Sølvguttene – Boys of Silver – was founded by Torstein Grythe in June, 1940. The choir had its first rehearsals in his apartment in Oslo, but were soon offered to rehearse in Norwegian Broadcasting’s (NRK) facilities. The thought was that the choir would be permanently linked to NRK, and the first radio performance was held in December 1940. Conditions during the German occupation soon made it impossible to continue the cooperation with NRK, and the choir was for the remainder of the war years managed by the founder/conductor. Sølvguttene got its name primarily because of the shiny, silvery uniforms that were acquired in the beginning (for lack of other, more subtle materials). Later the name has been attributed to the special sound and clarity of boys voices, voices of silver.
Sølvguttene – Norwegian Broadcasting Boys’ Choir – comprises
65 boys aged 8 to 15, and 25 adult male singers, all of whom have previously
been boy singers. Additionally, 25 boys aged 7-9 are training to be qualified
for the concert choir.
The choir will normally comprise around 60 singers
on international tours. Sølvguttene is widely recognized to be among the best
boys’ choirs in the world, with its emphasis on sound more than technical perfection.
NRK started its own boys’ choir in 1947, and Torstein Grythe was hired as conductor in 1951. The two choirs existed in parallel until the early 60’s, when a natural merge took place. In 1970 the choir won its class in BBC’s Let the People Sing contest.
Since then, the choir has been an extremely popular institution in Norway, with its many performances on radio and television, in addition to concerts all over the land. The choir has toured internationally, and has frequently visited other Scandinavian and central European countries. Sølvguttene has visited USA and the former Soviet Union on several occasions.
The choir has often been engaged to perform at official events, such as the closing ceremony of the Lillehammer Olympic Games in 1994 and concerts in Caen and Paris in 1994 arranged by the Norwegian State Department.
Sølvguttene has been invited to and performed in some of the most spectacular churches and concerts halls in Europe, among them Westminster Abbey in London, where Queen Sonja of Norway and Prince Edward were present (1996).
Sølvguttene supplied the Norwegian Opera with boy sopranos and altos, for instance in W.A. Mozart’s Magic Flute. The recordings of the choir have enjoyed unparalleled success, especially the album “Julenatt” (Christmas Eve) is a best seller.
The founder and conductor, Torstein Grythe, born 1918, has been officially recognized for his amazing contribution to society through Sølvguttene. He has been knighted by the King of Norway to the order of St. Olav, and awarded the Royal Medal of Merit (Gold) for his work.
The choir has a varied repertoir, although the focus has been and is on classical church choral music. One of Norway’s more prominent contemporary composers, Kjell Mørk Karlsen, has written a Missa Brevis especially for Sølvguttene, and Knut Nystedt has also composed music with Sølvguttene in mind.
The main challenge for a boys’ choir is recruitment of new singers to replace the ones that so suddenly lose their ability between the age of 13 and 16, when their voices normally change. Boys are recruited from all over the greater Oslo area, with some of the boys travelling up to 100 kms each way to participate in the twice weekly rehearsals.
A stable, good boys’ choir with the special sound that only boys can provide, is really quite a miracle. But it is this sound that makes people mesmerized again and again by the song ot Sølvguttene.
