The Girls’ Choir
In 1973 the former director of music at Hildesheim Cathedral, Hermann Bode, set up a girls’ choir. While girls’ choirs had previously been unusual for cathedrals, following the Second Vatican Council such choirs came to be founded at many German cathedrals.
Bode’s success with the girls was rewarded in 1982 when the group won the first prize in a European choral competition held at Neerpelt, Belgium.
Since 2000 the Girls’Choir has been directed by the Cathedral’s cantor, Dr. Stefan Mahr. Following a period of “changeover” the repertoire has since broadened in all musical styles and now offers the possibility of performing works at services or concerts for multiple parts of the same voice, in addition to the more familiar literature for mixed choir. Particular emphasis is given to orders of mass of various types and to English cathedral music.
In 2011 the choir recorded a CD, “I was Glad: the Girls’ Choir of Hildesheim Cathedral”. In the course of this, the title composition “I was Glad” was written by Douglas Coombes (mp3, 2 MB)..embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; height: auto; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }
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The Girls’ Choir is divided into three groups, each of which feeds into the next. The junior choir is for the youngest girls, in years 2 and 3 at school, and aims to introduce singing in a playful form. This is followed by the middle choir (for school years 4 and 5) which provides direct training for the girls to later sing in the main choir. As a performing body, the main choir is sometimes involved in projects of the Cathedral Choir, thus giving the girls an insight into “big choir” music. Tours, “outings” and visits by other girls’ or boys’ choirs in connection with the Pueri Cantores choral organisation offers varied and attractive leisure activity for girls who enjoy singing.
Since 2007 the girls have received voice training from the concert singer Michaela Ische.
Girls’ Choir Rehearsals
Junior choir: Thursdays, 15:00 – 15:45
Middle choir: Tuesdays, 16:00 – 16:45
Main choir: Tuesdays, 17:00 – 19:00 plus one Saturday each month, 09:30 – 13:00
(all these times only apply during school terms)