Fritz Jeßler

Fritz Jeßler (born September 29, 1924 in Munich ; † June 5, 2015 there ) was a German pedagogue, composer, choir director and conductor.

Life

Fritz Jeßler was the son of a railway official. His mother brought his love for music along with him. After graduating from high school, he was drafted into military service. At the end of the war he was taken prisoner by the Soviets, from which he did not return until May 1949. This was followed by training for the teaching post at elementary schools in Straubing, and later special education at the University of Regensburg . After completing his training, he entered the school service. Until his retirement he worked as vice-principal of the Munich vocational training center for hearing and speech impaired people in the Upper Bavaria district .

As a teenager he began with his first compositions. During his professional training he came into contact with expellees from Eastern Europe. Since that time he has dedicated himself in a special way to the preservation of these songs. As a result, countless folk song arrangements and new compositions for choirs were created. In 1958 the first singing week took place at the Heiligenhof / Bad Kissingen , which he led continuously until the 51st Easter Singing Week in 2008. In 1962 he founded the Münchner Chorkreis, which had made a name for itself through numerous concert tours in other European countries and through numerous radio recordings, records and CD recordings. The series in the Bavarian Radio "Open Singing" and "Folk Song Singing" were co-designed by him for decades. Since 1963 he has been in charge of the “Advent Singing” at the Heiligenhof, which takes place every year over the first weekend in Advent. During this time alone, over 600 works were developed and published by Jeßler. A large number of the songs and choral movements, the cantatas and instrumental pieces can be found on sound carriers. He had a special friendship with Alexander Sydow, whose songs and works were published under the pseudonym Armin Greifenberg. This collaboration alone resulted in over 100 choral works, which in turn found dissemination as part of his choir work during the singing weeks at the Heiligenhof. From 1961 to 2004 he was the musical director of the 39 Arnsberg Singing Weeks of the Silesian Youth NRW. He has led numerous seminars and courses for choir directors and choir singers. Fritz Jeßler received numerous honors and awards for his artistic and music education work.

honors and awards

1967 Golden badge of honor of the Silesian Landsmannschaft
1967 Adalbert Stifter Medal of the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft
1968 Silver badge of honor of the DJO - German Youth in Europe
1968 Lodgman-von-Auen plaque
1981 Volkstumpreis of the Silesian Youth North Rhine-Westphalia
1981 Composition prize in the 1st composers competition of the Central Office for German Choral Singing in the World, Solingen
1983 East German Culture Prize of the DJO - German Youth in Europe
1983 Valentin Becker Composition Prize, Bad Brückenau
1985 Composition Prize from the Badischer Sängerbund and the Bund Deutscher Zupfmusiker
1986 Award of the Silesian Cross
1986 Composition Prize from the East German Cultural Council
1987 Composition Prize of the East German Cultural Council
1989 Composition Prize of the East German Cultural Council
1991 Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
1994 Composition Prize of the City of Dessau
1997 Gold Medal Grand Concours International of the Academie Internationale de Lutece
1999 Valentin Becker Composition Prize, Bad Brückenau

Works (selection)

The church choir - simply beautiful, 3- and 4-part mixed choral movements, motets, canons for the church year a cappella. Strube Verlag, Munich
Love appears in the world, Small Advent Cantata for mixed choir, flute or oboe, 3 violins and cello. Strube Verlag, Munich
So God loved the world, Passion Cantata for 3-part choir a cappella, Strube Verlag
Irish blessings for 3-part choir (SAM) or women's choir, Strube Verlag
Wondrous, holy night, three-part motet (SAM) at Christmas time, Strube Verlag
Arnsberger Chorbuch, Tonos Verlag
Now we light the candles, 121 song sets for 3-4 part choir a cappella, Tonos Verlag
Sonnenmusikant Easy movements for 3-part female choir to the songbook of the same name, Strube Verlag
Let's all go home Paraphrase on a Masurian Folk Song for 4 Horns, Trio Music Edition
Sparnecker Music for Wind Quartet, Trio Music Edition
Blutenburg Fanfare for 3 Trumpets and 3 Trombones, Trio Music Edition
Come here to the cribs 25 Christmas carols for 3 and 4-part mixed choir, Trio Music Edition
Happy Easter egg cantata for mixed Choir and instruments, Scholing-Verlag, Arno Musikverlag
Signum magnum apparuit Motet for 4-part mixed choir based on Revelation d. Johannes, Strube Verlag
4 love songs and other selected choral movements for mixed choir, AREA Musikverlag
Small register of sins, 8 choral movements for 4 voices. mixed choir, Tonos Verlag
Eichendorff cantata, for mixed Choir and instruments based on poems by J. von Eichendorff
My darling comes from afar, cantata for mixed Choir and instruments with folk songs from Silesia, Heimatwerk-Verlag
Down there in the valley, cantata for mixed Choir and instruments with folk songs from Bohemia and Moravia, Heimatwerk-Verlag
Winter has never been so bad, song cantata for mixed choir and instruments, Voggenreiter-Verlag
In the annual song cycle for gem. Choir and instruments, Voggenreiter-Verlag
Small Easter cantata, for gem. Choir and instruments based on texts by Rolf Nitsch (Sudetenland)
I announce a great joy to you, Christmas folk song cantata for mixed choir and instruments, Voggenreiter Verlag
O joy over joy, Christmas folk song cantata for mixed choir and instruments, Voggenreiter & Strube Verlag
Your light is in all things, sir, motets for mixed choir a cappella, Strube Verlag
Wind rose, songs, canons and choirs, Voggenreiter Verlag (1961)
The Time Has Arrived - Christmas New Year Songs (1970)
Heiligenhofer Singbuch, Volumes 1, 2 and 3 (1971–1977)
Rejoice in every country, Christmas song cantata for choir and instruments / plucked orchestra, Joachim-Trekel-Musikverlag
Stetes Walten, cycle for four-part male choir, Anton Böhm & Sohn
When We Sing, A Guide for Singing and Group Leaders (1960)
Stuttering as a technical speaking problem, treatment method based on breathing, voice and movement therapy, Bayr. Regional association for the welfare of the hearing and speech impaired eV branch office Lower Bavaria

Discography

Rejoice, Heaven, CD, choir pieces and alpine instrumentals at Christmas time
50 years of the Munich Choir Circle, 2 CD, folk song cantatas, choral songs, madrigals, wind music
Praise of the music, CD, cantatas and choral pieces for mixed choir
We want to start happy, CD, three cantatas for mixed choir and instruments
The Münchner Chorkreis sings, MC, Strube Verlag
In Dulci Jubilo, CD, Christmas singing with the Munich Choir Circle

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Jeßler, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German pedagogue, composer, choir director and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH	September 29, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH	Munich
DATE OF DEATH	5th June 2015
Place of death	Munich