TRAPP FAMILY SINGERS
Maria Augusta von Trapp (née Kutschera; 26 January 1905 – 28 March 1987), also known as Baroness von Trapp, was the stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers. Their story served as the inspiration for the Broadway musical The Sound of Music (1959) and the 1965 film of the same name. After performing at a festival in 1935, they became a popular touring act. They experienced life under the Nazis after the annexation of Austria by Germany in March 1938. In September, the family left Austria and travelled to Italy, and then to the United States. Initially calling themselves the “Trapp Family Choir”, booking agent Frederick Christian Schang Americanized their repertoire and, following his suggestion, the group changed its name to the “Trapp Family Singers”. (More from Wikipedia)
In addition to Each One Heard in His Own Language, I can probably count the number of choral albums in my collection on one hand, though they include some of my all-time favorites. The album Little Drummer Boy by the Harry Simeone Chorale is one; this is where most people heard one of my favorite Christmas songs, “Little Drummer Boy” for the first time, though the song (originally called “Carol of the Drum” and written in 1941 by Katherine Kennicott Davis) had previously been recorded by the Trapp Family Singers. Then there is Christmas Hymns and Carols by the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Christmas album passed down from my parents that we always played while we decorated the Christmas tree. I finally got a second copy of the album for them – a reissue on Pickwick Records called Joy to the World – when I couldn’t bear the numerous skips any longer, though Mom and Dad still usually got out the old one.
(September 2014)
