Günter Raphael

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Günter Raphael, photo portrait around 1926

Günter Raphael (born April 30, 1903 in Berlin , † October 19, 1960 in Herford ) was a German composer .

Life

Raphael's house in Meiningen

Günter Raphael was born the son of a cantor and organist and a violinist. The composer Albert Becker was one of his grandfathers.

Raphael began composing at the age of 10. From 1922 to 1925 he studied at the Berlin Music Academy (composition with Robert Kahn , piano with Max Trapp , organ with Walter Fischer , conducting with Rudolf Krasselt , and also with Arnold Ebel and Arnold Mendelssohn ). In 1925 he failed - as he later humorously reported - at the Kapellmeister exam because he did not know the meaning of bisbigliando ("whispering", an effect on the harp ).

In 1926, the then Thomaskantor Karl Straube appointed him to teach counterpoint and music theory at the Church Music Institute in Leipzig . Raphael's breakthrough as a composer came among other things with the world premiere of his 1st Symphony under Wilhelm Furtwängler in the Leipzig Gewandhaus (1926), and a few years later with the Requiem by Straube, again in the Gewandhaus Leipzig.

As a " half-Jew " according to National Socialist parlance, Raphael lost his position at the Church Music Institute in Leipzig in 1934. In the same year he married a student, the Danish pianist Pauline Jessen. She was a private music teacher in Meiningen , where they both moved. Two daughters were born eight years apart in Meiningen.

In 1939 Günter Raphael was banned from working ; his compositions were no longer published and boycotted. In 1940 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis during the war fitness test , which resulted in several operations and stays in a sanatorium. Kurt Hessenberg's father-in-law brought Hessenberg's former teacher to Bad Nauheim towards the end of the war and looked after him.

It was not until 1949 that Raphael received a permanent position at the Duisburg City Conservatory as a teacher of piano, theory, music history and composition. In 1956 he was offered the Thomaskantorat in Leipzig, which he refused - for health reasons, among other things (Karl Straube had already designated him as his successor in 1934, which was impossible at the time for political reasons).

From 1956 until his death in 1960 he taught at the State Music Academy in Cologne (professor from 1957), at the same time he also taught at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz .

In 1948 Günter Raphael was awarded the Thuringian Franz Liszt State Prize. After his death in 1968, the Leipzig University of Music made him an honorary senator.

At the request of his family, Raphael's remains were reburied from Cologne to Meiningen in the park cemetery there in 2005 . A street in Meiningen is named after him. In October 2010, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the composer's death, the Raphael Days Meiningen 2010 were held in Meiningen with performances of some of his works. In the same month the special exhibition Music was held in the Meiningen museums . She heals the wounds. Günter Raphael's Meininger Years opened by Christoph Gann.

student

His best-known student was Kurt Hessenberg, who studied with him from 1927 to 1931. Another well-known student of his is Volker David Kirchner .

plant

Raphael was a skilled, productive and versatile composer. His oeuvre includes around 300 compositions. 35 of them are written for orchestra (including 11 solo concerts), 86 for various chamber music ensembles, 29 for piano, 30 for organ, and 120 are vocal works (38 of which are for secular texts). Many of his works have been recorded by radio and performed at home and abroad. In addition to symphonic music and chamber music, the focus of his work was church music. In the latter area, its importance is comparable to that of Ernst Pepping .

Günter Raphael's musical language is distinctly contrapuntal and expressive, and in some works also related to jazz in terms of rhythm. Until the early 1930s he composed in a late or post-romantic style that was strongly influenced by Brahms and Reger . During the period when he was banned from practicing his profession, he developed a "somewhat unique style" (Raphael), greatly expanding the tonality and also including elements of neoclassicism . This style occasionally touches that of Hindemith and Shostakovich from this period. In his late work there was an approach to twelve-tone music (which he himself called "tonal twelve-tone").

