Boys Music Bern
| Boys Music Bern | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Knabenmusik Bern |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Youth music, brass music |
| founding | 1898 |
| Website | Boys Music Bern |
| Founding members | |
Corp chief |
Bernhard Liechti (gunsmith) |
Musical director |
Julius Feller (wood turner) |
| Current occupation | |
| 13 drummers, around 50 harmony members | |
Music Director (Conductor Harmonie) |
Cornelius Wegelin |
Drum manager |
Remo Siegfried |
president |
Beat Gutzwiller |
The Knabenmusik Bern (KMB), formerly Knabenmusik der Stadt Bern , is the oldest youth music in the canton of Bern .
It was founded in 1898 and developed from a pure drummer and whistler corps to an expanded youth wind orchestra (girls and boys) with drum formation. In 2010 over 54 musicians play in harmony and 13 drummers form the drum group. Since 2008, the KMB has been working closely with the municipal music school Conservatory Bern in instrumental training. In the crescendo (the joint youth ensemble), the young musicians gain their first experiences in orchestral playing.
The Harmonie has been under the direction of music director Cornelius Wegelin since 2006, the drum formation under the direction of the drum director Remo Siegfried. The overall and register samples take place weekly. A music camp is held on the Lenk every spring .
History of origin
Various youth music corps emerged in the city of Bern in the 19th century, of which today's boys' music in the city of Bern was the only one that could continue. The Lorraine-Breitenrain boys' drummers and whistlers corps was officially founded in 1898. From this union emerged in 1931 today's harmony of boys' music in the city of Bern. However, various texts and sources show that a drummer-piper corps, a cadet and two boys 'music preceded the official establishment of today's boys' music in the city of Bern:
The Häfelinsche Knabenmusik (1st Bernese Knabenmusik)
In the city of Bern, the training of young people to play wind in connection with official military music, the so-called garrison music, was promoted. In 1824 a music school was founded, which was solely responsible for the military musicians of the future. On July 29, 1826, the Bern War Council approved the regulations for the "Cadet School of Garrison Music". However, this institute did not seem to have developed as expected. After 1832 this garrison music is no longer mentioned. From 1828 Johann Häfelin worked as a cavalry trumpeter instructor in Bern. Häfelin emerged from boys' music in Sumiswald and must have been a very capable and talented wind player. In 1830 he founded a boys' music company in Bern, which in 1832 had 55 young players. This militarily organized youth music corps could not last long. Trumpeter major Häfelin left Bern in 1837 after he had been appointed federal trumpeter major at the military school in Thun. In 1838, the Häfelin boys' music dissolved.
The Bernese Cadet Music
In files from 1862 there are references to a Bern youth music corps, to the Bern cadet music. The drum group practiced for a while on the Sunday afternoons on the Schützenmatte. The exercise in the open air was soon felt by the residents as "unbearable noise", so that the police commission was forced in June 1870 to recommend that the "management of the student corps of the canton school" hold the exercises elsewhere. The Kadettenmusik Bern was dissolved in 1918.
The Knabenmusik Bern (2nd Bern Boys Music)
Around 1850 there was a second Boys' Music in Bern. It consisted of a few whistlers and drummers (some adults). Among other things, they opened the solemnity parades at the commemoration of the 1798 battle in Neuenegg. Documents and newspaper reports from this period often indicated that the group faced many difficulties. In 1881, opponents of boy music appeared in the daily press. They spoke out against appearing in inns. In 1885 the municipal council banned drummers and whistlers from playing on public promenades. The main reason given was the negligence of the members in the school. A sustained request for permission to perform in Berns Gassen did not result in good decisions:
The board of directors of the boys' music had accepted the request that they would like to be allowed to give concerts on public promenades from time to time. This was rejected by the police commission, which cannot approve of the public performance of boys' music ...
In 1889, under the direction of Mr. Lampart, boys' music won the golden laurel at the Swiss Federal Music Festival in Lucerne as the only music association in Bern. Highs were followed by low blows. The circumstances why the conductor Jäcklin had to go to prison and why his successor Mr. Rauch “burned through” shortly afterwards are not known.
