Margret Birkenfeld

Margret Birkenfeld (undated photo)

Margarete "Margret" Birkenfeld (born September 19, 1926 in Bochum ; † May 3, 2019 in Wetzlar ) was a German musician and composer . Through her intensive musical work with children, she was also known as Aunt Margret or Ta-Ma .

life and work

Born in Bochum , Margret Birkenfeld grew up next to three siblings in Dortmund , where she lived from 1934 to 1961. After completing her music studies in Dortmund, she began teaching violin and recorder at the Witten Conservatory in 1948 . In 1961 she joined the Christian book and record publisher Hermann Schulte in Wetzlar and headed the music department there until her retirement in 1988. During this time she published 13 songbooks for adults and children. More than 600 records were recorded under her leadership, about 160 of them for children.

Above all, through her work with the Wetzlar Choirs and her compositional work - especially for children - she made a lasting name for herself in the Christian music scene. Singers like Helga Becker , child star Christiane , pop musician Hella Heizmann , rocker Samuel Harfst , songwriter Christiane Loh and indie- singer-songwriter Stina got their musical beginnings in the children's and youth choir work of Margret Birkenfeld.

Birkenfeld initiated several singing weeks, including the Reher Singing Week, which is still taking place at the Christian Guest Center in Rehe (Westerwald). Until 2010 she led the mixed choir of the Free Evangelical Congregation Dillenburg- Oberscheld , of which she was a member.

Wetzlar choirs

First, Birkenfeld took over the direction of the Wetzlar Children's Choir . Previously supervised by organist Peter van Woerden and Ruth Frey , “Aunt Margret”, as the children called her, worked very closely with Peter van Woerden in the first few years. When he went to Israel with his family for several years at the beginning of the 1970s, they produced their first own record, Swimming With Against the Current . In addition to the children's choir, she created the “Spatzenvolk” for especially young singers of preschool age, which was later renamed the Wetzlar Chick Choir . Numerous recordings with her children's choirs over decades as well as the program "We sing together" on the gospel radio have shaped Christian children's music to this day.

Mid-1960s founded Birkenfeld to Wetzlar Gospel Choir , who soon set out with his recordings and concert tours a name until the late 1970s, with the first ERF Studio Choir was merged and henceforth under the name Jubilate Choir under the direction of Wilfried man appeared .

As the singers from their children's choir grew up, the Wetzlar Girls' Choir emerged from the mature voices of older female singers. When the boys returned to the choir after successfully changing their voices, the Wetzlar Youth Choir was finally formed .

For special projects, Margret Birkenfeld regularly gathered the Wetzlar studio choir around her. Its cast consisted of the best singers of the Wetzlar Gospel Choir and later the Wetzlar Youth Choir as well as well-known soloists and musician friends.

Today the Wetzlar choirs still set accents in Christian music, albeit under different names and different musical directors. The Wetzlar Chick Choir and the Wetzlar Children's Choir are now a choir community and call themselves Sunshine Kids . Margret Birkenfeld passed the leadership on to singing teacher Konny Cramer . As the next head of the music department at Gerth Medien , Jochen Rieger took over the management of the “adult” choirs. The Wetzlar Youth Choir was later divided into Perspektiven and the Schulte & Gerth Studio Choir . The Wetzlar studio choir, more mature in sound, became more youthful and suitable as an instrument for the youth choir movement with projects such as Living Psalms .

Songs

Margret Birkenfeld has been composing songs for children and adults since the late 1960s. Above all, their children's songs for preschool age are very popular and are used in kindergartens. Margret Birkenfeld also composed some small cantatas , motets and musicals .

The most famous songs include:

• Time is grace
• Yes, God loves all children
• Let us thank you instead of complaining
• Taste and see
• Be a living fish
• That is a delicious thing
• Where's my teddy bear?
• Living with Jesus is joy
• Praise the Lord my soul
• The Nightingale
• God made our earth beautiful
• Lord you are love
• A small, wild sheep
• We don't know the day or the hour
• You went to Golgotha ​​for me

Discography

Albums by Margret Birkenfeld with her Wetzlar choirs

Children's projects with the Wetzlar Children's Choir and Wetzlar Chick Choir

Uncle Peter's children's hour

Margret Birkenfeld's first productions took place in collaboration with Peter van Woerden . In the Onkel Peters Kinderstunde series, he simulated a children's church service with the singers of the Wetzlar children's choirs . In addition to the typical dialogue between the children's assembly and “Uncle Peter”, biblical stories , audio scenes and songs were played.

