Friedrich Blume (musicologist)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Friedrich Blume (born January 5, 1893 in Schlüchtern , Hessen , † November 22, 1975 ibid) was a German musicologist and university professor.

Life

Blume, the son of a tax inspector, studied medicine, then musicology, art history and philosophy at the universities of Munich , Leipzig and Berlin from 1911 to 1914 . After serving in the war and being a prisoner of war in England (from 1917), he continued his studies in Leipzig in 1919 and received his doctorate in 1921 with studies on the prehistory of the orchestra suite in the 15th and 16th centuries . From 1921 worked as an assistant flower Hermann Abert's at the University of Leipzig, from 1923 at the University of Berlin, where he joined in 1925 with the essay The monodic principle in the Protestant church music habilitation and lecturer was. After Abert's death he was acting head of the musicological institute from 1927 to 1929.

Blume belonged to the National Socialist League for German Culture and, after its dissolution in 1934, to the National Socialist cultural community. In 1934 he became a member of the Rotary Club , which was viewed as suspiciously as the Masonic lodges by leading Nazi cultural politicians . After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Blume was appointed a non-civil servant extraordinary (associate) professor and taught music history at the church music school in Berlin-Spandau until 1934 . When Fritz Stein changed direction in 1933, he also took over the position of professor at the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel from May 1, 1933 , to which he was finally appointed a year later and worked there until his retirement in 1958, from 1939 as full professor . In 1946/47 he was one of her first rectors in the post-war period . His academic students include a. Kurt Gudewill .

In 1935, Blume was appointed a member of the State Institute for German Music Research, which entrusted him in 1939 with the management of the Erbe deutscher Musik series and until 1944 with the publication of the magazine Deutsche Musikkultur . In 1942 he took over the chairmanship of the New Schütz Society .

Blume did not belong to the NSDAP . At the University of Kiel he had to work as a non-civil servant ao. Professor finance his position there every year through scholarships, for the receipt of which in 1938 recommended statements by the Kieler Nazi lecturer union leader Eggers and the dean of his faculty were required. After a restrictive introduction (“I hardly know him [Blume]”), Eggers referred in his recommendation to his deputy, Prof. Fiedler, who assessed Blume as “completely impeccable in terms of character and politics”. Eggers also noted that Blume was “neither a member of the NSDAP nor a member of a branch or an affiliated association of the NSDAP”. Nevertheless, he considers Blume's commitment as an active National Socialist in professional terms to be “likely”, but advocated a significantly lower grant than the Dean of the Philosophical Faculty, Prof. Weinhandl . In early 1939, Blume was appointed full professor. In 1941, the Berlin Nazi Lecturer Association prevented Blum's appointment to the university there - despite the vote of the appointment committee made up of professors from the Philosophical Faculty, who clearly favored Blume. The American musicologist Pamela Potter writes: "The objections of the Lecturer Association originally came either from the Rosenberg Office or the Ministry of Propaganda."

At the musicological conference in 1938 during the Reichsmusiktage , Blume gave a keynote address on “Music and Race”; the lecture first appeared in Die Musik under the title Music and Race. Basic questions of a musical race research , later as a book Das Rasseproblem in der Musik. Draft for a methodology of musicological race research . Fred K. Prieberg describes it as the “fact that Blume branded Nazi racial doctrine as unscientific.” The Nazi music experts Albrecht Dümling , Gisela Probst-Effah (University of Cologne), Eva Weissweiler and the French composer Amaury published similar assessments du Closel or the British musicologists Ernest Newman and Richard Freymann. The musicologist Michael Custodis, on the other hand, believes that Blume's writing ( The Racial Problem in Music ) "can be convicted as Nazi propaganda with just a few looks [...]". Pamela Potter speaks of Blume's “masterful handling of this question [music and race]”, which on the one hand earned him praise from the ranks of the National Socialist critics, but on the other hand “did not compel him to suppress the speech or its expanded version in the monograph after 1945 After the end of the war, The Race Problem in Music was placed on the list of literature to be discarded in the Soviet occupation zone , but not in western Germany, where it remained available in some large libraries. Against the background of biological, ideological, and also musicological attempts to prematurely infer race-specific characteristics from the person of the composer, tone systems, melodies, rhythms, and so on, Blume succinctly states in his writing: “Let’s say it openly that we’re talking about him Connections between music and race have no scientific knowledge for the time being ”and:“ Researching race in and of itself is a matter of biology, partly psychology. Researching music is a matter of musicology ”. Nonetheless, he says: “Like all intellectual activity, in the final analysis music goes back somehow to the racial composition of its wearers. That is a postulate that is based on our worldview. ”Therefore, he considers it necessary to first clarify methodological questions in his“ Draft for a methodology of musicological race research ”, and comes to the following results:“ A clear, elementary expression of the race is sound a music "; "Creativity, level of production and the ability to develop show the musical capabilities of the breed"; "A person's abilities for productive or reproductive musical activity depend on their racial disposition". This results in the following for him: "To this extent, music-biological research in the future will have the opportunity to work on the solution of racial problems" and "Within musicology, dealing with the racial problem must lead to a planned cooperation between all branches."

