Berlin Singing Academy

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Berlin Singing Academy
Seat: Berlin / Germany
Founding: 1963
Genus: Singing Academy
Founder: Helmut Koch
Head : Achim Zimmermann
Voices : 40–90 (chamber choir, large choir) (SATB)
Website : http://www.berliner-singakademie.de/

The Berliner Singakademie belongs with currently nearly 90 active singers of the largest and most important amateur choirs in Berlin. Artistically and conceptually, it follows the tradition of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, founded in 1791 . The choir's repertoire includes works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods , classical , romantic and contemporary choral music of the 20th and 21st centuries ( new music ). The careful maintenance of the repertoire and world premieres of new works are part of their program. The focus of the work is the choral symphonies, but pure a cappella programs are also regularly performed. The Berliner Singakademie has been under the direction of Achim Zimmermann since mid-1989 . It consists of a large choir, from whose members a chamber choir and a madrigal cast are recruited.

history

founding

Cultural-political background

The Berliner Singakademie was founded in East Berlin in 1963 . The Sing-Akademie zu Berlin , which was based in the western part of the city, lost almost 100 members living in the east of the city when the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. However, it was able to be continued as a conductor by Mathieu Lange . Since in the GDR culture was raised to a state affair, which was assigned both domestic ("Art in socialism is art for socialism") and foreign-political function, choral music also experienced a political dimension (choir as community-building in the sense of socialism) to build up a “German socialist national culture” in the sense of socialist realism and in the tradition of Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, to which it was necessary to connect musically in the “right way”. There was an extreme increase in the number of lay ensembles established by mass organizations, e.g. B. had to join as a company ensemble The founding of singing academies was therefore the result of a general revival of artistic creation, but was also intended to form a kind of counterpoint with regard to their artistic orientation alongside the company ensembles. In the eastern part of Berlin, apart from the professional choirs ( Rundfunkchor Berlin , Chor der Staatsoper Berlin and Chor der Komische Oper Berlin ), there was no amateur choir that could maintain the tradition of choral symphonies, especially religious works (apart from church choirs) and represent the city.

Setting the course

Between 1954 and 1956, Hans Pischner was in charge of the main music department in the Ministry of Culture and from 1956 to 1963 he was Deputy of the Ministry of Culture. From this position it was possible to promote the foundation of the Berlin Singakademie. In 1962, for example, there was a consultation on "the formation of a singing academy". When Pischner moved to the "Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin" (today " Staatsoper Unter den Linden "), whose artistic director he was from 1963 to 1984, the foundation could be put on a financial and logistical basis by affiliation with the choir of the Staatsoper (rehearsal room , Orchestra for choral symphonic works). Furthermore, a common line of tradition between the Staatskapelle and Singakademie could be continued. The artistic director was Helmut Koch , who worked intensively for the development of a socialist music culture and who saw the founding of the Berliner Singakademie as an opportunity to realize his ideals and to create a pioneering role for the establishment of further singing academies. The thesis that the founding of the Berliner Singakademie goes back to the efforts of the Central Committee of the SED cannot be substantiated by anything, especially since the magistrate of East Berlin was rather negative about the creation of a Singakademie.

The Berlin Singakademie was founded

When the Berliner Singakademie was founded, great importance was attached to the performance of the choir. “Singing academies and philharmonic choirs are powerful collectives of the artistic folk creation. [...] Your activity must be secured in such a way that a continuous development of these sound bodies is guaranteed over the long term. ”Therefore, interested singers had to pass a musical entrance exam and take part in voice training and lessons in music theory and music history. In addition to the inclusion of outstanding amateur singers, the involvement of trained professional singers should serve as a guarantee for a musically high level.

“The Berlin Singakademie is founded. The Berliner Singakademie, which later became famous under Zelter and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and was made up of music-loving amateurs, was founded around 170 years ago. In April 1963, this traditional choir association, in whose activities Goethe once took an active part, was brought back to life. The director of the German State Opera, NPT [national prize winner] Hans Pischner has appointed Helmut Koch as artistic director of the NPT and Heinrich Moser as a further conductor. In addition to a cappella concerts, the Singakademie will mainly organize oratorio performances. All members of the Singakademie also have the opportunity to participate in the opera performances of the German State Opera. The members of the Singakademie receive free training or further development in the fields of singing, music theory and music history. Registrations to be sent to the Deutsche Staatsoper - Dramaturgie - [...]. ”About 300 interested parties followed the call, so that the selection process took a very long time and the official start of rehearsals was only in mid-September 1963 with about 200 singers between 25 and 30 years of age Times a week could be done. According to Pischner, the social structure reflected "all classes and professions, primarily young intelligentsia coming from the working class, employees, workers, students, pupils and members of the People's Army." The Berlin Singakademie was solemnly founded on September 22, 1963. The press coverage was great, in the eastern part of the city exuberant, in the western part negative. In 1964, Die Welt am Sonntag reported that the founding of the Berlin Singakademie served only as “cultural propaganda for the SED” and represented an existential threat to the West Berlin Sing-Akademie.

Helmut Koch 1963 to 1975

Even at the beginning there were state-required performances by the choir, but self-organized concerts already predominated. Since 1966 there have also been joint concerts with the “Berlin Symphony Orchestra” (today “ Konzerthausorchester ”) and the “Berlin Chamber Orchestra”. Notable conductors besides Koch and Moser are Kurt Sanderling , chief conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, and Heinz Rögner , conductor of the Staatskapelle. Furthermore, the Singakademie worked several times with Peter Gülke and Peter Schreier and Otmar Suitner (from 1964 chief conductor of the Staatskapelle).

The design of the repertoire largely depended on the tradition of the Zeltersche Singakademie (classics) as well as the new development of works by contemporary choirs, which in artistic terms included both choral symphonic works and a cappella literature. In the course of the Workers' Festival in 1965, two works were commissioned: Ruth Zechlin 's Shakespeare sonnets and Kurt Schwaen's Shakespeare scene.

Dietrich Knothe: 1975 to 1989

Dietrich Knothe took over the position of conductor from Heinrich Moser in February 1966 and, after Helmut Koch's death in 1975, he was director of the radio choir, which he held until 1989. Since Knothe had worked exclusively with professional ensembles for years, the work at the Berlin Singakademie was initially very difficult, as he worked with the Berliner Singakademie with the same intensity and rigor as the professional radio choir. So that the Singakademie could meet these demands, introductions to historical and compositional specifics were offered and the audition was retained, which Knothe repeated every two years "in order to be able to identify and correct possible signs of wear and tear." for 1972 only 115 members could be counted. One of the greatest difficulties in the Knothe era was the lack of a solid support for the choir. When it was founded in 1963, the Berlin Singing Academy was affiliated with the State Opera, which was retained until 1970. From 1970 to 1984 the choir was subordinated to the "Berliner Haus für Kulturarbeit" (BHfK), which, however, could not guarantee the choir a permanent collaboration with an orchestra. With the reopening of the Schauspielhaus am Gendarmenmarkt , today's concert hall, in 1984, the choir changed its sponsorship. Most of the concerts of the Berliner Singakademie take place here to this day.

Achim Zimmermann 1989 until today

Achim Zimmermann was already in contact with Dietrich Knothe in 1988, who had invited him to conduct the performance of Handel's Brockes Passion on March 31, 1988. In the course of the search for a successor for Knothe, Achim Zimmermann was elected as the new director by the large majority of the choir and the board of trustees of the Schauspielhaus after a test conduction of the Mozart Requiem . The handover from Knothe to Zimmermann took place on August 29, 1989 in the Weber-Saal of the Schauspielhaus. On November 19, 2004, Zimmermann was made an honorary member of the Singakademie on the occasion of his fifteen-year service anniversary.

