Alp tradition
The shepherd children rehearse at the Loferer Alm
Four days in the alps
The first press conference for the Salzburg Advent Singing 2020 took place on the Loferer Alm on September 9th. Traditionally – for the 18th time to be precise – the Hiatamadln and Hiatabuam spent four days in Salzburg’s alpine world.
Thank you to the Soder-Bauers and their whole family
We have greatly appreciated their generous hospitality for 18 years and are very grateful to the whole family. Georg and Marianne Dürnberger run the magnificent Soderbauerngut farm in Lofer. The year 1655 is immortalized above the entrance to the farmhouse. How far back the history of the farm goes is a mystery. In any case, the farm has been in the Dürnberger family since 1685, for over 10 generations. This includes forest and alpine pasture land, a private hunt and the magnificent Soderkaser, which was rebuilt in 1997 after a fire and towers high above the Soderbauerngut on the Loferer Alm. The hard-working family with their children, children-in-law and grandchildren also run the Soderkaser restaurant on the Loferer-Alm, which is highly recommended for its delicious regional delicacies www.soderkaser.at
The piece
“Fear not!” can be traced back to the English messages and is not only present in the New Testament, but also in the Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible. There is almost no three-word quote that appears as often in the Hebrew Bible as the central message “Fear not!”. Together with Shane Woodborne, who created the musical composition, this year’s Salzburg Advent Singing focuses on Jewish life before the birth of Christ. Christ was Jewish and, in view of the resurgence of anti-Semitism today, the Salzburg Advent Singing is also trying to address this topic.
Our new shepherd children
This year 19 Hirtenkinder are playing, and we warmly welcome five new faces: Burkali Leonard (bassoon/Bergheim), Fernsebner Vinzent (double bass/Pinzgau), Mischkulnig Niklas (violin/Eugendorf), Singer Rebekka (clarinet/Flachgau) and Stöger Marie Juliane (clarinet/Lamprechtshausen). At the tender age of 7, Niklas is the youngest of the Hirtenkinder family.
Grown participants
Since 1983, Hellmut Hölzl (costume designer) has been an indispensable part of the Salzburg Advent Singing. This year he is trying to bring old Jewish elements into a newly imagined world. All the costumes tell their own story – quite simply and plainly.
Markus Helminger himself took part as Hiatabua in 1971 and has now been part of the team looking after the shepherd children as “shepherd father” for several decades. There were also many talents at the casting. “The five chosen ones fit in wonderfully with the play. Even the shepherd children, who have been with us for longer, get better every year.”
Gudrun Köhl-Korbuly has been looking after the shepherd children’s group for 20 years. “It’s a lovely atmosphere!” says Hans Köhl’s wife.
Simon Haitzmann, who has been involved in Advent singing since 2012, makes us happy with the musical rehearsals. “All the children have musical qualities. You can draw from the full range and it’s fun to work with them.”
Daniela Meschtscherjakov, who made her debut last year, says: “The whole team works wonderfully together, as if they have been a unit for years. The new ones are wonderfully received.”