In 1939, Blume was commissioned to draw up an accountability report on the work of German musicology for the anthology German Sciences. Work and task to write a commemorative publication for the 50th birthday of the “Führer and Reich Chancellor”. At the very end of his three-page overview, he also addresses the “intricate questions about the connection between music and race” (Blume). He concludes his brief excursus on this subject with the following sentences: “Here the National Socialist orientation of music research sets the clear task of laying the ground on which the building of a musical race research can be built. Great successes have been achieved in a few years. Comprehensive work requires a longer start-up time. The planned work effort has been achieved, the focus is on new goals. "In 1944, in the 2nd edition of his book Das Rasseproblem in der Musik , Blume repeated his statement from 1939," that we have not yet scientifically proven anything about the connection between music and race Have knowledge ”.

In the document collection Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 (CD-ROM), first published in 2004 , Fred K. Prieberg published the following quote from a flower quote from a preface to the festival of Schleswig-Holstein's choirs in April 1939: “The men and women who went to the 'festival of the choirs of Schleswig-Holstein in Flensburg come together with the ethnic German choirs from the ceded areas not only want to demonstrate their artistic striving and ability, but also pay homage to the overarching and binding ideas of the German national community and the German state as a whole. They want to make a pledge of loyalty to the Führer and Reich, to the unity of blood and culture, and they want to dress it in the form of the highest state-building artistic power that we know: in the form of music. ”Prieberg, however, only pays lip service to these sentences and a few pages later in his manual explicitly declares that he does not consider Blume to be a "Nazi".

In Blum's 1947 denazification process , in which he was chaired by the legal scholar and former “fanatical proponent of the racial laws” (Süddeutsche Zeitung of May 9, 2012), and later Minister of the Interior of Schleswig-Holstein Hermann von Mangoldt in the Category V (“unencumbered”), Blume's writing The Racial Problem in Music was once again the subject of a brief controversy. After reading the book, the expert Hans Dunkelmann, who was commissioned with the final clarification of this matter, came to the conclusion: "The political race question or the Jewish question are not touched upon in the book, any Nazi ideology and phraseology are absent. I could portray it as a courageous act by Prof. Blume to have written this book in his way back then. "

In 1942, Blume took up the suggestion of Karl Vötterle , the founder of Bärenreiter-Verlag , for the encyclopedia The Music in Past and Present (MGG) and began preparing it in 1943 as its publisher. The lexicon appeared in 14 volumes between 1949 and 1968 under Blume's direction (the supplement volumes and a register volume were published by his daughter Ruth Blume from 1973-86). From 1947 to 1962, as President of the Society for Music Research, he was also instrumental in rebuilding German musicology. In 1948 he was elected to the presidium of the newly founded International Society for Musicology . From 1958 to 1961 he served as its president. He was also involved as an organizer in setting up the AIBM and RISM , as President of the International Heinrich Schütz Society and as Chairman of the Joseph Haydn Institute. He has received numerous honors and awards for his work.

Blume, a Protestant, was married and the father of four children.

