Heinrich Berger (musician)
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Heinrich August Wilhelm Berger , also Henry Berger and Henri Berger (born August 4, 1844 in Berlin , † October 14, 1929 in Honolulu ) was a German military musician and long-time conductor of the Royal Hawaiian Brass Band (Royal Hawaiian Band).
Life
Heinrich Berger grew up in Coswig (Anhalt) and after training as a military musician, served with the 2nd Guards Regiment on foot at Friedrichstrasse 107 in Berlin. In 1869 the Austrian frigate SMS “Donau”, which was on its way to East Asia as part of an economic expedition under the command of Anton von Petz , had to anchor in the port of Honolulu due to damage that occurred while crossing a typhoon . As a result of several open concerts by the military on-board band in the capital, the Hawaiians became enthusiastic about the Austrian and Prussian marching music. When the King of the Kingdom of Hawaii Kamehameha V. sent a written request to Europe in which he asked for a conductor, it reached the Prussian king. Wilhelm I sent Berger to Hawaii in 1872. Within a short time he formed the Royal Hawaiian Band, founded in 1836, into a recognized and popular ensemble. Some of the best and best known musicians in Hawaii were trained in the band and the trips to the mainland (1883, 1905, 1906) contributed to the spread of Hawaiian music. Berger remained her Kapellmeister until 1915.
He was on friendly terms with the royal family of the Kalākaua dynasty. He arranged many compositions by the musically gifted Queen Liliʻuokalani for the Royal Hawaiian Band . On August 4, 1881 King Kalākaua reported in a letter from Berlin to his sister, the regent Liliʻuokalani, during his world tour that he had met the mother and sister of Henry Berger and announced the transmission of a program, which Berger played on his return with the Royal Hawaiian Band was supposed to play.
Heinrich Berger's final resting place is in the cemetery of the Kawaiaha'o Church in Honolulu. The poet Robert Louis Stevenson also memorialized him in his novella The Bottle Goblin.
The Royal Hawaiian Band after the fall of the monarchy
The Royal Hawaiian Band persisted after the Queen's overthrow, although other symbols of the Hawai'i Kingdom were removed during the brief phase of the Hawai'i Republic, such as the bell tree , King David Kalākaua as a reminder of his visit to Berlin by Kaiser Wilhelm I. had been given.
The solemn annexation on August 12, 1898 was a particularly difficult moment for the Hawaiians in the chapel. With Heinrich Berger's permission, they left the ceremony prematurely.
Honolulu has been the bearer of the Royal Hawaiian Band since 1905 .
"Father of Hawaiian Music"
The conductor, composer and arranger Heinrich Berger was called "father of Hawaiian music" by Queen Liliʻuokalani. The melody originally composed by him as the Hymn of Kamehameha I. (1874) became the hymn of the kingdom in the words of David Kalākaua as "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻi" and is now the State Song of the state of Hawaiʻi.
In his compositions Berger combined Prussian, Austrian and Hawaiian traditions into a style of his own, which contributed much to his popularity. The recording of historical chants, his arrangements for Hawaiian music and their publication in print are an important part of Hawaii's musical history. The numerous traces of his work include, among other things, the expansion of musical education at the Kamehameha Schools (1893–1903) and the musical direction of the Honolulu Amateur Dramatic Club , which made outstanding contributions to the performance of operas. Berger was also the conductor of the later Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.
The memory of the Prussians has remained alive in Hawaii to the present day. A series of stamps in his honor was published on the 130th anniversary of Berger's arrival.
Works
Heinrich Berger's most famous compositions include:
- Hawaiʻi ponoʻī
- The Hula March
- Hilo March
- Kohala March
- Nuʻuanu Valley Polka
- Sweet Lei Lehua
Berger wrote the March Sweet Lei Lehua for his daughter Leilehua Berger Billam Walker, who died in 2001 at the age of 93.
literature
- Niklaus R. Schweizer: Hawaii and the German-speaking peoples. Lang: Bern, Frankfurt am Main, LasVegas 1982. ISBN 3-261-04848-4 .
- SE Solberg: Hawaiian Music, Poetry and Dance: Reflections on Protection, Preservation and Pride . In: Melus , Vol. 10, No. 1, Ethnic Literature and Music. (Spring, 1983), pp. 39-63.
- Patrick D. Hennessey; Bernhard Habla: Henry Berger: From Prussian Army Musician to "Father of Hawaiian Music," The Life and legacy of Hawaiʻi's bandmaster . Tutzing 2013, Alta musica; Vol. 30, ISBN 978-3-86296-056-9
Web links
- Karl Schmidt: A Coswig student overseas (continuation series)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jochen Wiegandt : Do you sing in Hamburg? From the Tüdelband to the Veermaster. 2nd Edition. Edel Books Verlag, Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-8419-0195-8 , p. 11
- ^ A b S. E. Solberg: Hawaiian Music, Poetry and Dance: Reflections on Protection, Preservation and Pride . In: MELUS , Vol. 10, No. 1, Ethnic Literature and Music. (Spring, 1983), pp. 39-63.
- ^ Grave memorial of Henri Berger
- ↑ cf. The Bottle Imp : "Thither he went, because he feared to be alone; and there, among happy faces, walked to and fro, and heard the tunes go up and down, and saw Berger beat the measure, and all the while he heard the flames crackle, and saw the red fire burning in the bottomless pit. "
- ↑ Janos Gereben: Hoʻokani hana keaka: a History of Opera in Hawaii
- ↑ 2002, June 2. 130th Anniversary of the Arrival of Captain Heinrich Berger in Hawaiʻi ( Memento from June 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Berger, Heinrich |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Berger, Henry; Berger, Henri; Berger, Heinrich August Wilhelm (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Kapellmeister, composer and arranger |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th August 1844 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 14, 1929 |
| Place of death | Honolulu |