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. What a sublime moment!
Now, this hits home. I lived in Poznan for some time and have seen The Poznan Nightingales sing there in a Cathedral. Incredible Choir. And I love the Chichester Psalms. I had no Idea Bernstein conducted in Poznan. Bravo
Happy 100th birthday, Maestro. Seeing your emotional reaction to your Chichester Psalms performed so beautifully took my breath away. Third movement has always been one of my favorite pieces of music ever.
I miss Leonard Bernstein. Great conductor, great composer, great piano soloist. The first recording I ever owned was a vinyl record of Peter and The Wolf narrated and conducted by Bernstein. I've been a Bernstein fan ever since.The boy soloists in this performance are quite talented. Impressed at how well they held the last notes in the third movement.
Definitely my preferred version of this awesome work I've found yet, after coming across almost accidentally with 2 days ago. It features a mature Bernstein conducting it, my favourite for about any work by any composer he did conduct. Just exquisite.
Wonderful. I sung this in the 1980s and we had a boy treble with a very different English Cathrdral sound voice (rather than the continental of here) . Both here and there absolutely gorgeous to hear. Thank you.
I freakin love the third movement! It is seriously the same melody in every part in both the orchestra and choir, troughout the whole movement! Except from the start and finish being different 😯😮
This is heaven and earth and all their forces joining together , fusing harmonic sound that is so much to take in that the heart overflows and the heavens cry.
I had the SUPREME privilege of performing this with the Saratoga-Potsdam Chorus in Saratoga Springs, NY. It was in August of 1972 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting! It was difficult not to tear up during the last section, especially during the boy soprano's parts. It was transcendent to say the least!
Mr. Bernstein was a genius with a vision. Art flowed through his veins as easily as blood. It is so fortunate that he was able to leave our world with such untold treasures as this.
We (The Charleston Symphony and Chorus) will be performing it this weekend at the Gaillard Concert Hall in Charleston. It is difficult and it is magnificent.
Sung this many years ago with the Vancouver Bach Choir. Reprising it with Malaspina Choir in May of 2020. The last phrases still bring tears to my eyes and I find it difficult to sing the last passages.
I will be performing this with the Temple Square Chorale and Orchestra at Temple Square on March 29-30, 2019 in Salt Lake City, UT, USA under the direction of Ryan Murphy and am excited to finally get to perform this great work. I'm told we have a fantastic boy soprano, but he has not yet joined our rehearsals.
I was privileged to hear this live at Tanglewood when it was still a new work. One of the wunderkind of the day was conducting, either Ozawa or Michael Tilson Thomas - I can't remember now. I was startled and delighted at curtain call when the conductor signaled to the box seats and Leonard Bernstein stood up, trotted up to the stage, and was still lithe enough to leap up on the unusually high stage and take a bow. Fifteen years later I was further privileged to meet the dean of Chichester Cathedral, Walter Hussey, over lunch and hear from him the story of how he first met Bernstein (at a party in NYC) and came to commission the work. I've been to several performances since, but none like that very first electrifying one.
Thank-you for the interesting history. I remember, as a 22 year old, attending concerts conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas with the Buffalo Philharmonic. He was a wonderful, energetic, inclusive promoter of the classics, like Bernstein. We could attend his performances at Buffalo’s Kleinhans Music Hall in blue jeans, no less, quite unusual for the early 70’s. We were all very moved by his influence, and your depiction of your personal experiences with both of these conductors was fun to read.
Maestro Bernstein , the Poznan Choir and orchestra are all magnificent. The Toelzer Knaben trebles are wonderful ...and Bernstein knew where to find Marcus Bauer in Toelz, bravo to sing extraordinarily the solos. Bravissimo,,!
I love Lenny, and I love the piece, and I've sung it. But even geniuses can make mistakes. He gives a false cue to the trumpet at 11:16, and it's clear that he knows immediately that he's done it. I've tried to do a harmonic analysis of those incredible string chords that open the last movement, but I gave up. They are inexplicably gorgeous.
Marcus, you move me to tears in this solo performance, and I will miss you r singing in the future, since you have chosen a different direction in your professional life( in which I understand you are successful and are very respected. I hope that you are happy in your life... but I will always miss you in the world of music. Thank you Maestro Leonard Bernstein to have brought Marcus in my life......
This is a very old choir, have in Poznan for many years. I lived there and have seen them in a Cathedral, they were always incredible. Listening to them there was like being in heaven
Cat Knight That is Markus Baur of the Tolzer Knabenchor, and you can tell Mr. Bernstein agreed with you. History tells that Mr. Bernstein searched long and hard for a boy that could do that solo justice, but it’s a difficult piece. He found that perfect soloist in Markus Baur, and you can see the delight on his face every time the camera pans from Markus to him.
According to Wiki: ...the world premiere took place in the Philharmonic Hall, New York on July 15, 1965 with the composer conducting, followed by the performance in the Chichester Festival on July 31, conducted by John Birch. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chichester_Psalms
I sang this with Zamir Chorale when I was 18 in college. It took some practicing to get the irregular rhythm of the first movement. Stanley Sperber was in his last year conducting Zamir in New York before making aliyah to Israel where he had a successful career as a choral conductor. He was a charismatic conductor. An ambitious piece. In Israel, an Israeli flatmate asked me, "What language is that?"
Leonard Bernstein is a great composer and also a great conductor. During his life not all his classical work was popular with the Orchestra bosses. Is that not strange ?
Marcus , your singing is so moving that you bring tears to my eyes, bravissimo. Am sad that , from what I read, you gave up your singing career and became a medical researcher in Munich. So schade ! I hope that you are happy in your new life.
Bernstein's score said he wrote the soprano and alto parts preferably for boys though women could sing it as well. Most performances are done by the usual female/male choirs, including most conducted by the composer.
Nice. You should find and listen to the recording of the Chicago Sinfonietta under the direction of Paul Freeman featuring the Howard University Choir singing the Chichester Psalms. They performed the work at Orchestra Hall (Chicago, Illinois) on April 19, 1999. They gave a stellar performance. Then went on to tour Switzerland's and Germany's largest concert halls.
We are going to do this in the Conservatory Choir. I sing Tenor. Help. EDIT: One year later. I had to clarify I sang Tenor ONE. A huge pain in the ass and in the throat.
@@zaggojhon Second act is a best to learn but man is it fun to sing. I was a baritone in high school forced to bolster the tenor section... 99% falsetto lmao
Marcus Bauer is an exceptional alto. So sad that he gave up his amazing. Career, but I hear that he is now a respected medical researcher in Munich. Good luck , dear Marcus.
Voor mij is dit het ultieme gebed. Prachtig om te beluisteren na onheuglijk nieuws in de media over aanslagen en terreur die zorgen voor een mineurstemming...
