Ernst Arfken

Ernst Arfken 2004

Ernst Arfken (born April 13, 1925 in Rotenburg an der Wümme , † January 27, 2006 in Hohnstedt , district of Northeim ) was a German church musician and Evangelical Lutheran theologian .

life and work

After his return from captivity, Ernst Arfken studied theology, philosophy and musicology. From 1956 he was pastor in Spiekeroog , in 1965 he became pastor of St. Jacobi Church in Göttingen . He wrote his dissertation in 1966 on the little organ book by Johann Sebastian Bach. Ernst Arfken was also a lecturer at Göttingen University .

He retired on May 1, 1987, but worked as an organist in the Corvinus Church in Göttingen until 1997. In addition, from 1990 to 1999 Arfken was a member of the SPD parliamentary group in the Göttingen city council. From 2002 he lived in Hohnstedt near Northeim .

Ernst Arfken composed, among other things, sacred songs, pieces of music, masses , an Advent oratorio and two symphonies . In the Evangelical Hymn book the song "Our Father, Father in Heaven" comes from him, for which he combined the text of the Lord's Prayer with a West Indian calypso melody (EG No. 188). He was a member of the lyricists and composers group TAKT .

Works (selection)

• Our Father, Father in Heaven (1958) EG No. 188
• Wees mi gnädig, Gott, wees mi gnädig (1983) Supplement 83 to the Lower Saxony EKG edition, No. 776
• Lobe den Herren ( Canon ) (1982; Text: Joachim Neander 1680) Supplement 83 to the Lower Saxony EKG edition, No. 744

Publications (selection)

• The Weimar Organ Booklet by Johann Sebastian Bach. 1966

Web links

• Works by and about Ernst Arfken in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ http://composers-classical-music.com/a/ArfkenErnst.htm
3. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/artist/3825670-Ernst-Arfken