Siegfried Strohbach
Encyclopedia
Siegfried Strohbach is a German composer and conductor. He founded and directed choirs and the vocal ensemble Collegium Cantorum and is notable for the composition of choral music. He has retired as a conductor of major theaters of Lower Saxony
and as a professor of the Musikhochschule Hannover
, but as of 2011 is still active as a composer.
with a major in piano. He studied composition with its founder and director Kurt Thomas
. From 1946 to 1949 he continued his studies in composition and conducting with Thomas privately, and studied the piano with August Leopolder.
From 1947 to 1949 he worked as a Korrepetitor (coach) at the Oper Frankfurt. In 1949 he moved to Hanover
, where he studied singing with Paul Gümmer at the Landesmusikschule. As a choral conductor, he took under his wing several amateur choirs in and around Hanover. During this time he wrote his first successful compositions, including the premiere of his chamber opera Die Wette, and made initial contact with the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel. From 1951 to 1953 he was Kapellmeister
for plays at the Landestheater (now Staatstheater Hannover). In 1953 he founded the choir "Propsteichor Hannover" and also the "Collegium Cantorum", a semiprofessional ensemble which became known through concerts and broadcasts. He was to direct the group until 1982.
From 1953 to 1966 Strohbach was a music teacher at the gymnasium
St. Ursula in Hanover, but continued to work as a freelancer at the theater Landesbühne, which covers performances all over Lower Saxony, from 1951 to 1993. During that time he wrote incidental music for the stage, some 40 pieces. From 1966 he was lecturer in music theory at the Musikhochschule Hannover, where he was appointed professor in 1973, teaching until his retirement in 1994. Parallel to teaching, Strohbach was from 1967 to 1984 Kapellmeister of the Landesbühne and conducted opera and concert at the festival "Musik und Theater in Herrenhausen" in the Baroque Herrenhausen Gardens
, including works of Monteverdi
, Mozart
, and particularly Handel
.
In 1994 he was awarded the Niedersächsischer Kunstpreis (Art Prize of Lower Saxony).
performed his Galgenlieder on the poems of Christian Morgenstern
in Leipzig in 1996. They included the songs in 2001 in both their concert at the festival "a cappella" in Leipzig and their first CD insalata a cappella. The Windsbacher Knabenchor recorded his Gospel motet Jesus, der Retter im Seesturm (Jesus, the saviour in the storm on the lake, 1957), which appears on a portrait of boys' choirs in an anthology Musik in Deutschland 1950–2000 of the Deutscher Musikrat. In 2006 the choir recorded his Gospel motet Jesus heilt einen Gelähmten on a CD to celebrate 60 years. His cantata for Epiphany Der Stern aus Jakob (2005), performed by the Knabenchor Hannover conducted by Jörg Breiding, appears on a collection Glaubenslieder / Neue Kantaten zum Kirchenjahr (Songs of Faith / New cantatas for the liturgical year), together with cantatas of Gordon Kampe, Alfred Koerppen and others. It is characterized: "For example, Strohbach is the only one to explicitly integrate an “aria” into his composition. His cantata for Epiphany features a large-scale baritone solo as its third movement which is accompanied by the oboe in imitation. While, in this instance, Strohbach deliberately adheres to traditional forms of composition, the narrative sections of his work are dealt with freely: He renders them through recitation as well as through a finely coloured, grand a cappella motet."
In 2010 the Mädchenchor am Kölner Dom (girls' choir at the Cologne Cathedral
) celebrated their 21st anniversary with a service Kapitelsamt in the cathedral, singing his Missa Beatae Mariae Virginis. Strohbach composed a program for the annual Advent
concerts of the Knabenchor Hannover in 2011 in the Marktkirche
, Freuen sollen sich die Himmel (The heavens shall rejoice).
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
and as a professor of the Musikhochschule Hannover
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover
Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover is an artistic-scientific university in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany. It dates back to 1897. From 1962 until 2010 it was named Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover , short: Musikhochschule Hannover...
, but as of 2011 is still active as a composer.
Biography
Siegfried Strohbach began having piano lessons at the age of five. From 1939 to 1945 he was a student of the Musisches Gymnasium (High School with music as a main course) in FrankfurtFrankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
with a major in piano. He studied composition with its founder and director Kurt Thomas
Kurt Thomas (composer)
Kurt Thomas was a German composer, conductor and music educator.He was born in Tönning and died in Bad Oeynhausen....
. From 1946 to 1949 he continued his studies in composition and conducting with Thomas privately, and studied the piano with August Leopolder.
From 1947 to 1949 he worked as a Korrepetitor (coach) at the Oper Frankfurt. In 1949 he moved to Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, where he studied singing with Paul Gümmer at the Landesmusikschule. As a choral conductor, he took under his wing several amateur choirs in and around Hanover. During this time he wrote his first successful compositions, including the premiere of his chamber opera Die Wette, and made initial contact with the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel. From 1951 to 1953 he was Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
for plays at the Landestheater (now Staatstheater Hannover). In 1953 he founded the choir "Propsteichor Hannover" and also the "Collegium Cantorum", a semiprofessional ensemble which became known through concerts and broadcasts. He was to direct the group until 1982.
