Erich Seemann

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Erich Seemann (born January 15, 1888 in Stuttgart , † May 10, 1966 in Freiburg i. Br. ) Was a German philologist and folk song researcher .

Life

Seemann studied German, Nordic and Middle Latin in Munich and received his doctorate there in 1912 on a Middle High German subject. The Munich German studies scholar Hermann Paul was an influential supporter of a university career, but the First World War , among other things , steered Erich Seemann's life in a different direction. In 1926 he became John Meier's assistant at the German Folk Song Archive (DVA) in Freiburg i. Br., To whom he remained loyal for a lifetime. In 1951 the University of Freiburg appointed him honorary professor. From 1953 until his retirement he was Meier's successor and head of the DVA. With special language skills in North Germanic, Romance and Slavonic areas, Erich Seemann was a scientist with a distinctive international mind. One of his last suggestions was a volume of the Council of Europe, the comparative text anthology European Folk Ballads from 1967 (edited together with the Swedes Dag Strömbäck and Bengt R. Jonsson). His basic essay "The European People's Ballade" appeared posthumously in the Handbuch des Volksliedes , Volume 1, 1973.

Volume 9 (1964) of the yearbook for folk song research is designed as a commemorative publication for Erich Seemann and contains (compiled by Rolf Wilhelm Brednich ) pp. 171–180 Seemann's list of publications. Issue 3/4 of the Zeitschrift für Volkskunde 50 (1953) was dedicated to him on his 65th birthday. Seemann was, among other things, an employee of the dictionary of German superstitions (1927 ff.), Co-editor of the Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung (1928 ff.) And played a key role in the folk ballads edition of German folk songs with its melodies: Balladen (1935 ff.). His various song monographs on individual ballad types (in some cases more detailed in parallel publications in the yearbook for folk song research ) are still important contributions to folk song research, which is oriented towards cultural history and philology. A short description (by Jürgen Dittmar) can be found in the Badische Biographien , New Series, Volume 2, ed. by B. Ottnad, Stuttgart 1987, p. 256 f.

Seemann's first small publication was dated back to 1911. In 1920 he wrote briefly about a new Edda transmission; his interest in Old Norse and Scandinavia remained active even after his studies. But he wasn't just a “book person”. His folk songs in Swabia , published in 1929, are a standard collection of regional documentation. His publications on musical aspects of the song are also diverse. He provided his first collection of Swabian folk songs with guitar fingerings himself in 1923. - He remained particularly attached to Swabia; after the Second World War his edition appeared: Ludwig Uhland , Gedichte , Lahr 1949 [with detailed introduction and notes].

The article on "Newe Zeitung und Volkslied" (in the yearbook for folk song research 1932) continues to be part of the important literature of song pamphlet research (at that time highly modern because it was based on reception theory). From 1941 onwards he wrote about Slovenian songs and the tradition in the Gottschee. In doing so, he relegated the all too narrow and ideologically biased language island research to its limits by emphasizing - provocatively at the time - the connection, not the isolation, of the Gottscheer tradition to the southern Slavic surrounding area.

In terms of language, Erich Seemann was an autodidact who evidently easily acquired foreign languages. The many dictionaries, grammars and phrasebooks in his library are evidence of this. Many major works on linguistics can be found here that are usually reserved for public libraries. Seemann reviewed Greek works as a matter of course (1953 ff.), And in 1951 he wrote, for example, B. on German-Lithuanian folk song relations.

Works (selection)