Compositions (selection list)

Publishers: Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis / USA (APH); SMV & Bärenreiter (B); Breitkopf & Härtel (B&H); Carus (C); Music-Chantry Press, Ohio / USA (MCP); Edition Hofmeister (Hof); Merseburger Verlag (M); Edition Peters (P); Simrock (S); Stone graves (St); Tonger (T); Westerlund, Helsinki (W)

Orchestral works

Great symphonies

  • Symphony No. 1 in A minor, Op. 16, 1926 (B & H)
  • Symphony in E major (not numbered), 1929/30
  • Symphony No. 2 in B minor, op.34, 1932 (B & H)
  • Symphony in G minor (not numbered), 1935
  • Symphony in E flat (not numbered), 1939/40
  • Symphony No. 3 in F op. 60, 1942 (B)
  • Symphony in C major (not numbered), 1942/43
  • Symphony No. 4 in C op.62, 1947 (B & H)
  • Symphony No. 5 in B- flat op.75, 1952 (B & H)
  • Choral symphony "From the great wisdom" (based on Laotse ) op. 81, 1955/56

Small symphonies

  • Sinfonietta in G major , 1937/38
  • Sinfonia breve in D op.67, 1949 (B & H)

Concerts

  • Violin Concerto in C major op. 21, 1928 (B & H)
  • Chamber Concerto in D minor for violoncello and chamber orchestra op.24, 1929 (B & H)
  • Concerto for organ , 3 trumpets, 3 timpani and string orchestra op.57, 1936 (B)
  • Symphonic Fantasy for Concert Violin and String Orchestra op.59, 1940 (B)
  • Concertino in D for viola and small orchestra, 1941 (B & H)
  • Concertino for alto saxophone and small orchestra op.71, 1951 (B & H)
  • Concertino for flute and small orchestra op.82, 1956
  • 2nd violin concerto op.87, 1960 (B & H)

Further orchestral works

  • Theme, Variations and Rondo op.19, 1927 (B & H)
  • Variations on a Scottish Folk tune op. 23, 1928 (B & H)
  • Divertimento op.33 , 1932 (B & H)
  • Dance suite for small orchestra , 1934 (B&H)
  • Smetana Suite op.40 (based on dances by Bedřich Smetana ), 1937 (B&H)
  • Jabonah . Ballet suite after Mongolian tunes op.66, 1948 (B & H)
  • The four seasons . Four series of variations on folk songs for string and school orchestras op.77, 1953 (B & H)
  • Zoologica . Character Studies for Large Orchestra, Op. 83, 1958 (B & H)

Chamber music

  • Piano quintet in C sharp minor op.6, 1923 (B & H)
  • Clarinet Quintet in F major op.4, 1924 (S)
  • String Quintet in F sharp minor op.17, 1926 (B & H)
  • 4 string quartets: op.5 (1924, S), op.9 (1925, B & H), op.28 (1930, B & H), op.54 (1954, B)
  • Quartet for flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon op.61, 1945 (B)
  • Trio in C major for piano, violin, cello op.11, 1926 (P)
  • Trio-Suite in G for flute, violoncello and piano op.44, 1936 (B)
  • Trio in B flat major for flute, violin and viola op.48, 1940 (B)
  • Trio in F for 2 violins and viola op.49, 1941 (B-flat)
  • Sonatina for flute, viola and harp op. 65/1, 1948 (B & H)
  • Sonatina for violin, horn and bassoon op. 65/4, 1949 (B & H)
  • Trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano op.70, 1950 (B & H)
  • 3 sonatas for violin and piano: op.12/1 (1925, B & H), op.12/2 (1925, B & H), op.43 (1936, B)
  • Sonatina in B minor for violin and piano op.52, 1944 (B -flat )
  • Jabonah op.66a, arrangement of the orchestral work for violin and piano from 1951 (B&H)
  • Sonata in C major for violin and organ op.36, 1933 (B & H)
  • 2 sonatas for viola and piano: op. 46/5 (1925, B & H), op. 80 (1954, B & H)
  • 2 sonatas for violoncello and piano: op.14 (1925, B & H), op.50 (1943, B)
  • 3 pieces in C sharp minor for violoncello and piano , 1956 (B -flat )
  • Sonata in D minor for violoncello and organ , 1937 (C)
  • Sonata in E minor for flute and piano op.8, 1925 (B & H)
  • Duo (Canonical Suite) for 2 flutes op.47, 1944 (B)
  • Sonatina in 4 movements for 2 flutes , 1956 (Hof)
  • Duo in E flat major for clarinet and violin op. 47/6, 1941 (B)
  • Sonatina for clarinet and piano ("Duck Sonatina") op. 65/3, 1948 (B & H)
  • Sonata in B minor for oboe and piano op.32, 1931 (B & H)
  • Sonatina for oboe and harp (or piano or harpsichord) op. 65/2, 1947 (B & H)
  • Sonatina in modo lidico for oboe and organ , 1959 (M)
  • Divertimento for alto saxophone and piano op.74, 1952 (B & H)
  • Sonata for alto saxophone and piano , 1957 (T)
  • 46 duos for 2 violins: op. 47/1 (1940, B), dialogues (45 duets in 2 volumes, 1951 and 1957, P)
  • Duo in C minor for violin and viola op. 47/2, 1940 (B)
  • Duo in A minor for viola and violoncello op. 47/4, 1941 (B)
  • 2 sonatas for solo violin: op. 46/1 (1940, B) and op. 46/2 (1940, B)
  • 3 sonatas for solo viola: op.7 (1924, B & H), op.46 / 3 (1940, B), op.46 / 4 (1946, B)
  • 2 sonatas for solo cello: op. 46/5 (1925, B), op. 46/6 (1946, B)
  • 2 sonatas for flute solo: op. 46/7 (1944, B), op. 46/8 (1946, B)

