Song manuscript Baer
The song manuscript Baer is a mixed German-French song manuscript, called “Recueil de poëmes et chants français et allemands. Chr. J. Baer, Strasbourg 1799–1805 “The original (in two larger parts, bound together from different“ booklets ”; the manuscripts themselves are now divided into four parts, here marked with Roman numerals) was sent to the German Folk Song Archive ( Deutsches Volksliedarchiv ; DVA) in Freiburg i. Br. 1994 and 1996 kindly handed over by Mr. Jean-Marie Ehret (Oberbruck near Masevaux in Sewental, Upper Alsace) for copying and processing. The investigation so far is limited to the German texts (DVA signatures HL 446 and HL 470). Further commentary (especially together with the French texts and in view of the regional context of the city of Strasbourg in the years after the French Revolution) would be desirable.
Several songs in Part IV, pp. 61 ff., Dated 1804, refer to the repertoire of a Masonic lodge . Heinrich Boos ( History of Freemasonry , Aarau 1906) points out that Strasbourg plays a special role in the history of Freemasons for various reasons. - So far, we are only insufficiently informed about Chrètien Jaques Baer's person in Strasbourg; according to the present song repertoire, Baer was evidently a Freemason. A reference to a Charles Baer (* 1793 in Strasbourg) as an "expert" [member of special rank] of the Strasbourg lodge, dated 1820, comes from the Freemasons library in Bayreuth. In the literature, Frédéric-Charles Baer (1719– 1797), Protestant pastor and professor of theology in Strasbourg - perhaps also a relative. - After a period of decline of the lodges in France from 1794 onwards, the two large French lodges merged in 1799, and the years up to 1804 were considered to be a time of reorganization and expansion. Emperor Napoleon placed several of his relatives in top positions at various lodges and at the Grand Lodge; in this respect it does not seem to be a coincidence that Baer's entries from Strasbourg are dated 1804. So they reflect current contemporary history at the time.
The other German song texts (all without melodies) belong to the usual repertoire of art songs that have become popular in those years. Nothing certain can be said about the entire scope of this collection; the original issues 1 and 3 are missing; Issue no. 2 is dated 1799 or marked with the 7th year of the revolution. Towards the end of the second part, a date “1813” appears. - In the first part, German and French lyrics alternate next to each other; the handwriting is prominently bilingual. The second part contains only French song texts, but this is followed at the end by German “thought sayings”.
If one looks at the German-speaking parts of these manuscripts as a whole, the following can be said (for the time being): Christianity is at the beginning (in the second part then Freemasonry with some evidence), but this has - so one could read out - a downright "revolutionary sound": “Jesus has commanded that we pray to fetch what is useful to us ...” (lyrics in Part I, p. 14). Otherwise it is general love poetry and the fashion song of the time before 1789 with thoroughly bourgeois tones. There are even some very modern songs among them (including some early or first copies of song texts). From "revolutionary confusion" u. there is not much to be felt here: “Friend, you live happily ever after, nothing disturbs your peace of mind; if real happiness is bestowed on mortals, you will get plenty of it ... ”(lyrics in Part II, p. 94). Is that a reflection of reality or a stylized retreat into the idyll? Under the “thought sayings” in Part III, dated 1801, p. 14 there is the note “Do not exchange your days of freedom for the chains of love ...”. But this “freedom” obviously relates to marriage bonds, not to the political situation.
supporting documents
- ^ Otto Holzapfel : List of songs. The older German-language popular song tradition . Online version (as of November 2018) on the homepage of the Volksmusikarchiv des Bezirks Oberbayern (in PDF format; further updates planned), own file "Liederhandschrift Baer" with further information, also on the Freemasons in Strasbourg, and transmission of the German Texts.
- ↑ The second part came to light by chance when looking through the holdings of a Strasbourg antiquarian bookshop and was therefore only added to the DVA collection later, in 1996, as a supplement to the first HL number and as a copy.