Herbert Hess

Herbert Hess at the beginning of his stage career as a tenor, studio photo from around 1932

Kurt Herbert Hess (born June 16, 1908 in Frankfurt am Main ; † October 31, 1977 there ) was a German singer ( tenor ) and university lecturer .

Life

Youth and education

Herbert Hess received training in piano and singing from Dr. Hoch's Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main

Herbert Hess was born in the German Empire as the child of the merchant Leopold Hess and his wife Eugenie, nee. Wolf, born. He had three older siblings, Mathilde (* August 1, 1894; † February 5, 1957), Alfred (*?; † 1970), Richard (* October 10, 1896; † August 10, 1918) and a younger brother, Helmut (June 3, 1910 - January 30, 1972).

Herbert Hess' schooldays were largely shaped by the time of the First World War and the economic shortage of the post-war years, hyperinflation and the global economic crisis. The first hard turning point was the death of his older brother Richard, who fell in the last weeks of the war at the age of 21 in France near Fouquescourt on the Somme . Shortly afterwards, the father and breadwinner of the family died very early at the age of 54 (* December 16, 1863, † November 1, 1918). After elementary school, Hess attended the Klingerschule in Mauerstrasse in the north end of Frankfurt. The only daughter of the family, Mathilde, received her doctorate in 1924 and later, as a high school teacher at the Frankfurt Herderschule for German, Protestant religion and French, made a significant contribution to the preservation and well-being of the family. The youngest son Helmut was severely handicapped due to polio and used a wheelchair throughout his life.

After Herbert Hess' talent and vocal aptitude had been recognized, he received singing and piano training at the Hoch Conservatory in the era of Bernhard Sekles .

Professional and personal development

1930-1945

Photo (undated): Neues Theater Gotha , engagement of Herbert Hess around 1933; Building destroyed by fire after an explosion in 1945

At the beginning of 1930 the mother died (* August 2, 1870, † January 2, 1930) at the age of 59. Until about the mid-1930s Herbert Hess was then engaged on German theaters, for example, a commitment to the stages in Gotha around 1933. He met the contralto Marie Maurer (born June 23, 1907, † July 30, 1971) know and love; both married. At the time of his engagement in Gotha, the only son of Marie and Herbert Hess, Kurt Herbert , was born. The couple decided not to have any more children during the Nazi era .

The political situation during the time of the Third Reich had a direct impact on the family, NS agencies imposed occupational bans, in 1933 first for Herbert Hess' sister, Mathilde, the civil servant teacher. As a result, the children of the family suddenly became aware of the Jewish roots of their late father Leopold, as family life was Christian - Protestant-Lutheran.

The eldest son of the family, Alfred, got to know a Spanish woman through his commercial activity, married her and moved to Barcelona , where he called himself Alfredo Hess Wolf. However, between 1936 and 1939 they both fled the Spanish Civil War and spent this time in Frankfurt am Main before returning to Spain.

Stadttheater Teplitz-Schönau, the second largest theater in Czechoslovakia, at which Herbert Hess was engaged between 1935/36 and 1938

Herbert Hess sympathized with the opposition movement Confessing Church , in particular with the views of Dietrich Bonhoeffer , Helmut Gollwitzer and Martin Niemöller . From around 1935/36 onwards, Hess was no longer allowed to appear on German theaters, so he initially switched to the second largest theater in Czechoslovakia , after Teplitz-Schönau . After the Wehrmacht invaded the Sudetenland in early October 1938, this option was also taken away from him.

The beginning of his operatic career as a tenor, Herbert Hess was fundamentally destroyed by the Nazis as a "first degree Jewish half-breed" (with two Jewish grandparents on his father's side), as the professional ban lasted the normally important creative years of a singer. He was not drafted into the fighting force during the Second World War , but was nevertheless conscripted. He received artillery training in Erfurt until the Wehrmacht announced his status as a “first-degree Jewish half-breed” and was therefore dismissed from service. Hess found this humiliating and defamatory. During the further course of the war, Herbert Hess worked commercially as a representative for fine leather goods to secure his livelihood. He stored the samples in an attic of the rental house in Frankfurt's Nordend, where he lived with his family at the time. During nights of bombing and firestorms, he had to fight fires there. In the last phase of the war he was employed as an industrial worker and worked in Butzbach .

The rural relatives of his wife Marie, based in Wetterau in Upper Hesse, were an important help . They not only alleviated the worst nutritional bottlenecks during the rationing phase; During the bombing raids on Frankfurt am Main, it was also a relatively safe place of retreat for the young son.

1945–1973

In 1946, Hess was offered a contract by Südwestfunk (SWF) to appear for the station as a vocal interpreter or to participate in archive productions. During this phase, there was a tour around the Mediterranean, which was completed by cruise ship.

