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Trapp Family Singers

 Trapp Family Singers

Mixed Choral Ensemble from Vienna, Austria.

The Sound Of Music is one of the most popular musical films ever made. It is the story of the von Trapps- seven motherless children, their stern sea-captain father, and most of all, their feisty, but sweet governess. Yet, the von Trapps Family is not just a Hollywood creation. They are an actual family-and the story of the real von Trapps could not be more different from the musical version. Georg von Trapp, a widowed Austrian aristocrat did marry the governess, Maria Kutschera. When the von Trapps lost their considerable fortune in a bank crash, Maria took over. With the help of a local priest, she took the family hobby-singing-and turned it into the family profession. Before long, the von Trapp Family was performing all over Europe.

In March of 1938, the Nazis marched into Salzburg and the von Trapps decided it was time to leave Austria. Maria arranged an American concert tour, and the family was able to escape Hitler. They left behind their home and all that remained of their wealth, and would never return. They did not need to climb any mountains to escape. They left by train (the local stop was directly behind their estate) and made their way to Italy and then to America without incident. Once in the United States, the von Trapps struggled to establish themselves as a choral singing group. They sang mostly in German, had a repertoire of difficult classical music, and dressed like refugees. But Maria would not let them fail. She hired a top manager and a publicist. Before long, the family singing group became quite a phenomenon.

Even when the family was at the height of their popularity, Maria would not let them rest. The ten children (Maria and Georg had three children together) toured up to eight months a year. During the summer they worked their Vermont farm and ran a music camp. The isolation of a life on the road or on the farm, combined with constant work and Maria's volatile temper, took its toll. Rosmarie, Maria's eldest child, suffered a nervous breakdown and her mother sent her for electro-shock therapy. Another daughter ran away to elope. Before long, Maria was forced to hire non-family members for the family singing group. The family suffered, but Maria made them sound harmonious and heroic in her book, The Trapp Family Singers, which she wrote as a way to help promote the group. To her surprise, the book was a success and it would eventually find its way into the hands of the reigning Broadway star of the 1950s, Mary Martin. Martin and her producers started to work on the project that would become The Sound Of Music - the musical that vaulted a family of Austrian immigrants to worldwide attention and made Maria a celebrity.

While The Sound Of Music has been an extremely successful and profitable property, the von Trapps themselves profited little from the musical interpretation of their lives. Maria had sold the rights to her book for a flat fee-no royalties-long before Mary Martin came into the picture. Today, most of the surviving von Trapp Family live down-to-earth lives in rural Vermont. The Sound Of Music continues to captivate audiences around the world. On March 12, 1998, the revival of the musical opened on Broadway, and every year some 500 to 600 high schools perform their versions the show. The von Trapps take pride not in The Sound Of Music, but in their own music-music that they performed together as a family for almost twenty years.

Discography

Displaying 1-4 of 4 items.


Trapp Family Singers : Journey : 2 CDs :  : 604988 06822 1 : 682

Trapp Family Singers : Journey

Review: Journey' by popular demand, is the second volume of the incredible recordings of the legendary Trapp Family Singers, the inspiration for the musical, 'The Sound of Music'. This set features many of the early sessions recorded shortly after their arrival in the United States along with their final tracks recorded during the mid-1950s and are superbly remastered. Much of their chamber music is also included plus detailed liner notes written by William Anderson who is the noted author of 'The World of the Trapp Family'.

Songlist: Der Gru (The Cricket), Auf Der Alm, Hatt I'Di', Spinning Song, Luar Do Sertao, Little Terzetto, Partita Ex Vienna, Ritornello, Sammartini: Sonata in F Major, S'Dirndl Is'Wunderschon, Sur La Route De Dijon, Ein Fureinand, Der Saarstoana, Varmlandvisan, Vocal Yodel, Die Hoch Alma, La-Haut Sur Ces Montagnes, Alt-Niederlandischetanze (A), Alt-Niederlandischetanze (B), Trio Sonata, Trio, Dein Herzlein Mild (Opus 62, No.4), Three Austrian Dances, Tota Pulchra Es Maria, La Volta, Peters Breunnerle, Suite For Three Recorders, The Hawaiian Wedding Song, Le Rossignol En Amour, Aloha Oe, and more

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6040c | 2 CDs | $27.95


Trapp Family Singers : One Voice : 2 CDs :  : 664

Trapp Family Singers : One Voice

Review: When Mary Martin debuted in Rodgers and Hammerstein's hugely popular "The Sound of Music" in 1959, the play's subjects, the Von Trapp Family, had recently concluded their successful music career. Touring the world for 20 years, they brought a unique mixture of liturgical music, madrigals, folk music and instrumentals to audiences in over 30 countries. Loosely based on the life story of Captain Georg von Trapp, his second wife Maria, and his 7 children by his first wife, Agathe. The music of the play was quite different from the music performed by the Trapps in thousands of live performances, but fortunately they recorded hundreds of choral and instrumental works with RCA and Decca. One Voice is the first definitive compilation, a two-CD set of 36 songs apiece, of the choir's musical history, from 1935 to 1956. A few of our many favorites are German Folk songs "In Stiller Nacht," "Song of Parting," "Muss I'Denn" and "Jagerlied," Australian Folk song "Waltzing Matilda;" Maori Folk song "Pokare Kareana;" Austrian Folk songs "Der Gru" (The Cricket) and "Die Hoch Alma" (The Highest Mountains); Spanish Folk song "Pastores A Belen;" Christmas and religious tunes "Carol of the Drum," "Angels We Have Heard on High," Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," Humperdinck's "Evening Prayer," Palestrina's "O Bone Jesu" and many, many others. A wonderfully sung collection that touches and entertains!