Awards

Fonts

German music culture 1941 Titel.png

chronologically

  • Studies on the prehistory of the orchestral suite in the 15th and 16th centuries (dissertation, University of Leipzig 1921), Leipzig 1925.
  • The formal historical position of Mozart's piano concertos , Mozart Yearbook 1924, pp. 81–107.
  • The monodic principle in Protestant church music (habilitation thesis, University of Berlin 1925), Leipzig 1925.
  • An unknown violin sonata by JS Bach, in: Bach-Jahrbuch 25, 1928, pp. 96–118.
  • Max Bruch , in: German Biographical Yearbook, Volume 2: 1917–1920, Stuttgart 1928, pp. 505–509.
  • Hermann Abert and musicology , in: Festschrift for Hermann Abert , ed. by Friedrich Blume, Halle 1928, pp. 18–30.
  • Continuation and development , in: Yearbook 36 of the Peters Music Library, Leipzig 1929, pp. 51–71; Reprinted in Syntagma Musicologicum 1 , pp. 504-525.
  • Michael Praetorius Creuzburgensis , Wolfenbüttel / Berlin 1929.
  • Josquin des Prés , in: The dragon slayer. Kallmeyer-Verlag yearbook, Wolfenbüttel / Berlin 1929, pp. 52–69.
  • Heinrich Schütz in the spiritual currents of his time , in: Musik und Kirche 11/1930, pp. 245–254.
  • Joseph Haydn's artistic personality in his string quartets , in: Jahrbuch 38 der Musikbibliothek Peters, Leipzig 1931, pp. 24–48; Reprinted in Syntagma musicologicum 1 , pp. 526-551.
  • Protestant church music , Potsdam 1931; Reprinted by Laaber 1979.
  • Bach and Handel , in: Die Musikpflege 5, 1934/35, pp. 400–407.
  • Heinrich Schütz , in: The Great Germans, ed. by W. Andreas and Wilh. von Scholz, Vol. 1, Berlin 1935, pp. 627-643.
  • The work of Michael Praetorius , in: Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft 17, 1935, pp. 482–502.
  • Music and race. Basic questions of a musical race research , in: Die Musik XXX / 11, August 1938. S. 736–748.
  • Heritage and Order , in: Deutsche Musikkultur 4/1939
  • German musicology , in: German Sciences. Work and task. To the Fuehrer and Reich Chancellor on the 50th birthday , ed. by Bernhard Rust, Leipzig 1939, pp. 16-18.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Commemorative speech on the 150th anniversary of Mozart's death on December 5, 1941 , Wolfenbüttel / Berlin 1942; 2nd edition Wolfenbüttel 1948.
  • The racial problem in music - Draft for a methodology of musicological racial research . Wolfenbüttel: Kallmeyer 1939 and 1944.
  • The essence and development of German music , Kassel 1944
  • Lasso and Palestrina , in: Deutsche Musikkultur 9, 1944/45, pp. 31–45.
  • Johann Sebastian Bach in the course of history , Kassel et al. 1948.
  • Goethe and Music , Kassel 1948.
  • Memorandum on school music education , Bonn 1952.
  • What is music A lecture , Kassel 1959.
  • Outlines of a new Bach picture , Kassel 1962.
  • Renaissance and Baroque Music. A Comprehensive Survey , New York 1967.
  • The young Bach , Wolfenbüttel 1967.
  • Classic and Romantic Music. A Comprehensive Survey , New York 1970.
  • Syntagma musicologicum. Collected Speeches and Writings , Volume 1, ed. by Martin Ruhnke ; Volume 2, ed. by Anna Amalie Abert and Martin Ruhnke, Kassel 1963 (vol. 1) and 1973 (vol. 2).

Editing

  • The music in the past and present . General encyclopedia of music With the collaboration of numerous music researchers from the in- and Abroad. Kassel; Basel; Tours; London: Bear Rider. Volume 1–14: 1949 to 1968 (the editors of the supplement volumes and the register volume - 1973, 1979 and 1986 - had Blume's daughter Ruth Blume)
  • Complete edition of the works of Michael Praetorius (with Fritz Jöde and Georg Kallmeyer , 1927 to 1940, register 1960).
  • The choral work (1929–1938; 1956 ff. With K. Gudewill).
  • Collected writings and lectures by Hermann Abert , Halle 1929; Reprinted by Tutzing 1968.

literature

  • Thomas Phleps: A quiet, dogged and tenacious struggle for continuity - musicology in Nazi Germany and its past-political coping , in: Isolde v. Foerster et al. (Ed.), Music Research - National Socialism - Fascism , Mainz 2001, pp. 471–488. online Uni Giessen
  • Pamela M. Potter: Article by Friedrich Blume in the music dictionary The New Grove ; Oxford University Press, New York 2001.
  • Ludwig Finscher : Article by Friedrich Blume in the MGG 2 Musiklexikon , Kassel et al. 2000.
  • Anna Amalie Abert , Wilhelm Pfannkuch (Hrsg.): Festschrift Friedrich Blume for the 70th birthday . Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag 1963 (with bibliography of Blumes until 1963)
  • Isolde von Foerster, Christoph Hust, Christoph-Hellmut Mahling (Hrsg.): Music research. Fascism. National Socialism. Lectures at the Schloss Engers conference (March 8-11, 2000). Mainz: Are Musik Verlag 2001. ISBN 3924522065
  • Ralf Noltensmeier: Notes on musicology at the Christian-Albrechts-University between 1933 and 1945 , in: Hans-Werner Prahl (Ed.): Uni-Formierung des Geistes. University of Kiel under National Socialism , Vol. 1, Kiel: Malik Regional Verlag 1995, pp. 337–346. ISBN 3890299679