Decreasing discipline meant that the musical performance of the drummers and whistlers gradually deteriorated to such an extent that not even the Bern March could be played. In 1897 a newspaper article reported that the few musicians were only able to play " Rejoice in life " at a "pathetic funeral march" during a move .
The wish remained, however, to have parades opened by costumed boys and a pipe game. For this purpose, instruction in flute playing was planned. For recruitment, it was intended to take members from the still existing cadet music. This project failed and in the spring of 1898 a completely new group was founded, the Lorraine-Breitenrain boys' drummers and whistlers corps .
From the boys 'drummers and piper corps to the boys' music of the city of Bern
From June 13 to 14, 1931, the Knabenmusik Basel celebrated its 90th anniversary in 1841 . The Drummler and Pfeiferkorps of the city of Bern were invited to the celebrations in Basel. The "national newspaper" of Basel describes the appearance of the Bernese as follows:
A big surprise for us Baslers, who we always believe that only we drum properly, was the appearance of the boys' drumming corps of the city of Bern. The ten drummers, who, however, do not have such sonorous-sounding instruments as we know them in Basel, worked the calfskins with great skill and precision. The playing of the piper corps, made up of piccolos, flutes, clarinets and bassoons as well as english horns, was less enjoyable, in which the flutes unfortunately sounded almost half a tone higher than the clarinets.
The criticism from Basel regarding the composition of the corps led to rethinking the structure of the association. An extraordinary general assembly was held on November 29, 1931. Item 3 of the agenda was the expansion into harmony music. This item on the agenda sparked a discussion about the meaning and purpose of harmony. Certain circles feared the loss of the well-tried, good principles of the drummers and whistlers and therefore proposed the establishment of an independent boys' music company. In addition, the financing of a harmony was questioned. The proponents could not agree with this. They had come to the conclusion that an expansion was necessary since the music trip to Basel - convinced beforehand of the achievements of the Knabenmusik Basel. In addition, the dissolution of the Bern Cadet Music in 1918 created a new need among the population to offer young people musical training on a brass instrument.
In the final vote, the expansion to harmony music was finally accepted. This on the condition that the drummers and piper corps should appear separately from the harmony formation. The corps was expanded to include the Drummler and Pfeiferkorps and Knabenmusik der Stadt Bern . The musical direction was taken over by Anton Meier. He directed both the Pfeiferkorps and the Harmonie, where he immediately introduced brass instruments .
Women in the KMB
Since January 1, 1986, girls have been able to choose any instrument. The name Knabenmusik der Stadt Bern was retained at the request of the active members. In addition, Sybille Leuthold was elected first captain of the KMB for 1988. The year was also marked by the 90th anniversary, which was celebrated on September 4th in the Kursaal Bern with an anniversary concert. In addition, the association invested in a partial re-instrumentation and re-unification. In several votes among the active members, the topic of name change was discussed again and again. But always with the same result: the active members refused to change the name due to the traditional background of this music. On February 24, 2009, Anne-Denise Weibel was elected by acclamation as the first honorary president of the Knabenmusik Bern. She was also the first female president in the history of KMB and was in office from 1999 to 2009.
Last name change
On March 29, 2003, at the same time as the christening of the current CD of the KMB, the Boys Music of the City of Bern was renamed Knabenmusik Bern . At the same time, the boy was removed from the KMB trademark and replaced by a modern, graphic three-cornered hat. The abbreviation KMB was retained.
Discography
As early as 1964, the Knabenmusik Bern, then under the direction of Fritz Siegfried, recorded the first record . Thirteen years later, the first live recording from the Kultur Casino Bern followed , at the suggestion of the conductor Paul Franz. It was Hugo Staudenmann who finally initiated the production of a third and final KMB record in 1986. From then on it became customary to record the annual concerts on tape cassettes. In 1997 the KMB went one step further in order to be able to keep up with the technology: On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the KMB, the association decided to produce the CD . In June 2002 the second CD was recorded under the direction of the conductor Max Schenk at the time. The CD was named " Sedona " on March 29, 2003 .