Mountain Finches Dresden

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Mountain Finches Dresden
Logos Bergfinken Dresden e. V. 1920-2020.png
Seat: Dresden / Germany
Founding: 1920
Genus: Male choir
Head : Ulrich Schlögel, Max Röber
Voices : 98 (TTBB)
Website : www.bergfinken.de

The Bergsteigerchor Bergfinken Dresden was founded in 1920. This makes it one of the oldest still active mountaineering choirs in Europe and Germany's oldest mountaineering choir. Currently (2020) the choir has 134 members, 98 of whom are active singers. The repertoire includes over 300 songs: in addition to traditional mountain, hiking and folk songs, works by classical composers and original compositions by choir directors and members.

The choir is one of the three choirs of the Saxon Mountaineering Association , alongside the Sebnitz mountaineering choir and the Saxon Switzerland men's choir .

history

Pentacon membership card

Singing as an expression of experiencing nature has long been a part of mountaineering or hiking. When the first Saxon mountaineering clubs emerged at the end of the 19th century with the development of climbing in Saxon Switzerland , the desire arose to sing well-known mountain songs with several voices. The Saxon Mountaineering Association, to which almost all mountaineering clubs belonged, founded a men's choir on August 30, 1920, the singing department of the Saxon Mountaineering Association , or the Gesa for short . The original intention was not to found a pure male choir, but only men responded to the SBB's call.

After the SBB became a branch of the German Alpine Club in 1938 and the designation of the singing department of the DAV branch of the Saxon Mountaineering Association was too cumbersome, the choir was soon called the Dresden Mountaineering Choir for short . Choir work and events continued despite the outbreak of war and declining membership. The last major concert was given in autumn 1943. Like all German associations, the choir was banned at the end of the Third Reich in 1945.

In December 1945 the choir was illegally revived under the name Windbergsänger , in 1947 it was approved as a singing rope team Bergfinken and in 1948 as the Dresden-Mitte men's choir (Bergfinken) by the City of Dresden's Cultural Office. The name "Bergfinken" made clear the connection between mountaineering and singing.

In 1953 the mountain finches were transferred to the trust company Ihagee-Kamerawerke AG i. V. Dresden (from 1969 VEB Kombinat Pentacon ), just as all existing folk art and cultural groups had to belong to large companies.

As part of the cultural policy of the GDR, the choir had to submit to the prevailing constraints in order to secure its existence. Program sequences of the concerts always required approval, song titles and lyrics had to be changed in some cases. For example, the historical greeting " Berg Heil " was not allowed to be used in song lyrics; instead it had to be called “Berg frei”. Nevertheless, the choir had a great attraction, which was shown among other things in 1952 in the highest membership strength of 170 singers with an average age of 35 years. Since then, the advertising slogan “Mountain finches sing” has been an established term.

After the political change in the GDR, the choir sponsorship in the Pentacon Ensemble ceased and on November 24, 1990 the choir was accepted into the re-established Saxon Mountaineering Association. On December 27, 1995 the choir was registered as a registered association under number 2825. The association is a member of the East Saxon Choir Association in the Saxon and German Choir Association .

Appearances

In addition to the spring, autumn and Christmas concerts (the latter for several years in the Annenkirche ), a variety of open concerts took place in Saxon Switzerland (e.g. initially at the Great Cathedral). The choir frames the annual mountaineering ceremony on the Sunday of the dead at the memorial stone on the summit of Hohe Liebe, as well as the traditional SBB solstice celebrations.

The mountain finches took part in events in the Dresden Kulturpalast (including the series of events Auf, auf zum Happy Hunting , moderated by Rolf Mäser ) 75 times in front of around 180,000 listeners.

In 1957, the choir had its first major appearance outside of Dresden in Munich. At the invitation of the German Himalaya Foundation, around 100 selected singers were able to accompany the lecture by George Band , the first to climb the Kangchenzöngas.

There are also joint performances by all four Saxon mountaineering choirs. B. 2016 for the 116th German Hiking Day or 2017 as part of the festival “Sandstone and Music” on the Rathen rock stage .

Over 80% of the mountain finches are active climbers and mountaineers. They tend to sing on the peaks after a successful ascent in a rope team or at the evening campfire.

Choirmaster

  1. Johannes Herrmann (1921–1923)
  2. Edgar Großmann (1923–1927)
  3. Kurt Kampf (1927–1945 and 1949–1961)
  4. Kurt Meyer (1945–1948)
  5. Wolfgang Wehmann (1962–2012)
  6. Ulrich Schlögel (since 1999)
  7. Max Röber (since 2016)

Sound carrier

The Bergfinken have released five albums so far:

  • "Mountain finches sing" (CD / MC 1993)
  • "Powder snow and summit wind" (CD / MC 1996)
  • "Christmas carols concert excerpts 1996–1999" (CD 2000)
  • "Let's go hiking - a musical hut evening" (CD 2005)
  • "100 Years of Mountain Finches" (CD 2020)

The CD from 2005 was released together with the Sachsenländer Blasmusikanten e. V. recorded.

The last CD appeared as a supplement to the book of the same name, which was written by members of the choir on the occasion of the 100th anniversary.

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ The well-known Saxon mountaineering choir Kurt Schlosser is not an SBB choir.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Contributors 2017 - Bergfinken Dresden. Retrieved October 15, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Here the mountain makes the music. In: Saxon newspaper . May 27, 2010, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  3. ^ Sächsischer Bergsteigerbund: Partners & Friends. Retrieved October 15, 2017 .
  4. ^ Chronicle - Bergfinken Dresden eV Accessed on October 11, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Four male choirs on one stage. In: Saxon newspaper . June 24, 2016, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Doppeljodler on the rock stage. In: Saxon newspaper . July 27, 2010, accessed April 22, 2020 .
  7. ^ Bergfinken Dresden eV Music Albums @ Online Music CD Database. Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Sachsenländer Blasmusikanten e. V. - Who are we? Retrieved October 18, 2017 .
  9. ↑ 100 years of mountain finches - the book on the choir. Retrieved March 30, 2020 .