Web links

Wikisource: Friedrich Blume  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Fred K. Prieberg : Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, pp. 504–509.
  2. ↑ Pamela Potter: The most German of the arts. Musicology and Society from the Weimar Republic to the End of the Third Reich , Stuttgart 2000, p. 190; Eva Weissweiler: Ausgemerzt - The Lexicon of Jews in Music and its Murderous Consequences , Dittrich-Verlag, o. O. 1999, p. 26 f .; Flower files in the Berlin Federal Archives: R 4901/24251 (Sig. 5760).
  3. ↑ Rector's speeches (HKM)
  4. ↑ Univ. Kiel (PDF; 38 kB)
  5. ↑ Pamela Potter, Die deutscheste der Künste , Stuttgart 2000, p. 148; Burkhard Meischein: The first musicological chair in Germany , in: Rüdiger vom Bruch (Ed.): The Berlin University in the Nazi era. Volume II , Wiesbaden 2005, p. 166 ff.
  6. ↑ The Racial Problem in Music. Draft for a methodology of musicological race research , Kallmeyer Verlag, Wolfenbüttel / Berlin 1939 and 1944
  7. ↑ See Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933-1945 , CD-ROM Lexicon, Kiel 2004, p. 509; Albrecht Dümling: The suspicious saxophone - "Degenerate Music in the Nazi State" , Berlin 2007, p. 273; Gisela Probst-Effah: The influence of the National Socialist racial ideology on German folk song research , in: Günter Noll: Musical folk culture and political power , Essen 1994, p. 161 f .; Eva Weissweiler: Ausgemerzt - The Lexicon of Jews in Music and its Murderous Consequences , Dittrich-Verlag, o. O. 1999, p. 27; Amaury du Closel: Choked voices - “Degenerate Music in the Third Reich” , Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2010, p. 233 f .; on Newman and Freymann see Pamela Potter: Die deutscheste der Künste , Stuttgart 2000, p. 314 and 393
  8. ↑ Michael Custodis, in: Traditions - Coalitions - Visions. Wolfgang Steinecke and the international summer courses in Darmstadt , Saarbrücken 2010, p. 59
  9. ↑ Pamela Potter: Die deutscheste der Künste , Saarbrücken 2000, p. 232 f.
  10. ↑ http://www.polunbi.de/bibliothek/1946-nslit-b.html
  11. ↑ Friedrich Blume: Das Rasseproblem in der Musik , p. 4 of the 1st edition from 1939 a. P. 12 of the 2nd edition from 1944
  12. ↑ Friedrich Blume: Das Rassproblem in der Musik , p. 83 in 1st edition, p. 97 in 2nd edition.
  13. ↑ Friedrich Blume: The race problem in music , 1st edition, p. 3
  14. ↑ Friedrich Blume: Das Rasseproblem in der Musik , 1st edition, pp. 33, 63 and 82
  15. ↑ Friedrich Blume, Das Rassproblem in der Musik , 1st edition, pp. 84f.
  16. ^ Friedrich Blume, in: German Sciences. Work and Task , Leipzig 1939, p. 18
  17. ↑ Friedrich Blume: Das Rassproblem in der Musik , 2nd edition 1944, p. 12
  18. ↑ Ferd K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933-1945 , CD-ROM Kiel 2004, p. 505, with Prieberg's reference to the reprint of Blum's introductory words in the Zeitschrift für Musik , CV / 6, June 1938. p. 651
  19. ↑ Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-ROM 2004, p. 509
  20. ↑ Michael Custodis: Wolfgang Steinecke and the founding of the international summer courses , in: Traditions, Koalitäten, Visionen. Wolfgang Steinecke and the International Summer Courses in Darmstadt , ed. by the same on behalf of the International Music Institute Darmstadt (IMD), Saarbrücken 2010, pp. 56-60
personal data
SURNAME Blume, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musicologist and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH January 5, 1893
PLACE OF BIRTH Schluechtern , Hessen
DATE OF DEATH November 22, 1975
Place of death Schluechtern , Hessen