Piano works

  • Little Sonata in E minor op. 2, 1922 (B & H)
  • 6 improvisations op.3, 1923 (St)
  • Romantic dance pictures (19 waltzes) for piano 4 hands op.10, 1923 (P)
  • Partita in D minor op.18, 1926 (B & H)
  • 2. Little Sonata in F major op.25, 1929 (B & H)
  • Dance suite (10 pieces) for piano 4 hands, 1933 (B & H)
  • Toccata for 2 pianos op.45, 1937 (B)
  • Sonata in A minor op.38 / no. 1, 1939 (B&H)
  • Sonata in E flat major op. 38 / no. 2, 1939 (B&H)
  • Sonatine giocosa in G op. 51 / No. 1, 1944 (B)
  • Sonatina seria in a op. 51 / no. 2, 1944 (B)
  • 28 Advent and Christmas carols in easy movements, 1948 (B)
  • Jabonah op.66b (arrangement of the orchestral work of the same name) for 2 pianos, 1951 (B & H)

Organ works

  • 5 chorale preludes op. 1, 1922 (B & H)
  • Partita on the chorale "Oh God, from Heaven see therein" op. 22/1, 1928 (B & H)
  • Fantasy in C minor op. 22/2, 1928 (B & H)
  • Prelude and Fugue in G major op. 22/3, 1930 (B & H)
  • Introduction and Chaconne in C sharp minor op. 27/1, 1930 (B & H)
  • Variations on the basso continuo of the Bach chorale "Through Adam's fall is verderbt" op. 27/2, 1931 (B & H)
  • Toccata in C minor op. 27/3, 1934 (B & H)
  • 12 organ chorals in 2 volumes op. 37, 1934/35 (B & H)
  • Fantasy and fugue on a Finnish chorale op. 41/1, 1939 (B&H)
  • Partita on a Finnish chorale op. 41/2, 1939 (B & H)
  • Passacaglia on a Finnish chorale op. 41/3, 1939 (B&H)
  • Toccata, Choral and Variations op.53, 1944 (B)
  • Fantasy on the chorale "Christ is my life" , 1945 (B&H)
  • 7 organ choirs on Finnish chorales op.42 , 1949 (W)
  • Sonata in F major op.68, 1949 (B & H)
  • Come, o come, thou quickening spirit , 1956 (APH)
  • Small partita " Lord Jesus Christ, turn to us " , 1958 (APH)

