Frank Steels

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Frank Stähle (born July 12, 1942 in Stuttgart ; † December 10, 2015 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a German church musician , high school teacher and choir director . From 1979 to 2007 he was director of the Dr. Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main.

Choirmaster

Frank Stähle was born in Stuttgart. He attended schools in Hamburg and Wiesbaden, where he graduated from high school in 1962. He studied church music in Frankfurt, including organ with Helmut Walcha , and graduated in 1966 with the A-exam. He worked as a church musician at the Marienstiftskirche in Lich and at the same time studied school music in Frankfurt, and later also German. From 1970 he was a church musician at the Luther Church in Wiesbaden. After the state examination he also worked as a high school teacher for music and German.

In 1977 he finished the office of cantor at the Luther Church and founded the Rheingauer Kantorei as a choir of the Evangelical Dean's Office Wiesbaden-Rheingau, in which the Evangelical Church Choir in Geisenheim combined with choristers from Wiesbaden. The task of the choir was to sing in church services in the region and to perform oratorio concerts . The main places for concerts were the Marktkirche in Wiesbaden and the Rheingau Cathedral in Geisenheim. The groups rehearsed separately and usually organized services and concerts together.

In 1978, Steels conducted Handel's Messiah in the Rheingau Cathedral and the Luther Church, and A German Requiem by Brahms in Geisenheim and the Marktkirche. In 1979 he directed Bach's St. Matthew Passion in St. Bonifatius , Wiesbaden and in Worms , in collaboration with the Wormser Kurrende. He performed Mendelssohn's Elias with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in Geisenheim and in the Marktkirche, with Erich Wenk in the title role. A reviewer for the FAZ wrote: “The balance of the sound did not live out monumentally, but allowed a wide range of colors and expressions, which benefited the expression. Declamation as well as rhythmic and dynamic structure resulted from text and sound in a highly sensitive manner. "

In 1980 he conducted the Geisenheim group in Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri in Geisenheim. He performed Honegger's King David in the Marktkirche, again with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the soloists Klesie Kelly and Claudia Eder as the young David and the witch of Endor , and Gerd Nienstedt as the narrator.

On June 13, 1981, Stähle conducted Bruckner's Mass in E minor for eight-part choir and wind instruments. On November 21, 1981, he led the choir in a performance in the Marktkirche of Bach's B minor Mass as part of the Fourth Wiesbaden Bach Weeks, which were organized by Martin Lutz . The critic Helmut Hampel of the Wiesbadener Kurier noticed the large choir with many young singers and described the tempos as "truly lively and fulfilled". He praised Stahles "precise, unexaggerated and marked by inner tension signing".

Dr. Hoch's Conservatory

The new building of the Dr. Hoch'schen Conservatory - Music Academy, opened in 2005

Steels was director of the Dr. Hoch Conservatory from 1979 to 2007. The traditional institute in Frankfurt dates back to 1878. Among the teachers were Clara Schumann , Engelbert Humperdinck , later Theodor W. Adorno and Paul Hindemith . Steels managed to re-establish the training of professional musicians. In 1981 the courses for singing, instruments, ballet and jazz were expanded to include preparatory classes for university studies. In 1982 a seminar for music criticism and comparative interpretation was established.

Stehle set up a choir and an orchestra again and performed an annual concert with them on the anniversary of the founder's birthday or death . In 1986 he rehearsed the groups for six months for concerts with Bach's cantata I want to wear the cross stick and Mozart's Requiem at four locations in the region, including the Luther Church, which celebrated its 75th anniversary with concerts by former cantors. One critic praised the fact that the good preparation formed an ensemble that was able to create an impressively tense atmosphere through strong dynamic contrasts. The critic of the FAZ noted the merit of establishing a personal relationship with their work in the executors, literally “enjoying the work”. On April 1, 2003, Stähle conducted the choir of Dr. Hoch Conservatory in Bach's motet Jesus, my joy . On October 9, 2003, on the occasion of the 129th anniversary of the donor's death, a concert took place in which he conducted Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine and his Mass de Requiem , with the vocal ensemble "Alta Musica", the choir of Dr. Hoch Conservatory and the organist Bernd Lechla.

From 1985, Dr. Hoch's Conservatory selects music teachers who have graduated with the state music teacher examination. In 1986 the conservatory moved into a new building in the center of Frankfurt, the Philanthropin , a former Jewish school. From 1995 onwards, a contract between the conservatory and the conservatory made it possible for students of the conservatory to continue their studies at the university. The conservatory received the status of a music academy in 2002. A new building that allows 1,000 students to study was opened in 2005.

In retirement in 2010, Stähle was a pillar of the organist's service in the Dreikönigsgemeinde Frankfurt. He died in Frankfurt and is buried in Wiesbaden. On October 5, 2016, the Conservatory held a memorial concert for him.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frank Steels . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 22, 2015, p. 63. Accessed January 1, 2016. 
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Silke Alves-Christe: Memory of Frank Stähle . Dreikoenigsgemeinde Frankfurt. 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 29, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / dreikoenigsgemeinde.ekhn.de
  3. ↑ Church musicians from 1881 , Marienstiftskirche Lich. Retrieved January 3, 2016. 
  4. ↑ a b c Rüdiger Werbeck: Tart coloring of the wind instruments / Mozart's Requiem at the end of the Luther Church anniversary . In: Wiesbadener Tagblatt , September 29, 1986. 
  5. ↑ a b c d e Archive Rheingau Kantorei . Rheingau Kantorei, Wiesbaden 1985.
  6. ↑ A prophet like a hammer / Mendelssohn's "Elias" in Wiesbaden . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , December 11, 1979. Retrieved September 30, 2016. 
  7. ↑ Arthur Honegger: King David . Market Church (Wiesbaden) , Wiesbaden 1980.
  8. ^ Johann Sebastian Bach: High Mass in B minor . Fourth Wiesbaden Bach Weeks , Wiesbaden November 21, 1981.
  9. ↑ a b Helmut Hampel: Alive and fulfilled / B minor Mass under Frank Stähle . In: Wiesbadener Kurier , November 23, 1981. 
  10. ↑ a b Ingo Negwer: Dr. Hoch's Conservatory since January Music Academy / Report from the ceremony for the award of the status of an academy . Online music magazine. February 6, 2002. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  11. ↑ a b c Festschrift 125 Years of the Dr. Hoch's Conservatory Frankfurt am Main . Foundation Dr. Hoch's Conservatory Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main 2003.
  12. ↑ a b The easy difficult Passion / Mozart's Requiem and Bach's Kreuzstabkantata in the Waldorf School . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , September 26, 1986, p. 50. 
  13. ↑ Bernd Lechla: Concerts 2003 with Bernd Lechla (selection) . Bernd Lechla. 2003. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
  14. ↑ Guido Holze: Dr. Hoch's Conservatory / A House in Major . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , March 13, 2005. Accessed January 4, 2016. 
  15. ^ Frank Stähle memorial concert . Dr. Hoch's Conservatory in Frankfurt. 2016. Retrieved September 30, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Steels, Frank
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German church musician and choir director
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH December 10, 2015
Place of death Frankfurt am Main