From 1953 to 1966 Strohbach was a music teacher at the gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
St. Ursula in Hanover, but continued to work as a freelancer at the theater Landesbühne, which covers performances all over Lower Saxony, from 1951 to 1993. During that time he wrote incidental music for the stage, some 40 pieces. From 1966 he was lecturer in music theory at the Musikhochschule Hannover, where he was appointed professor in 1973, teaching until his retirement in 1994. Parallel to teaching, Strohbach was from 1967 to 1984 Kapellmeister of the Landesbühne and conducted opera and concert at the festival "Musik und Theater in Herrenhausen" in the Baroque Herrenhausen Gardens
Herrenhausen Gardens
The Herrenhausen Gardens , located in Lower Saxony's capital of Hanover are made up of the Great Garden , the Berggarten, the Georgengarten and the Welfengarten. The gardens are a heritage of the Kings of Hanover.The Great Garden has always been one of the most distinguished baroque formal gardens...
, including works of Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
, Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, and particularly Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
.
Works and awards
Strohbach composed numerous sacred and secular choral works for a variety of ensembles, also chamber music, works for piano, songs, stage music, even Spanish folk music, among others. His works were published by Breitkopf and Härtel, Wiesbaden, Edition Ferrimontana, Frankfurt, Möseler Verlag, Wolfenbüttel, and Strube-Verlag, Munich.In 1994 he was awarded the Niedersächsischer Kunstpreis (Art Prize of Lower Saxony).
Selected works
- Denn der Herr ist nahe, symphonic cantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and large orchestra - Missa beatae Virginis, (MassMass (music)The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
of the Blessed Virgin) for soprano solo, female choir and organ - Johannes-Passion (Passion after JohnGospel of JohnThe Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
) for solo voice and mixed choir a cappella, Möseler 2001 - 6 Evangelien-Motetten (6 Gospel motetMotetIn classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s) for mixed choir a cappella - Großer Kalender (Great calendar) on texts by Fritz Graßhoff for male choir, piano and large orchestra
- Eichendorff-Serenade after Joseph von Eichendorff for mixed choir and three instruments
- Viva la musica, cantata for baritone solo, six-part mixed choir, strings and percussion, Möseler 1984
- Max & Moritz, cantata on Wilhelm BuschWilhelm BuschWilhelm Busch was an influential German caricaturist, painter, and poet who is famed for his satirical picture stories with rhymed texts....
's Max and MoritzMax and MoritzMax and Moritz is a German language illustrated story in verse. This highly inventive, blackly humorous tale, told entirely in rhymed couplets, was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 1865...
for mixed choir and piano - 5 Trinklieder (5 drinking songs) after old texts, for baritone solo, male choir and piano
- 5 Galgenlieder after Christian MorgensternChristian MorgensternChristian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on March 7, 1910...
for four-part male chorus a cappella - Tanz rüber - tanz nüber, Eine Rundreise mit europäischen Tanzliedern (A round trip with European dancing songs) for female choir, piano and percussion
- Der Stern aus Jakob (The star from Jacob), cantata for Epiphany, from the cantata cycle Auf dem Weg (In the way), for baritone solo, mixed choir, oboe and organ, Strube 2005
Performances and recordings
Strohbach's music has been performed by notable ensembles. The ensemble amarcordEnsemble amarcord
The ensemble amarcord is a German male classical vocal ensemble based in Leipzig, founded in 1992 by five former members of the Thomanerchor. Their focus is Medieval music, Renaissance music and the collaboration with contemporary composers.- Singers :...
performed his Galgenlieder on the poems of Christian Morgenstern
Christian Morgenstern
Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on March 7, 1910...
in Leipzig in 1996. They included the songs in 2001 in both their concert at the festival "a cappella" in Leipzig and their first CD insalata a cappella. The Windsbacher Knabenchor recorded his Gospel motet Jesus, der Retter im Seesturm (Jesus, the saviour in the storm on the lake, 1957), which appears on a portrait of boys' choirs in an anthology Musik in Deutschland 1950–2000 of the Deutscher Musikrat. In 2006 the choir recorded his Gospel motet Jesus heilt einen Gelähmten on a CD to celebrate 60 years. His cantata for Epiphany Der Stern aus Jakob (2005), performed by the Knabenchor Hannover conducted by Jörg Breiding, appears on a collection Glaubenslieder / Neue Kantaten zum Kirchenjahr (Songs of Faith / New cantatas for the liturgical year), together with cantatas of Gordon Kampe, Alfred Koerppen and others. It is characterized: "For example, Strohbach is the only one to explicitly integrate an “aria” into his composition. His cantata for Epiphany features a large-scale baritone solo as its third movement which is accompanied by the oboe in imitation. While, in this instance, Strohbach deliberately adheres to traditional forms of composition, the narrative sections of his work are dealt with freely: He renders them through recitation as well as through a finely coloured, grand a cappella motet."
In 2010 the Mädchenchor am Kölner Dom (girls' choir at the Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site...
) celebrated their 21st anniversary with a service Kapitelsamt in the cathedral, singing his Missa Beatae Mariae Virginis. Strohbach composed a program for the annual Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
concerts of the Knabenchor Hannover in 2011 in the Marktkirche
Marktkirche
The Marktkirche , officially Marktkirche S. Georgii et Jacobi, dedicated to St. George and St. James, is the main Lutheran church in Hanover. It was built in the 14th century and, together with the nearby Old Town Hall, is considered the southernmost example of the "North German brick gothic" ...
, Freuen sollen sich die Himmel (The heavens shall rejoice).
External links
- Siegfried Strohbach (*1929) Breitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
- Siegfried Strohbach Digitales Christian Morgenstern Archiv
- Siegfried Strohbach: Die Verklärung Jesu audio
- Siegfried Strohbach: Ave Maria - Wolfratshauser Kinderchor video