In the late 1940s he took part in recordings for Radio Frankfurt (later: Hessischer Rundfunk ). In the early 1950s, for example, he performed for the Bonn Bach Community in the Christmas Oratorio and St. John Passion under the direction of Gustav Classens . Finally, under the aegis of Kurt Thomas , he was able to perform very successfully with the Frankfurter Dreikönigs-Kantorei (later: Frankfurter Kantorei ) in concerts at home and abroad; a large number of recordings with Hess were made in the 1950s. He developed an intense inner connection to concertante church music.

In addition to Kurt Thomas, Hess worked artistically with Heinrich Bensing , Maud Cunitz , Diana Eustrati , Betina Feit-Brucker , Karl Friedrich , Rudolf Gonszar , Willy Hofmann , Gisela Litz , Jean Löhe , Christa Ludwig , Maria Madlen Madsen , Aage Poulsen , Otto by Rohr , Helge Rosvaenge , Heinrich Schlusnus , Erik Schumann , Frithjof Sentpaul , Else Tegetthoff , Günther Treptow , Elfride Trötschel or Helmut Walcha . He admired the artistic performance of Schlusnus and Walcha as well as that of Joseph Schmidt and Fritz Wunderlich .

" Christmas Story by Heinrich Schütz: The narrative, already allotted to a tenor, is beautifully declaimed by Herbert Hess and the other solists sing well. (...) St. John Passion: Here Herbert Hess's contribution is of quite outstanding excellence. It is a pleasure to hear the narrative sung as though by a story-teller who is excited and moved by what he has to tell, and not in the slow, hieratic manner so often adopted in English performances. "

- The Musical Times, May 1954

The son of Marie and Herbert Hess developed a strong affinity for jazz after the war, a fact that took some getting used to for the two parents, who loved classical singing as much as classical music. The death of his older sister Mathilde in 1957, who had given the entire family support and support for a long time, was a severe blow for Herbert Hess. His son married in 1958, his first child (grandson of Herbert Hess) died a few weeks after the birth.

After finishing his active tenure as a tenor, Herbert Hess taught until his retirement or retirement as a lecturer for vocal training at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts under the aegis of Philipp Mohler and at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz ; later he received the full professorship (today: C4 professorship). A collegial friendship linked him with the lecturer for vocal training at the Hoch Conservatory, Herbert Champain (actually: Herbert Czempin) and the lecturer for piano, music theory and organ music, Wilhelm Baither , from the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.

Herbert Hess took care of his wife Marie, who had been seriously ill for many years, and took over a large part of the household chores because of her multiple operations and the resulting physical weakness. His wife died in the summer of 1971 during a serious operation at the University Hospital in Frankfurt am Main at the age of 64. Herbert Hess would blame the treating physician, wanted for a medical malpractice proceed legally against this, however, refrained finally out after his social environment was strongly discouraged because of the associated psychological distress him. He could not get over the loss of his wife until his death.

For a period of 25 years after the death of his older sister Mathilde, he also looked after his severely disabled younger brother Helmut, who last lived in Mainz in a Catholic nursing home (Bruder-Konrad-Stift). He died in early 1972.

1973-1977

In 1973 Herbert Hess retired and retired. He remained closely connected to classical music and oratorios throughout his life, and his relationship to faith intensified with increasing age. He felt respect for contemporaries like Hans Söhnker because of their humane attitude during the Nazi dictatorship.

For his grandson, born in 1959, Herbert Hess stood in for his father and became his role model. As a small hobby he turned to philately in old age ; He had been active in slide photography with his Leica M2 since the late 1950s . In old age Hess liked to smoke a good cigar, but out of consideration for his wife and others, never in the car or in the apartment, and only one cigar a week, always for a Sunday walk.

In addition to a high degree of artistic-musical understanding, he is described as a human always correct, very reliable, subtle, highly sensitive, warm-hearted and extremely caring character who could enjoy high-quality, precisely crafted things. It was considered to be excellently organized both privately and professionally and was highly respected and admired by many.

He died unexpectedly of heart failure in the early morning of October 31, 1977 and was buried in the family grave of Frankfurt's main cemetery.

Herbert Hess lived for decades in the Frankfurt district of Nordend , from 1958 to 1962 in Mainz and finally for around a decade and a half in the Frankfurt district of Seckbach .

Herbert Hess's family is related to the actor Alfons Kloeble and his son, the actor, screenwriter and producer Til Erwig .

Radio

At Südwestfunk (SWF) and Radio Frankfurt (later: Hessischer Rundfunk) a large number of radio broadcasts and archive productions were made in the late 1940s and 1950s, in which Hess played a musical role.

Stays abroad

Musical tours have taken Herbert Hess to France, Italy and Spain, among others.