Vocal works

Worldly

  • Cantata based on texts by Goethe for soprano and bass solo, mixed Choir, trumpet, harpsichord and string orchestra, 1928 (B&H)
  • 15 folk song arrangements for the folk song book for young people , 1928 (P)
  • The love song. 32 old German love songs for gem. Choir, 1949 (B)
  • Palmström Sonata op. 69, for tenor solo, clarinet, violin, small. Drum, percussion bass and piano, 1950 (B&H)
  • 8 poems by Hermann Hesse op.72, for high voice and orchestra, 1951 (B & H)
  • 6 gallows songs based on poems by Christian Morgenstern op 75, for mixed Choir, 1953 (B & H)
  • Song of the Archangels. Prologue in Heaven from Goethe's “Faust” op. 79, for soprano, alto, baritone and 16 wind instruments / piano 1954 (B & H)
  • 10 male choirs op. 78, 1954 (B & H)
  • From the great wisdom (Laotse) op.81, choral symphony (see under symphonies), 1956
  • 10 canons based on texts by Goethe for 2–5 equal or acc. Voices, 1956 (B&H)
  • Ringelnatz six times in the three-part movement, Op. 85, miniatures for three. according to Chamber choir, 1959 (B & H)

Spiritually

  • 5 Marienlieder op.15, for 3st. Women's choir, 1925 (B & H)
  • Requiem op.20 for 4 solos, 2 mixed Choirs, large orchestra and organ, 1927/28 (B & H)
  • 3 sacred chants op. 31, for voice and piano / organ, 1928–1930 (B & H)
  • Te Deum op.26 for 3 solos (SAB), choir, orchestra and organ, 1930 (B & H)
  • Lullaby of Mary for gem. Choir, 2 violins and violoncello, 1930 (MCP)
  • Psalm 104 “Praise the Lord, my soul” op. 29 for 12st. according to Choir, 1931 (B & H)
  • From the Last Judgment op. 30/1 for 4–8st. according to Choir, 1931 (B & H)
  • “Preserve us, Lord, by your word” op. 30/2, chorale motet for 5st. according to Choir, 1932 (B & H)
  • The Temptation of Jesus op. 35, for 4–8 st. according to Choir, 1934 (B & H)
  • 3 motets op. 39 / 1–3 (for Christmas, Easter, Pentecost), 1935 (B&H)
  • Christ, the Son of God op. 63/1, for 7st. Choir, 1936 (B & H)
  • A cycle of 7 motets for equal and mixed Voices, 1938 (C)
  • Our Father , chorale cantata for gem. Choir, orchestra (and organ ad lib.), 1937 (B)
  • From right faith for 6st. according to Choir, 1937
  • “In the beginning was the word” op. 63/2, for 2 5st. according to Choirs, 1943 (B&H)
  • Triptych Maria for alto, flute, violin, viola and violoncello, 1943 (B)
  • Psalm 126 “When the Lord will redeem the captives of Zion” op. 56/1 for acc. Choir, 1945 (B)
  • From the Lamentations of Jeremiah op. 56/2 for 4–8st. according to Choir, 1945 (B)
  • 6 chorale motets op. 55, for equal and mixed Parts with obligatory flute, 1945 (B-flat)
  • “A ship is coming, loaded” for 2 3 hours. Boys Choirs, 1946 (P)
  • Hebrew letter “Remember also in the future” op. 63/3 for 4–12 st. according to Choir, 1946 (B & H)
  • The Resurrection of Jesus op. 63/4 for gem. Choir, 1946 (B & H)
  • Now we ask the Holy Spirit , chorale partita for acc. Choir, soprano and organ, 1947 (B & H)
  • The creed op. 64 (text: German and Latin) for 2 acc. Choirs a cappella or with accompan. of 6 wood and 6 wind instruments, 1948 (B&H)
  • 20 Advent and Christmas carol sets for gem. Choir, 1949 (B)
  • "Whoever increases himself" , motet for gem. Choir, 1950 (C)
  • 13 movements for the collection “Das Wochenlied” for gem. and same St., 1950 (B)
  • 12 Spuchmotets for gem. Choir, 1951 (B)
  • Sequence “Dies irae” op. 73, Chaconne for 2 gem. Choirs, 1951 (B&H)
  • "We are in the middle of life" for gem. Choir, 1952 (B)
  • Penitential Cantata for 3 solos, acc. Choir and Orchestra, 1952 (C)
  • Cantata according to the Holy Scriptures on the Sunday Judaica for baritone, 4 boys' voices, 4 acc. Voices and orchestra, 1955 (C)
  • In the middle of life , chorale partita for gem. Choir and Organ, 1957 (B) ´
  • "Sing to the Lord, a new song" for gem. Choir, 1957 (C)
  • Grant and peace gracious , chorale partita for 3st. Mixed choir and organ, 1957 (B)
  • What my God wants, that g'scheh always , chorale partita for gem. Chor and Oregl, 1957 (B)
  • 4 motets for gem. Choir, 1957/58 (APH)
  • Psalm 27 “The Lord is my light” for acc. Choir, 1958 (C)
  • Lord God, we all praise you , cantata for alto, baritone, acc. Choir, oboe, viola, violoncello and organ, 1958 (B&H)
  • 3 sacred concerts (for Advent, Passion and Pentecost) for soprano, alto, 2 recorders (or other melody instruments), 1959 (C)
  • Triptych on words of the Gospel of Thomas for gem. Choir, 1960 (B)

