Aachen Cathedral Singing School
| Cathedral Singing School Aachen | |
|---|---|
|
|
| type of school | primary school |
| School number | 116191 |
| founding | 1961 |
| address |
Ritter-Chorus-Str. 1-4 |
| place | 52062 Aachen |
| country | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Country | Germany |
| Coordinates | 50 ° 46 '31 " N , 6 ° 5' 1" E |
| carrier | Cathedral chapter of the diocese of Aachen |
| Teachers | 14th |
| management | Irma Wüller |
| Website | www.domsingschule-aachen.de |
The Aachen Cathedral Singing School is a private Catholic primary school run by the cathedral chapter of the Aachen diocese . The school focuses on musical and religious education. The modern building is located on Katschhof between the cathedral and town hall .
history
The Cathedral Choir School in the tradition of since the time of Charlemagne existing Choralschola at Aachen Cathedral. This schola in the Kaiserpfalz , founded by Alkuin , was visited by numerous sons, daughters and other relatives of Charlemagne as well as children of the noblemen of the Frankish Empire . The students were instructed in the arts of the quadrivium and in the Holy Scriptures , but especially in mass singing according to the specifications of the Roman schola cantorum . As long as the clergy of the Münsterkirche lived together in a monastery according to the rules of St. Benedict of Nursia , this school was initially considered a monastery school , in 960 it was converted into a collegiate school and assumed an exceptional position among the medieval singing schools in Germany. The choristers also chorale or Vicarioli called, had their own clothes and wore as specified by the Council of Trent , the tonsure and a little cap or biretta . In addition to their general school education, their life in the choir house was strictly regulated with a meticulous agenda and they were trained for the regular mass liturgy as well as for special occasions such as coronation celebrations and celebrations of the Aachen Shrine Tour.
During the French period from 1795 to 1815, when Aachen was part of the Département de la Roer , the Choralenstift was closed in 1802, the goods and rents were confiscated by the state and the school and education house for choir students was given to the first vicar general after the establishment of the new diocese of Aachen Fonck handed over as an apartment. For more than 150 years there was no collegiate school in Aachen for church-political and financial reasons.
The cathedral singing school since 1960
It was only founded in 1960 on the initiative of the prelate and cathedral music director Rudolf Pohl as a cathedral singing school in the sponsorship of the cathedral chapter, initially as a school experiment with two entrance classes and expanded from 1969 to 1971 into a single, independent primary school . With effect from August 1, 1971, the Aachen Cathedral Chapter was officially approved by the Ministry of Culture of North Rhine-Westphalia to run the Cathedral Singing School as a private Catholic primary substitute school for boys. This marked the end of a development that began in 1959 with the construction of the new singing school building at Katschhof. Since 2000 the Domsingschule has been run as a full-time school and since 2008 as a two-tier primary school that is also accessible to girls.
The admission of new students requires a musical aptitude test. For boys and girls from the age of five, preschool courses for early musical education have been offered since 2001 in cooperation with the Aachen Music School . The expanded musical training at the school is particularly geared towards later participation in the Aachen Cathedral Choir and in cathedral music . In addition to the usual technical lessons following the guidelines for primary schools of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the focus of the Domsingschule is on music. In order to expand the musical talent of the students, individual instrumental lessons are offered and supported in cooperation with the city music school. If they are musically qualified, the pupils are required to participate in the Aachen Cathedral Choir and in the cathedral music at the end of school, usually during the fourth year of school. After the time when their voices broke , many students find their way back into the circle of the cathedral choir.
The cathedral singing school was directed by Gerhard Dünnwald until the summer of 2010, who himself gained his first experiences as a choir singer in the boys' choir of this elementary school and, after his time at the Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium and as a lecturer at the Gregoriushaus, found his way back to his musical roots. He was followed by Irma Wüller, previously deputy headmistress at GGS Schönforst in Aachen.
The cathedral choir and the cathedral singing school are supported by the Friends of Aachen Cathedral Music Association , which is responsible for looking after the students and singers, purchasing and maintaining the instruments, the various advertising measures and the preparation and accompaniment of the concert and vacation travel is responsible.
literature
- Christian Quix : chap. The chorale house. In: Historical-topographical description of the city of Aachen and its surroundings. Du Mont-Schauberg, Cologne & Aachen 1829 (reprint Aachen 1975), p. 41 ff. ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
Web links
- Cathedral Music Aachen. The experience of sound and space. Aachen Cathedral Chapter, accessed on March 13, 2016 .
- Cappella Carolina - 1200 years of choir school at the court of Charlemagne. Sinfonia Sacra - Society for the Promotion of Catholic Church Music, accessed on March 13, 2016 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Friends of Aachen Cathedral Music eV In: Cathedral Music Aachen. Aachen Cathedral Chapter, accessed on March 14, 2016 .