Bernd the Knight

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Bernd der Ritter (actually Bernd Ritter ; * July 7, 1943 in Erfurt ; † August 1, 2014 there ) was a German singer , composer and songwriter .

life and work

Bernd Ritter discovered his love for music at an early age and took lessons in guitar, trumpet and singing. Nevertheless, after attending the Gutenberg School in Erfurt and the EOS “Theo Neubauer Oberschule”, he began training at the Sundhausen Agricultural Boarding School near Gotha. Already there he founded his first band, with which he played at dance events inside and outside the boarding school. From 1962 to 1965 he studied agriculture at the agricultural college in Weimar. He then worked in agriculture for three years, but also took private lessons at the state music school and attended advanced courses in choral and instrumental music.

This was followed by a four-year study of music, specializing in dance and entertainment, at the Liszt School of Music Weimar , which he successfully completed with the state examination as a singer and certified vocal teacher with a teaching qualification for guitar. His teachers included well-known people such as Alo Koll .

While his agricultural activity, in addition to his own compositions, he was guided primarily by models such as Elvis Presley , Bill Haley , Fats Domino , James Dean or Peter Kraus , he now turned primarily to German folk songs. Many successful and labor-intensive years followed. Under the motto "Bernd the Knight comes and sings" he traveled across the country with horse, covered wagon and lute for years , sang at large and small celebrations. His appearances took him beyond the Thuringian borders. In 1987 he even toured the natural gas route in the Soviet Union. The traveling singer remained active into old age, where concert tours took him to Turkey.

In addition to interpreting a large part of German folk songs, Bernd der Ritter was also active as a composer. In doing so, he primarily addressed his hometown of Erfurt and Thuringia, but also his profession as a traveling singer. He set poems to music, e.g. B. by Karl Theodor von Dalberg , and composed the festival fanfare in 1991 for the ceremonial act for the 1250th anniversary of the city of Erfurt , which was broadcast on the ZDF Sunday concert in 1992 .

Selected Works

Publications

  • "Bernd the Knight comes and sings" (CD)
  • “Thuringia cantat / Thuringia sings. A song book ”, Erfurt, 1992. ISBN 978-3-86087-067-9 .

literature

  • Topp, Julius Jasper: Songs from the estate of "Bernd the Knight" published in: Thüringer Allgemeine, December 10, 2015

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ritter, Bernd der
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ritter, Bernd; Knight who (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German singer, composer and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH July 7, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Erfurt
DATE OF DEATH August 1, 2014
Place of death Erfurt