美国国家公共电台 NPR--A 1,000-year-old German boys choir is now accepting girls

A 1,000-year-old German boys choir¹ is now accepting girls

Transcript²

For the first time since its founding over 1,000 years ago, the Regensburg Cathedral choir and school has begun admitting girls. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Sept. 12, 2022.)

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

One of the oldest boys choirs³ in Europe recently began admitting girls for the first time since it was founded more than a thousand years ago. The choir is known as the Regensburg Domspatzen, or Cathedral Sparrows in English. And the decision to allow girls into the prestigious⁴ choir and school is part of an effort to leave behind a troubled history. NPR's Rob Schmitz brings us this story.

(CROSSTALK)

ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE⁵: The Cathedral Sparrows seem to be chirping⁶ all at once on their bus ride from their boarding school to a concert venue⁷ in their Bavarian hometown of Regensburg. The boys range from 8 years old to teenagers. They represent the Regensburg Cathedral, whose gothic spires⁸ have dominated the city's skyline since the year 700.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Vocalizing).

SCHMITZ: A few centuries later, this boys choir was established. And through the next thousand years, its members have sung the music of countless⁹ composers, each one's life going by in the relative blink of an eye, their work living on through these voices.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Singing in German).

SCHMITZ: On this evening, the choir sings music from Beethoven to celebrate the composer's 250th birthday.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Singing in German).

SCHMITZ: They're all dressed in navy suits, white shirts and ties. They're all holding books of sheet music in front of them. And, of course, they're all boys. That last part will change starting this week.

JOHANNES FERBER: (Through interpreter) I was quite surprised to hear they're letting girls into our school. I'm a bit skeptical¹⁰ as to how well the school will function with girls. We're so used to just being among boys.

SCHMITZ: Thirteen-year-old Johannes Ferber hasn't yet warmed up to the idea of choir girls taking classes alongside the choir boys. He and his friend Maximilian Steiner relax after a full day of classes in the choir's boarding school. Steiner, who's 15, feels better about admitting girls into the choir.

MAXIMILLIAN STEINER: (Through interpreter) I think it's a step in the right direction and is long overdue¹¹. My sister couldn't come to the school. Now it's too late for her.

SCHMITZ: The first female members of the Regensburg Domspatzen will attend school with the boys but will have a separate choir that will be under the direction of a female conductor.

CHRISTIAN¹² HEISS: (Through interpreter) Deciding to allow girls in was part of a long and broader decision-making process about the future of the choir.

SCHMITZ: Christian Heiss is the conductor of the boys choir.

HEISS: (Through interpreter) We made a lot of changes here in recent years. We rebuilt the school, modernized¹³ it, made it nicer. So then we asked, how do we want to use these new facilities? We came to the conclusion to allow girls to benefit from them as the boys do.

SCHMITZ: Heiss calls it a revolutionary step in the choir's thousand-year history. And it comes after what was a tough century for the choir.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHMITZ: Nuremberg, 1938, at an annual Nazi¹⁴ rally, Adolf Hitler addressed Germany's young people.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

ADOLF HITLER: (Speaking German).

SCHMITZ: The Regensburg Domspatzen sang at this rally. Hitler was a fan of the choir, friends with its director and gave regular donations to it.

MAGNUS MEIER: (Through interpreter) It was Hitler who made the choir what it is today.

SCHMITZ: Magnus Meier was a choir boy with the Domspatzen in the 1980s. He says Hitler used the Domspatzen as a propaganda tool for Nazi Germany. In the run-up to World War II, the choir toured internationally for the first time and sang secular¹⁵ songs. All of that ended at the conclusion of the second World War, but another period of darkness for the choir followed - decades of systemic, physical and sexual abuse. And as a young boy, Magnus Meier was one of hundreds of victims.

MEIER: (Through interpreter) The school director then, Johann Meier, was one of the worst. He'd been an officer in the war, and his punishment methods were similar to the sort Nazis¹⁶ carried out in camps. I truly believe if murder were not a crime, they would have killed us.

SCHMITZ: According to court documents, when Meier was a 10-year-old choir boy, he was regularly hit in the face by his school director. An investigation¹⁷ commissioned by the Catholic Diocese of Regensburg found that Meier was one of 547 Domspatzen choir boys who were subjected to physical and sexual abuse at the hands of priests and teachers at the boarding school from 1945 to 2015. The choir was run by Georg Ratzinger, elder brother of former Pope Benedict XVI, when most of the abuse occurred. Ratzinger denied knowing about it, and by the time the abuse came to light, most of the perpetrators had died. The church compensated¹⁸ victims like Meier with payments of around $30,000 each.

MEIER: (Through interpreter) As kids, we didn't know any better. It wasn't until later that I realized none of it was normal, and that's when I started to deal with the trauma¹⁹. That's the problem. We all thought we deserved it, that it was God's will. It's only now that I realize why I still struggle with certain things.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Singing in Greek).

SCHMITZ: While the Regensburg Domspatzen choir has moved on from the abuse scandal, Meier, now 50, still struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder²⁰ and borderline personality disorder. His settlement hasn't been enough to pay for the therapy he still requires, and he's filed several lawsuits²¹ over it.

MEIER: (Speaking German).

SCHMITZ: Meier says the decision to allow girls into the choir is a good one, and he says it's likely an effort to rebrand the choir and to try and leave the past behind. As for him, he says he'd never send a child to the choir.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Singing in Greek).

SCHMITZ: Back in Regensburg, choir director Christian Heiss says admitting girls to the choir has nothing to do with the abuse scandal. He says the choir can never sweep its past under the carpet. But the abuse happened in the previous century, the choir leadership has changed, and the church led a thorough investigation, listening to the victims.

HEISS: (Through interpreter) And this is now our job - to make sure it never happens again. It's a highly sensitive issue we take very seriously.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Singing in non-English language).

SCHMITZ: At the Domspatzen concert, audience member Sabine Schick says she's thrilled for the choir's future.

SABINE SCHICK: (Speaking German).

SCHMITZ: She says the choir is special and means a lot to the region. She says the abuse scandal was dreadful and shameful²², but she's trying to focus on the positive. Why not move forward with the girls choir after a thousand years, she asks. While she doesn't want to throw away old traditions, she says it's always good to venture on a new path.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Singing in non-English language).

SCHMITZ: Rob Schmitz, NPR News, Regensburg.

REGENSBURGER DOMSPATZEN: (Singing in non-English language).

1 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 choirs   

n.教堂的唱诗班( choir的名词复数 )；唱诗队；公开表演的合唱团；（教堂）唱经楼

参考例句：

• They ran the three churches to which they belonged, the clergy, the choirs and the parishioners. 她们管理着自己所属的那三家教堂、牧师、唱诗班和教区居民。 来自飘（部分）
• Since 1935, several village choirs skilled in this music have been created. 1935以来，数支熟练掌握这种音乐的乡村唱诗班相继建立起来。 来自互联网

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 chirping   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。
• The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。

7 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

8 spires   

n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her masts leveled with the spires of churches. 船的桅杆和教堂的塔尖一样高。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• White church spires lift above green valleys. 教堂的白色尖顶耸立在绿色山谷中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

10 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

11 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

12 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

13 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。

14 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

15 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

16 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

18 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

19 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

20 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

21 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

22 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。