→ Main article : Uncle Peter's Children's Lesson

Dr. Thiessen tells

After two concepts with the jungle missionary John Thiessen had already appeared as a guest as part of the series Onkel Peters Kinderstunde , he published his own audio productions in the series Unterwegs mit Dr. in collaboration with Margret Birkenfeld and the Wetzlar Children's Choirs from 1970. Thiessen (later: Dr. Thiessen tells ), in which he reports on his exotic experiences and imitates jungle noises and animal sounds himself.

→ Main article : Dr. Thiessen tells

Stand-alone music concepts and albums

The concept of combining music with stories and dialogues was largely retained by Margret Birkenfeld for her children's productions. All long-playing records and later MC and CD productions are listed below .

Singles

Compilation albums

Wetzlar girls' choir

Between the Wetzlar children's choir and the Wetzlar youth choir , Margret Birkenfeld gathered the growing girls 'voices in the Wetzlar girls' choir . Mostly he was involved in various concepts such as the children's projects, but also produced several of his own singles.

Wetzlar Youth Choir

Wetzlar Gospel Choir

Wetzlar studio choir

Margret Birkenfeld regularly formed the Wetzlar studio choir from the best singers in her choirs as well as musician friends for special concepts such as portraits of great Christian song writers or motto projects such as guitar choirs.

Concept projects in collaboration with the Wetzlar Choirs

In addition, Margret Birkenfeld realized several larger concept productions with several or all of her Wetzlar choirs together.

Compilation albums

Listed in the following, compilation albums, the subject of which is expressly the work of Margret Birkenfeld and her vocal formations without being limited to a specific formations.

Guest appearances by the Wetzlar Choirs

Bible audio books with the Wetzlar children's choirs

Spoken listening concepts

Tribute albums

Sheet music editions

Publishing work

The composers, arrangers, producers, choirs, soloists and instrumentalists with whom Margret Birkenfeld collaborated in her publishing work include: Dirk Schmalenbach , Siegfried Fietz , Doris Loh , the choirs and soloists of Wir singen für Jesus , Johannes Haas , Jochen Rieger , Wilfried Reuter , Hans-Werner Scharnowski , Peter van Woerden , Klaus Heizmann , Christiane , Manfred Siebald , Wilfried Mann , Johannes Nitsch , the Jubilate Choir , Manfred Staiger , Helmut Jost and Jürgen Werth .

Publications

• Margret Birkenfeld: songs and life stories. Gerth Medien, Asslar 2013, ISBN 978-3-86591-763-8 / Christliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Dillenburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-86353-000-6 .

Web links

• Works by and about Margret Birkenfeld in the catalog of the German National Library
• Margret Birkenfeld at Discogs (English)
• Song directory by Margret Birkenfeld on www.evangeliums.net

Individual evidence

1. ↑ musikevangelist.de Death of Birkenfeld family with full legal name
2. ↑ Margarete Birkenfeld: Obituary notice ( Memento from May 11, 2019 in the web archive archive.today )
3. ↑ ^{a b} Christian song writer Margret Birkenfeld died at the age of 92. In: idea.de . May 6, 2019, accessed May 6, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Alexander Rempel: "Tante Margret" was 85. In: Take and read - the Christian literary blog. September 25, 2011, accessed May 6, 2019 . 
5. ↑ Johannes Blöcher-Weil: Margret Birkenfeld died at the age of 92. In: pro-medienmagazin.de . May 6, 2019, accessed May 6, 2019 . 
6. ↑ Frauke Schneck: Basic arithmetic for creative people: preparation + opportunity = success. (No longer available online.) In: jelimuki.de. December 31, 2012, archived from the original on March 26, 2013 ; accessed on May 6, 2019 (interview with Dirk Menger and David Harfst). 
7. ↑ Our moderators: Christine Stahl. (Not available online.) In: erf.de . Archived from the original on December 5, 2013 ; accessed on May 6, 2019 . 
8. ↑ Unforgettable - songs that last. (Flash video, 54:15 minutes) (No longer available online.) In: erf.de. December 26, 2012, archived from the original on January 6, 2013 ; accessed on May 6, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Music and culture / concert: Jubilee concert of the Mittelhessischer Chor Perspektiven - 25 years ago Jochen Rieger founded the choir -. (No longer available online.) In: evangelisch-in-wetzlar.de. September 30, 2012, archived from the original on February 19, 2014 ; accessed on May 6, 2019 .