Since the Berlin Wall fell a few months after taking office, it was Zimmermann's job to lead the choir into a reunited Germany with a much larger choral scene and increased competition. In 1991 Zimmermann founded an a cappella choir made up of members of the overall choir in order to be able to adequately perform a broader repertoire. Today this choir has around 40 members, from which a smaller madrigal line-up is composed, in contrast to the large choir with around 90 singers.

It has always been part of the Singakademie's tradition since 1791 to perform new contemporary works. Achim Zimmermann continues this tradition. He is very committed to performing works from the 20th and 21st centuries. These include concerts by Arthur Honegger's Le Roi David on October 4th, 1992, Une cantate de Noël on December 11th, 2005 and Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher on April 28th, 2006. Furthermore, Frank Martin's In Terra Pax (May 10, 1998), Heitor Villa-Lobos ' Choros No. 10 (October 8, 2000) and Alfred Schnittke's Requiem (February 19, 2002) for the performance and the commissioned work Medea in Korinthe by Georg Katzer (September 6, 2002) based on a libretto by Christa Wolf and Gerhard Wolff .

The Berliner Singakademie is institutionally funded by the State of Berlin. Each year the Senate decides on the eligibility of funding on the recommendation of a choir jury, which attends concerts with the individual choirs to get an idea of ​​the respective performance and program design. There is also a sponsoring association that supports the choir in artistic projects.

Concert tours

After the reunification of Germany, the choir had other opportunities to perform. In addition to concert tours within Germany, the Berliner Singakademie has traveled to numerous European countries, France , Spain , Great Britain , Italy , but also non-European countries such as Brazil , Israel , Japan , South Africa and South Korea .

Cooperations

The Berliner Singakademie regularly makes music together with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the orchestra or chamber orchestra of the Komische Oper and the Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach chamber orchestra. The Kammersymphonie Berlin and Concerto Brandenburg are also among the musical partners. Engagements are also carried out by the radio symphony orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic. Regular a cappella concerts are performed in cooperation with the Stadtmuseum Berlin in the Nikolaikirche Berlin . The choir is also a regular guest in the cities of Brandenburg. Large works that require a choir of well over 100 singers, such as the “grande messe” by Hector Berlioz, the “Requiem” by Giuseppe Verdi or the “Polish Requiem” by Penderecki, are regularly published as a joint project with the Berlin Philharmonic Choir .

Promotion of young talent

In order to promote young musicians, the choir announces a special prize every two years for the national singing competition. The winners will be given a concert with the choir.