Documents

Letters from G. Raphael are in the holdings of the Leipzig music publisher CFPeters in the Leipzig State Archives . 10 composition autographs are kept in the Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library.

Discography

  • Günter Raphael. Advent and Christmas carol sets. Dresden Motettenchor , Matthias Jung ; Label Cantate (Klassik Center Kassel), 2003.
  • Günter Raphael. Symphonies 2-5 (as well as the choral symphony based on Laotse); Conductors: Celibidache, Gielen, Schmidt-Isserstedt, Altstaedt, Foremy. CPO, 2010.
  • Günter Raphael. Violin Concerto No. 2, Works for Violin. Performers: Max Rostal, Christine Raphael, Wolfgang Stockmeier and others CPO, 2010
  • Günter Raphael. Chamber music with clarinet. Performers: Dirk Schultheis & Telos Ensemble. telos music records, 2008.

literature

  • Matthias Herrmann (ed.): Explorations about Günter Raphael - man and composer. Kamprad, Altenburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-930550-70-8 ; ISBN 978-3-8288-3906-9 .
  • Matthias Herrmann:  Raphael, Günter. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 13 (Paladilhe - Ribera). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2005, ISBN 3-7618-1133-0  ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
  • Christoph Gann: “He wasn't even EMIGRANT! Ugh, devil! And then only half-u. not even sat. ”The composer Günter Raphael in the Nazi era. In: Helen Geyer, Maria Stolarzewicz (Ed.): Persecuted Musicians in National Socialist Thuringia. A search for clues. Böhlau Verlag, Vienna et al. 2020, pp. 109–163.
  • William D. Gudger, Erik Levi:  Raphael, Günter. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  • Fredrik Pachla: Günter Raphael. A composer's fate. Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2017. ISBN 978-3-95565-198-5 .
  • Thomas Schinköth: Music - the end of all illusions? Günter Raphael in the Nazi state. Volume 13 of the series Displaced Music. von Bockel, Hamburg 1996. 2nd edition 2010, ISBN 3-928770-65-9 .
  • About Raphael performances by the Dresden Kreuzchor. In: Matthias Herrmann (Hrsg.): Dresden Kreuzchor and contemporary choral music. World premieres between Richter and Kreile. Marburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-8288-3906-9 , pp. 59–61, 276–278, 299, 305, 307–309, 311 ( Schriften des Dresdner Kreuzchor, Vol. 2).
  • Elisabeth Schmiedeke: Günter Raphaels Choral Music. Attempt a critical evaluation. Merseburger, Kassel 1985.
  • Thomas Schinköth:  Raphael, Günter Albert Rudolf. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 21, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , p. 149 f. ( Digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Günter Raphael  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Calliope | Union catalog for archival and archive-like stocks and national documentation instrument for personal papers and autographs. Retrieved May 11, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Raphael, Günter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1903
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1960
Place of death Herford