Girls to sing in Regensburg Cathedral choir after 1,000-year wait
AUGSBURG, Germany – The boys’ choir associated with the Regensburg Cathedral is breaking with a 1,000-year tradition to set up a separate girls’ choir.
“We are looking forward to welcoming girls to our school in future and providing them with our outstanding opportunities,” choir director Christian Heiss announced in the Bavarian city on Tuesday (15).
The school – at which the boys receive normal schooling as well as musical training – will start to take girls from the 2022/23 academic year.
The boys’ choir, world-famous as the Regensburger Domspatzen (Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows), will be retained in its current form. It is the world’s oldest boys’ choir and dates back to 975.
The announcement had been anticipated, as Heiss indicated a change almost two years ago on taking up his post.
But he stressed that the boys’ choir would not be changed. “The Regensburger Domspatzen will remain the choir of the cathedral as a boys’ choir,” he reiterated on Tuesday.
According to tradition, Bishop Wolfgang of Regensburg set up the cathedral school in 975. “The liturgical structuring of religious services in the cathedral were part of its pupils’ most important tasks,” is how the Regensburg bishopric describes the choir’s history.
-dpa