  • Hugo von Trimberg and the fables of his racer: an investigation into the history of animal fables in the Middle Ages , Munich: Callwey 1923 (Munich Archive for Philology of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; 6), Teilw. zugl .: Munich, Univ., Diss.
  • Folk song . In: Deutsche Volkskunde: Quarterly publication of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Deutsche Volkskunde, 1926, pp. 263–304.
  • together with Harry Schewe: Friedrich Briegleb as a collector and arranger of Coburg folk songs . In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 1, 1928, pp. 1-79.
  • together with John Meier: Folksong recordings by the poet Annette von Droste-Hükshoff . In: Yearbook for Folksong Research, Vol. 1, 1928, pp. 79–118.
  • A prime example of the inaccuracies Boehmes in his German song library . In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 1, 1928, pp. 183-185.
  • together with John Meier: Kunstlieder im Volksliede: Verweis , In: Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung , Vol. 1, 1928, pp. 186-91.
  • The folk songs in Swabia, part: 2. Recorded from the mouth of the people , Stuttgart: Silberburg 1929 (Swabian folklore; 5).
  • Formation of variants in the lecture of the same singer . In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 2, 1930, pp. 74–82.
  • together with Karl Klier: Kunstlieder im Volksmunde: Evidence. In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 2, 1930, pp. 156–160.
  • Newe newspaper and folk song . In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 3, 1932, pp. 87–119.
  • together with Otto Stückrath: Kunstlieder im Volksmunde: Evidence. In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 3, 1932, pp. 174–177.
  • John Meier's services to the German folk song: A look back at the researcher's 70th birthday. In: The German folk song. Journal for his knowledge and care , vol. 36, 1934, no. 6, pp. 69–71.
  • 'Is all got', Seggt Bierlala. In: Folklore gifts. John Meier offered on his seventieth birthday , Berlin: de Gruyter 1934, pp. 187–198.
  • together with John Meier: The "Rheinbraut" and "Graf Friedrich": Examination of two folk ballads for their original motifs . In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 5, 1936, pp. 1-45.
  • The "Zekulo" ballad and the ballad of the "courtship": a study of two Gottscheer songs . In: Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung , Vol. 7, 1941, pp. 40–70.
  • The Slovenian kilt song . In: Anbinde: John Meier on his 85th birthday on June 14, 1949: presented by friends and colleagues from Basel and Freiburg , Lahr: Schauenburg 1949, pp. 131–167.
  • To the song circle about the "Homecoming Husband" . In: Contributions to linguistics and folklore: Festschrift for Ernst Ochs on his 60th birthday , Lahr: Schauenburg, pp. 168–179.
  • "Come a bird flew" as a Slavic children's dance . In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 8, 1951, 224–228.
  • German-Lithuanian folk song relations. In: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, Vol. 8, 1951, pp. 142–211.
  • John Meier in memory . In. Swiss Archives for Folklore , Vol. 49, 1953, pp. 212–218.
  • John Meier: 1864-1953; his life, research and work , Freiburg i.Br .: Schulz 1954 (Freiburg University Speeches; NF, 17).
  • Abduction under the dance: an unpublished Gottscheer ballad . In: Yearbook of the Austrian Volksliedwerk , vol. 6, 1957, pp. 175-184.
  • Ballad and Epic. In: Swiss Archives for Folklore , Vol. 51, 1955, Issue 3, pp. 147–183.
  • The figure of the warrior girl in European folk ballads . In: Rheinisches Jahrbuch für Volkskunde, Jg. 10, 1959, pp. 192–212.
  • The Gottscheer "Kate" ballad: a contribution to the songs of the "Meererin" . In: Rheinisches Jahrbuch für Volkskunde , Vol. 12, 1961, pp. 63–79.
  • Ed .: What children like to sing , Munich: Südwest-Verlag 1965.
  • Ed .: European folk ballads, Copenhagen: Rosenkilde & Bagger 1967 (European Folklore Series; 2).
  • The European folk ballad. In: Handbuch des Volksliedes , Vol. 1, Munich: Fink 1973, pp. 37–56.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hugo von Trimberg's Latin Works , Volume 1, The Solsequium. Edited by Erich Seemann, Munich 1914.
  2. ↑ Seemann, Erich - Strömbäck, Dag - Jonsson, Bengt R., ed. European Folk Ballads , Copenhagen 1967th
  3. ↑ Handbuch des Volksliedes , ed. by Rolf Wilhelm Brednich - Lutz Röhrich - Wolfgang Suppan, Volume 1, Munich 1973, pp. 37–56.
  4. ↑ Today a basic stock of the extensive specialist library in the folk music archive of the Upper Bavaria district ; see. Otto Holzapfel : List of songs. The older German-language popular song tradition . Online version (as of November 2018) on the homepage of the Volksmusikarchiv des Bezirks Oberbayern (in PDF format; further updates planned), see the Erich Seemann Library's own file with biography [shortened for this article] and library holdings.
personal data
SURNAME Sailor, Erich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German philologist and folk song researcher
DATE OF BIRTH January 15, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH May 10, 1966
Place of death Freiburg in Breisgau