Otto Richter (church musician)

Rudolph Otto Richter (born March 5, 1865 in Ebersbach / Sa. , † August 12, 1936 in Dresden ) was a German church musician and from 1906 to 1930 the 24th Evangelical Kreuzkantor in Dresden.

Live and act

Ebersbach rectory

Otto Richter's grave in the Johannisfriedhof in Dresden Grave
inscription is the last line of text from JSBachs St. John Passion: I will praise you forever .

Richter was the sixth of eight children of Pastor Emil Curt Richter (1821-1894) and Anna Julie Johanna b. Hausser (1829–1910) born. Since he suffered from severe stuttering and a larynx disease as a child, he was tutored by his father until he was 14 years old. He only attended the Royal High School in Zittau for a short time .

He received musical training from 1880 to 1883 at the Dresden Conservatory with Franz Wüllner , Emil Neumann, Friedrich Queißer and Heinrich Schulz-Beuthen (composition), from 1884 to 1885 in Görlitz with Reinhold Fleischer and from 1885 to 1890 in Berlin at the Royal Academic Institute for Church Music and at the academic master school for composition with Woldemar Bargiel , Eduard Grell , Carl August Haupt and Albert Löschhorn . Here he brought it to perfection, especially in organ playing and in composition. At the same time, Richter was from 1887 to 1890 the conductor of the Association for Spiritual Choral Singing, assistant cantor and organist at the Twelve Apostles Church and opera correpititor in Berlin.

A new phase of life began for him in 1890 when he accepted the position as cantor and organist at St. Andrew's Church in Eisleben . In addition, in 1891 he took over the artistic direction of the municipal singing club and the choir school he founded. From 1903 to 1906 he was a singing teacher at the "Eisleber Gymnasium" (today: Martin-Luther-Gymnasium Eisleben) and from 1904 director of the academic concerts of the student singers Fridericiana in Halle / Sa. In 1900 he founded the Bachverein Eisleben, which he headed until 1906. The performance of "folk church concerts" with masterpieces of church music from several centuries made him known beyond the city limits. Richter dealt intensively with the performance practice of composers. He had Bach's works performed based on the original versions.

On March 1, 1906, Richter was appointed cantor of the Dresden Kreuzkirche and thus head of the Dresden Kreuzchor . The care of Bach's music played an important role during his tenure: Bach motets were often heard in church services and Vespers and the St. Matthew Passion was performed 23 times . Richter had the secco recitatives of Bach's works accompanied on the piano, a novelty at the time. In 1911 Richter founded the Bach Society in Dresden, which was used in performances of larger works of church music in order to reinforce the boy's voices and achieve a full-bodied choir sound. In addition to the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, the standard works of choral literature, including compositions by Johannes Brahms , Anton Bruckner , César Franck , Georg Friedrich Händel , Heinrich von Herzogenberg , Franz Liszt , Max Reger and Hugo Wolf , were heard . He premiered numerous works. Richter owes the rediscovery of the works of Heinrich Schütz , who was Dresden's most important court conductor in the 17th century.

The First World War and the post-war period brought about major cuts for further work. The empty coffers were replenished through concert income from tours abroad - the first ever -. The first of the successful trips took the choir to Sweden in 1920. Four tours through Holland followed until 1927.

On July 1, 1930, Richter retired after almost 25 years as Kreuzkantor.

Richter has made great contributions to the maintenance of Protestant church music. He was also the composer of motets and chants for choir and congregation. For his achievements he was awarded the title of Royal Prussian Music Director in 1901 and the title of Royal Saxon Professor in 1911. In 1927 he became the Saxon church music director. In 1929 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Heidelberg.

Otto Richter died in Dresden on August 12, 1936. His grave is in the Johannisfriedhof in Dresden.

Publications

• Musical programs with explanations , 2nd edition Braunschweig 1902
• Liturgical devotions and folk church concerts in town and country , Leipzig 1902

literature

• Dieter Härtwig , Matthias Herrmann: The Dresden Kreuzchor - past and present, places of activity and school , Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-374-02402-5
• Hans John: The Dresden Kreuzchor and its cantors , Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-374-00177-7

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kössler, Franz: Personal dictionary of teachers of the 19th century - professional biographies from school annual reports and school programs 1825–1918 with lists of publications , volume: Raab – Rzepecki, preprint, status: December 18, 2007, Giessen University Library, Giessen Electronic Library 2008, p. 168

Web links

• Website of the Dresden Kreuzchor