literature

  • N. Sander, L. Klingberg et al. (Ed.): 50 Years of the Berlin Singing Academy . be.bra Verlag, Berlin 2013, ISBN 978-3-95410-023-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Carolin Denz: 50 Years of the Berlin Singing Academy 1963–2013. Master's thesis in musicology at the Humboldt University of Berlin, submitted in July 2012.
  2. ↑ Lars Klingberg: Politically firmly in our hands. Musical and musicological societies in the GDR. Documents and analyzes. (Music Sociology, Vol. 3). Bärenreiter, Kassel et al. 1997, p. 57.
  3. ↑ Julia Feurich: A community of singing idealists - The Dresden Philharmonic Choir. On the history of the GDR amateur choirs in the context of artistic folk creation. Master thesis. Free University of Berlin, 2006, p. 5.
  4. ↑ Quoted from Horst Irrgang: Literature and Repertoire. In: Siegfried Bimberg et al. (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Chorleitung. Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1981, p. 185.
  5. ↑ I would just like to mention the mass-effective function of singing in the Third Reich, which made it possible to “lead and seduce” the masses in a particularly intense way. Quoted from Hans-Jochen Gamm: Leadership and seduction. National Socialism Education. List, Munich 1964.
  6. ↑ Walter Ulbricht: About the development of a people-related socialist national culture. Speech at the second Bitterfeld Conference on April 25, 1964. Dietz, Berlin 1964, p. 5.
  7. ↑ Cf. Winfried Hoffmann: Twenty-five years of socialist singing movement. In: Forum Music in the GDR. (Workbooks, German Academy of the Arts in Berlin, Vol. 9). Part 2, Henschel, Berlin 1972, pp. 62 and 63.
  8. ^ Report of the Vice Director Knothe on the Berlin Singakademie, Federal Archives Branch Office Berlin-Lichterfelde Ministry of Culture, DR 1/234. Archive is abbreviated as: Bundesarchiv.
  9. ↑ notes, Berlin State Archive, magistrate of Berlin, Department of Culture, C Rep. 121/107.
  10. ^ Hans Pischner: Speech for the 20th anniversary. Archive of the Academy of Arts, Berlin, Hans-Pischner-Archiv, 814.
  11. ↑ Gottfried Eberle: Indivisible tradition. Two choirs celebrated the 200th anniversary of the foundation of the »Singe-Academie zu Berlin«. In: Neue Berlinische Musikzeitung. 2/1991; Regina Leistner: The Sing-Akademie through the ages - continuation of the report. With a big ceremony into the third century. In: Berliner Morgenpost. May 23, 1991.
  12. ↑ Tanya Lieske: Returned from the Bitterfelder Weg. Berlin Choirs: The Berliner Singakademie is an amateur choir with professional standards. In: Tagesspiegel. November 17, 1995
  13. ^ Eleonore Büning: There was a dispute. Zoffer's heirs have trouble: The Sing-Akademie zu Berlin and the Berliner Singakademie cannot come together. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. July 26, 2003.
  14. ↑ Re. Guideline for the development of the singing academies and philharmonic choirs in the GDR and for securing the material and financial basis of their work, SAPMO, No. 136 (1955).
  15. ↑ The Berlin Singakademie is re-established, BSA archive.
  16. ↑ In 1963, ten newspapers reported membership numbers.
  17. ^ Letter from the secretariat of the Berlin Singakademie on July 5, 1963, BSA archive.
  18. ^ Hans Pischner: Contribution to the discussion for the Bitterfeld Conference. On the topic of the Berliner Singakademie. Federal Archives, DR 1/8679, p. 1.
  19. ^ Letter from Werner Rackwitz to the Magistrate of Greater Berlin on October 10, 1963, Federal Archives, DR 1/232.
  20. ↑ Liesel Markowski: Maintain the old and show the new the way. The Berlin Singakademie is founded. In: Music and Society. 13 (1963), p. 375.
  21. ↑ Wrong notes from East Berlin. Competition for traditional Sing-Akademie. In: The world. May 3, 1963.
  22. ^ Friedrich Forrer: Singakademie is in danger. In: Die Welt am Sonntag. February 23, 1964.
  23. ↑ chorus order of Singakademie, Federal archive, DR 1/232, p.1.
  24. ↑ Helmut Koch: II. The repertoire of our choirs. In: Perspective plan of the choir and singing movement. Federal Archives, DR 1/234, p. 6.
  25. ^ Report of the Vice Director Knothe on the Berlin Singakademie, Federal Archives, DR 1/234.
  26. ↑ Martin G. Butter: Joy of singing, curiosity, discipline, and none of it comes by itself. In: grandstand. January 11, 1985.
  27. ↑ See report of the choir representatives of the Berliner Singakademie to the annual general meeting, archive of the BSA, p. 10.
  28. ↑ Ines Matschewski: A choir has an oratorio written for itself. “Medea in Corinth” - impressions of a work's creation. In: choir and concert. 1 (2003), pp. 28-30.
  29. ↑ Compose music responsibly. Thomas Otto in conversation with Georg Katzer about his choral oratorio 'Medea in Korinth'. In: Neue Musikzeitung. 51 (09/2002).
  30. ↑ Wolfgang Fuhrmann : You should sing, good woman. Today "Medea" by Georg Katzer will be premiered in the Konzerthaus. Christa and Gerhard Wolf wrote the libretto. In: Berliner Zeitung. September 6, 2002.