Songlist: Sing We And Chant It, In Stiller Nacht, Allemande And Sara Bande, Il Blanco E Dolce Cigno, Song Of Parting, Waltzing Matilda, Pokare Kare Ana, Kuckuck Hat Sich Zu Tod Gefalun, Innsbruck Ich Muss Dich Lassen, Every Year Brings Something New, The Farmer's Boy, In Einem Kuhlen Grunde, Muss I'Denn, Jagerlied, The Lone Prairie, Aneriskay Love Lit, Early One Morning, Der Gru, The Highest Mountains, Andreas Hofer's Abschied Von Leben, Easter Eggs, Que Lejos Estov, Chilectoto, J'entends Le Moulin, Peuer Natus Est Nobis, Pastores A Belen, Carol Of The Drum, Bring Your Torches Jeanette Isabella, The Christmas Rose, Angels We Have Heard On High, and more

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8640c | 2 CDs | $27.95 | Primarily a cappella


Trapp Family Singers : Christmas with the Trapp Family Singers : 1 CD :  : 15 466

Trapp Family Singers : Christmas with the Trapp Family Singers

Review: Who doesn't know the dramatic and true story of the Von Trapp Family, who escaped from their Austrian homeland under the Nazi occupation? This singing family relocated to America, where they performed and recorded for many years. No novelty act, the ensemble, under the direction of conductor Dr. F. Wasner, sings first-rate a cappella arrangements (with the exception of "Ihr Kinderlein Kommet") of European carols, such as the Italian "La Canzone Di Natale," the Tyrolean "Es Hat Sich Heut Eroffnet" and the Polish "Shepherds Come A-Running." Some of these melodies will be familiar to American audiences, but some will not, which is part of their charm. This 1950's era mono recording is clean, present, and immediate; the vocal blend of the group is so natural and perfectly pitched, it requires nothing to complete it.

Songlist: Deck the Halls, Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen, Hirten, Wachet Auf!, Zu Bethlehem Geboren, A La Nanita Nana, El Est Ne, Le Divin Enfant, La Canzone Di Natale, Es Hat Sich Heut Eroffnet, Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head, Shepherds Come A-Running, Lobt Gott Ihr Christen All Gleich, Es Wird Scho Glei Dumpa, Nu Ar Det Jul Igen, Ihr Kinderlein Kommet, Der Scheibendudler, Carol of the Drum, Deine Wangelen, Weihnachtslied (Silent Night)

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6427c | 1 CD | $12.97 | A Cappella Childrens Choir Christmas


Trapp Family Singers : Original Trapp Family Singers : 1 CD :  : 09026632052-3 : 09026632052

Trapp Family Singers : Original Trapp Family Singers

Review: Everyone has heard the story of the Trapp Family, as dramatized in the beloved musical, "The Sound of Music." After their discovery by German opera singer Lotte Lehmann in 1936, they became a sensation in their native Austria. Hitler's invasion in 1938 caused them to accept the offer of an American tour, and they became exiles from their native land. The recordings preserved on this CD were made upon their arrival in New York, continuing into 1941. The Trapp family repetoire consisted of folk songs, madrigals, motets and classical chorales. Later, they began a tradition of annual Christmas concerts, and several of those carols are included in this collection. The recorder is a featured instrument on "Intrade, Sarabande and Gigue," a series of lively dances from the baroque era, and "Two Old Netherland Dances." The remaining twenty selections are a cappella and show that the Trapp Family was no novelty act. With the aid of their conductor and arranger Dr. Franz Wasner, their technique became consummately professional, their intonation and blend first-rate, and their performances confident and assured. Incomparable.

Songlist: Innsburck, Ich Muss Dich Lassen, Wohlauf ihr Lieben Gaste, Landsknechtstandchen, Feinslieb, Du Hast Mich gefangen/ tanzen und springen, Away In A Manger, Main Einigs A, Der Spate Abend, Two Old Netherland Dances, Il Bianco e Dolce Cigno, Zu Bethlehem Geboren, Die Martinsgans/ Ein Hennlein Weiss, God Rest Ye Merry, Gentelmen, Wach Auf, Wach Auf, Intrade, Sarabande & Gigue, Waldensnacht, Du Wunderkuhle, Eriskay Love Lilt, Come, Heavy Sleep, Lavanthal, Lavanthal/ Die Auglein Voll Wasser, In Einem Kuhlen Grunde, Vom Himmel Hoch, O Haupt Voll Blut und Wunden, Chorale, Guten Abend, Gut' Nacht, op. 41

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6503c | 1 CD | $7.95 | A Cappella Mixed Childrens Choirs


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