Erich Weinert Ensemble
The Erich Weinert Ensemble (EWE), named after the German writer Erich Weinert , was a professional artist ensemble of the East German NVA . It consisted of a male choir, a ballet, an orchestra, the cabaret Die Kneifzange , soloists, dramaturges, conductors, directors, choreographers as well as technical and organizational staff. The ensemble was based in Berlin-Biesdorf .
history
Foundation of a police ensemble in 1950 and continuation in the NVA until 1989
On July 15, 1950, a folk art ensemble was set up at the barracked people's police and handed over to them when the NVA was founded in 1956, whereby it was renamed the Erich-Weinert-Ensemble . The choir ensemble members received training from their own singing teachers at the “Hanns Eisler” University of Music in Berlin , which usually ended with a stage qualification examination .
The ensemble made a name for itself nationally and internationally through the diversity of its repertoire , the cultivation of the traditions of German folk songs and propaganda songs. National and international dance and light music complemented the musical repertoire. Tours led to the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union , among others . It appeared in NVA cultural centers, at festive events, press festivals and workers' festivals . The newly written texts came from Siegfried Berthold and Kurt Barthel . The music was created by the composer and conductor Kurt Greiner-Pol (1922–1978), who was also one of the ensemble's longstanding directors. Members included Horst Krüger , Ernst-Georg Schwill , Roland Neudert , Frank Schöbel , Hartmut Eichler . Many of these artists were later successful as soloists or band leaders.
The cabaret Die Kneifzange appeared from 1961 as a cabaret for the border troops of the GDR .
Continuation as a cultural unit of the Bundeswehr from 1989 to 1994
With the fall of 1989, the NVA artist ensemble was transferred to the Bundeswehr and was spun off on June 30, 1991 by resolution of the German Bundestag . The great-great-grandson of the composer Carl Maria von Weber , Hans-Jürgen Carl-Maria Freiherr von Weber, took over the patronage of the choir, which from now on called itself the Carl Maria von Weber Choir , but was still financed from the federal defense budget. Funding ran out in 1994.
Privatization as a Berlin male choir in 1995 and its dissolution in 2005
Under Andreas Wiedermann, head of the men's choir since 1983, fourteen former singers formed the Berlin vocal ensemble "Carl Maria von Weber" in 1995 and started as a private singing company. However, the money raised during the performances was not enough to keep the company going, so the vocal ensemble gave its last concert in 2002.
EWE discography
- Albums
- 1961: soldiers sing (EP; Eterna )
- 1965: Soldiers sing - Episode 2: When the sun rose (Eterna)
- 1967: When we walk side by side (Eterna)
- 1969: The linden trees are young (Eterna)
- 1975: Adopted in Warsaw - New songs of the National People's Army (Eterna)
- 1975 or 1976: Parade of the soldiers' song (Eterna)
- 1977: Boys from Moscow and Berlin (Eterna; with choir and orchestra of the ensemble of the Group of the Soviet Armed Forces in Germany )
- 1981: With the friend in a row - Parade of soldiers' songs (Eterna)
- 1984: Heimat, for you our song (Eterna)
- 1985: The Right of Peace - 30 Years of the National People's Army (Eterna)
- 2008: In the most beautiful meadow area - Old German songs (Barbarossa)
Song title of the EWE (selection)
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Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Cf. Matthias Rogg : Army of the People? The military and society in the GDR , p. 167
- ↑ Cf. Matthias Rogg: Army of the People? The military and society in the GDR , p. 167f.
- ^ Website of the vocal ensemble , accessed on November 18, 2009
- ^ Dietrich Peters: No battle song. From the NVA to the “Carl Maria von Weber Choir”. In: Opera & Dance. 04/2001
- ↑ The male choir is broke and is giving its last concert today. In: Berliner Morgenpost . August 28, 2002.