Awards

The record of Heinrich Schütz's Christmas history , made with the help of Herbert Hess from the Kantorei der Dreikönigskirche Frankfurt am Main with the Collegium musicum Wilhelm Isselmann under the direction of Kurt Thomas in Paris , was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque 1954 by the Charles Cros Academy .

Discography

• Numerous historical recordings from the late 1940s and 1950s
• Herbert Hess, tenor ("Heinrich the Schreiber") in: Richard Wagner : "Tannhäuser and the Singers' War on the Wartburg"; Performers: Choir and Symphony Orchestra of the Hessian Radio, conductor Kurt Schröder, 1949 - Preiser Records 2001, 4248927
• Herbert Hess, tenor (“Leonetto”) in: Franz von Suppé : “Boccaccio”; Performers: Choir and Orchestra of the Frankfurter Rundfunk, conductor Kurt Schröder, 1949 - Line Music DCD Cantus Classics 501292, June 2010
• Herbert Hess, tenor (“Ruiz”) in: Giuseppe Verdi : “The Troubadour”; Performed by: Choir and Orchestra of Frankfurter Rundfunks, conductor Winfried Zillig, April 1950 - MAT Music Theme Licensing CD, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-86735-612-1 .
• Herbert Hess, tenor (“Lauteric”) in: Jacques Offenbach : “Urlaub nach Zapfenstreich”; Operetta in one act. Libretto by Carmouche and Joseph Duveyrier; Performers: Choir and Orchestra of the Hessian Radio, conductor Kurt Schröder, 1950 and 1951 - Line Music DCD Cantus Classics 501485, 2011
• Herbert Hess, tenor (“Ruiz”) in: Giuseppe Verdi: “The Sicilian Vespers”; Opera in 5 acts. Performers: Choir and Orchestra of the Hessian Radio, conductor Kurt Schröder, 1951 - Line Music CD Cantus Classics 500341, 2003
• Herbert Hess, tenor (“Graf Bogumil”) in: Karl Millöcker : “Der Bettelstudenten”; Operetta in three acts. Libretto by Camillo Walzel and Richard Genée; Performers: Choir and Orchestra of the Hessian Radio, conductor Kurt Schröder, 1952 - Line Music Cantus Classics 501012, 2007
• Herbert Hess, tenor (“Don Alvar”) in: Giacomo Meyerbeer : “Die Afrikanerin”; Opera in 5 acts. Performers: Hessischer Rundfunk choir and orchestra, conductor Paul Schmitz, 1952 - Line Music CD Cantus Classics 500805, 2005
• Herbert Hess, tenor (“Desire”) in: Umberto Giordano : “Fedora”; Opera in three acts; Performers: Choir and Orchestra of the Hessian Radio, conductor Kurt Schröder, 1953 - Line Music CD Cantus Classics 500819, 2005

Individual evidence

1. ^ Mathilde Hess: Der Prosastil Rainer Maria Rilkes , inaugural dissertation, 201 pages, Frankfurt am Main
2. ^ Mathilde Hess: Der Prosastil Rainer Maria Rilkes , inaugural dissertation, 201 pages, Frankfurt am Main, presented on July 1, 1924
3. ^ Franz von Suppé: Boccaccio, Operetta, Frankfurter Rundfunk 1949
4. ^ Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser, Opera, Hessischer Rundfunk 1950
5. ^ Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser, Opera, Hessischer Rundfunk, 1950
6. ↑ Concert list of the Bonn Bach Association (PDF; 1.0 MB)
7. ↑ Kurt Thomas: Johann Sebastian Bach - Johannes Passion
8. ↑ Kurt Thomas: Heinrich Schütz - The Christmas story  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Fabian, Dorottya: Bach Performance Practice, 1945-1975: A Comprehensive Review of Sound Recordings and Literature, Ashgate Publishing Limited 2004, p. 275
10. ^ The Musician's Gramophone, by Dyneley Hussey. In: The Musical Times, Vol. 95, No. 1335, May 1954, p. 254 on: jstor.org
11. ↑ Achim Rück, Bass, vocal training with Herbert Hess at: kulturserver-nrw.de
12. ↑ The Hess family urn burial site, Frankfurt Main Cemetery, Gewann XIV, 578
13. ^ Evans, Joan - Hans Rosbaud: A Bio-Bibliography 1895–1962, Greenwood Press New York - Westport, Connecticut - London 1992, P189, T140
14. ↑ Our chantry in France and Spain, in: Gemeindeblatt der ev.-luth. Dreikönigsgemeinde Frankfurt am Main, No. 12, 2nd year, December 1953
15. ↑ Our choir in Italy and Sardinia, in: Gemeindeblatt der ev.-luth. Dreikönigsgemeinde Frankfurt am Main, No. 6, 3rd year, June 1954
16. ↑ Kurt Thomas 50 years old (last paragraph) on: kurtthomas.de