Cologne men's singing association

Cologne men's singing association
Seat:	Cologne / Germany
Founding:	1842
Genus:	Male choir
Head :	Bernhard Steiner
Voices :	180 (TB)
Website :	http://www.kmgv.de/

The Cologne Men's Singing Association ( KMGV for short ) is a Cologne- based men's choir . The association currently has around 600 members, around 180 of whom are active singers.

history

The association was founded on April 27, 1842. By royal cabinet order of June 13, 1857, the association became a legal entity as an “art institute for German male singing”. The association thus has the status of an association under the old law .

In the first year of its existence, the KMGV gave concerts in Augustusburg Castle in Brühl in front of Friedrich Wilhelm IV , his wife Elisabeth and numerous princes. The occasion was the laying of the foundation stone for the continued construction of Cologne Cathedral .

Thomas Braun, (1814–1906) One of the twelve founding members of the KMGV, painted by Ernest Slingeneyer (1874).

Johann Thomas Braun (* Kommern 1814; † Brussels 1906) is one of the twelve founders of the Cologne Men's Singing Association. Two other founding members, Messrs. Sturm and Pütz, were able to experience the fiftieth year of the association's existence with him and were officially received and praised on this occasion by the head of the city of Cologne in Gürzenich .

Under the motto “Always good through beauty”, the active members of the association raised almost one million euros for the construction and maintenance of Cologne Cathedral, as well as other funds for numerous charitable purposes.

In 1855 Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Of Prussia awarded the choir the great medal for art and economy. A large number of awards, including the "Kaiserkette" donated by Wilhelm II , rewarded the choir for its achievements.

Outstanding personalities of the musical life showed the association recognition and dedicated their own works to it. They include Johannes Brahms , Max Bruch , Charles Gounod , Franz Liszt , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy , Hans Pfitzner , Gioacchino Rossini , Friedrich Silcher , Richard Strauss and the Cologne composer Gerhard Jussenhoven .

The KMGV maintains the Wolkenburg , a historic baroque building in Cologne , as a clubhouse .

repertoire

In addition to sacred choral music, simple folk songs , larger, mostly oratorical and concertante choral works and opera choirs, the repertoire also includes many a cappella choir works.

One of the most recent productions is the Missa Dalmatica by Franz von Suppè , a mass in F major by Franz von Suppè for male choir ( tenor I / II and bass ), soloists (tenor I / II and bass) and organ .

Appearances

In its hometown, the association is a regular guest with its concerts in the Cologne Philharmonic and at representative celebrations.

Bernhard Steiner has been the musical director since 2001 .

Stage play group Cäcilia Wolkenburg

Cäcilia Wolkenburg is the name of the KMGV's stage play community. She gave her first performances in 1874 .

During the carnival season , the stage play group in the Cologne Opera House performs a divertissement , a very special kind of musical theater, which mostly depicts an event from the city's history or a model from classical literature in a comical, parodic way.

These amusing plays have two characteristics: They are spoken and sung in Kölsch only , and all roles, including those of women and ballet dancers, are performed by men. (Choreography: 1958–2007 Peter Schnitzler ; from 2008 to 2010 Athol Farmer; since 2011 Michaela Niederhagen). All players are laypeople.

The little divertissement has over 30,000 viewers every year and has been broadcast on WDR television for more than 25 years .

"Baas" (head) of the stage play community is the former Lord Mayor of Bonn Jürgen Nimptsch .

Photos from the 2006 Divertissement "Jangk zom Deuvel" (Go to the devil), a parody of Goethe's Faust I with reference to the 2006 World Cup and the tragic attempts of 1. FC Cologne to finally become German soccer champion again, including its president makes a pact with the devil: