Male choir

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A male choir describes a group of men who form a choir and in which each vocal range is multiple. The part names are: 1st tenor, 2nd tenor, 1st bass, 2nd bass. Furthermore, pieces that are to be performed by such a choir are called male choir literature. The first tenor usually takes over the melody ( cantus firmus ).

On the history of male choirs

A choir community made up of the male choirs “Germania” Wettmar, “Concordia” Großburgwedel and “Liederkranz” Fuhrberg with the Ural Cossack Choir in Wettmar 2017

The real musical innovation in the 19th century was male choir singing. It was created in the course of the transformation of intellectual life during the Enlightenment . The focus was on popular values, the increasingly patriotic attitude and the joy of socializing. In the period of Romanticism (in the first half of the 19th century) the old folk songs were honored again. The unaccompanied four-part male choir now took the place of the singing carried by male, female, and boy's voices. In connection with political and social enlightenment, popular musical education should also be promoted. The choir as an association with statutes, a board of directors, later “with flags and trophies”, emerged (cf. Liedertafel ). Carl Friedrich Zelter (1758–1832) and above all Friedrich Silcher (1789–1860) played a decisive role in shaping and influencing the musical development of the choir during this period (in Switzerland, Hans Georg Nägeli ).

The clubs often gave themselves romantic names. If a music enthusiast spent a few days on the "golden Rhine", he founded B. also on the Weser a choir named Loreley or Stolzenfels . Rough men's throats gathered in the Eintracht or affectionately called their club Concordia or "To Vöglein's Joy". The feelings of those who enjoyed singing were initially patriotic and close to nature. The club life and the singing in the club (especially in the workers' choirs) should also distract a little from the often hard daily work. The contents of the choir titles sung were more appropriate after the first “political awakening”: homeland, the German forest, songs about golden grape juice and love. Places overflowing with tourists nowadays were sung about as quiet and romantic places: “To Rüdesheim in the Drosselgass ”, and again and again the “Father Rhine ”. In the songs you wandered through the country as a “ minstrel ” or “ hunter ” - and felt free like a “ gypsy ”.

After the Second World War , those who were left came together again in their clubs (at first there were also new members); but the more one could afford real travel and romantic experiences in reality (with increasing prosperity), the less one had to look for it “only in one's mind” in the choir songs. The "old" clubs began to gradually die (also due to aging and a lack of young talent).

Despite this downward trend, there were still 9,641 male choirs in Germany in 2002 (15.9% of all choir categories).

See also

Portal: Choral Music  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the topic of choral music

Web links

literature