Robert Kohl (theologian)

Robert Kohl (born December 14, 1813 in Freiberg , Saxony ; † December 31, 1881 in Chemnitz ) was a German theologian, superintendent at the St. Nikolaikirche in Chemnitz, composer of the melodies for Friedrich Froebel's family book Mother and Koselieder and the Froebel ' ball songs.

Live and act

He was the eleventh child of the schoolmaster and organist Johann Gottfried Kohl and his first wife Johanna Carolina, nee. Neumann. His linguistic and musical talent was already evident as a young boy. He was privately tutored by his father, who was a teacher. He also received lessons in Latin and Greek from a pastor. At Easter 1828 he was accepted into Unterquarta of the Freiberg grammar school (examiner 1919, p. IX). After successfully passing the Abitur, he went to the University of Leipzig. The young man would have liked to study medicine, but his parents pushed him to study theology.

Robert Kohl studied in Jena from 1836 to 1838. There he successfully passed his exam pro candidatura et pro licentia concionandi on December 14, 1838 . This was followed by short activities at elementary and community schools. In 1839 Robert Kohl went to the education and training institute founded by Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel in Keilhau near Rudolstadt as a senior teacher in the subjects of religion, history, Greek, Latin, literature and German language , where the young, fresh, stimulating and participating teachers put the hearts of the Students flew to (examiner 1919, p. X). Robert Kohl's collaboration on the Froebel's mother and kose songs also fell during this period . Ida Seele , the first Froebel kindergarten teacher, about whom he said she had a voice like a nightingale (see Seele 1886, p. 37), remembered: During this time, Mr. Kohl composed the melodies for the mother and co-songs, the same ones conforming to my voice. I sang almost every single song before it was written down as permanent. Froebel was seldom satisfied and agreed with a melody straight away, but before the musical work began, Kohl, Froebel and Middendorff eagerly discussed with each other. Froebel's wish was always that the melody should be a tone painting of the underlying text (Seele 1886, p. 37). In the kindergarten practice Mr. Kohl's compositions were felt to be too difficult for the children (König 1990, p. 129).

In addition, Robert Kohl, in close cooperation with Ida Seele, set the Froebel hundred songs "to the games with the ball in the kindergarten in Blankenburg near Rudolstadt".

Shortly after the mother and Kose songs were completed, Robert Kohl moved to Dresden and passed the second theological exam there. Until Easter 1847 he stayed as an institute teacher in the Saxon royal seat. During this time he gave lectures on sound images and composition theory, which received a lot of attention.

October 1848 Robert Kohl became pastor in Lauenstein / Saxony. His wife died there after only two years of marriage. His second marriage in 1854 had six children.

After seven years Robert Kohl took over the position of pastor and chaplain in the penitentiary of Waldheim ( Waldheim correctional facility ). In 1859, when war threatened to break out, he became a royal in the event of mobilization. Field provost of the Royal Saxon Federal Contingent appointed. In the same year he was given the position of pastor and superintendent at the St. Nikolaikirche in Chemnitz, one of the oldest parishes in the city. Associated with this was the supervision of the Königl. District Directorate Zwickau . As a district school inspector , he dealt with the "Carl Friedrich May case", better known as Karl May . The latter applied, although he was dismissed from his previous position at the school for the poor in Glauchau without notice, as a teacher at the factory school of the Julius Claus cotton mill in Altchemnitz. Karl May had withheld the reason for his dismissal from his new employer (he had gotten too close to his landlord's wife and was reported by him). Robert Kohl rated this attempt at deception as an "extraordinary occurrence" and set up a visit to the new teacher. The superintendent rated him as follows: The still very young teacher has no bad teaching skills but is still very baseless. The discipline is not energetic enough, even in the religion lesson the children sit badly and do not show enough attention (quoted in Leibhardt 2001, p. 89). After May in Altchemnitz was reported by his roommate at Christmas 1861 for "illegal use of other people's things" (i.e. taking a borrowed watch on home leave) and ultimately condemned, the superintendent handed over the "Carl Friedrich May case" to the higher-level consistorial authority. In 1864 Karl May was from the Königl. Ministry of Culture as an unworthy teacher removed from the list of candidates for education.

After twenty years of service, the theologian was appointed to the church council. For health reasons, he was only able to work in this role for one year. He retired in 1880. After a long and serious illness, Robert Kohl died on December 31, 1881. He found his final resting place in the new Chemnitz cemetery .

Works

• Come, let us live our children! Forty-four mother kose and play songs for the noble care of children's life by Friedrich Fröbel, set to music in two parts, the opening song with piano accompaniment, the closing song for 4 female voices and dedicated to all mothers and nursing homes of childhood by Robert Kohl, Blankenburg near Rudolstadt 1844

• Come, let us live our children! A hundred songs for the games with the ball performed in the kindergarten in Blankenburg near Rudolstadt, two-part music set by Robert Kohl. Music supplement to Friedrich Fröbels: the ball, the first toy and the constant playmate of the children , given here in brief excerpts as introductory instructions, Blankenburg near Rudolstadt 1844

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Klaus Hoffmann: " Dismissed after 14 days ..." About Karl May's second "offense". In: Yearbook of the Karl May Society 1979.
2. ^ Entry in the Karl May Wiki

literature

• I. Soul: My memories of Friedrich Froebel, in: Kindergarten, 27. Jhg. 1886, p. 20 ff.
• Anb: Robert Kohl, in: Kindergarten, 28th Jhg. 1887, p. 72 ff.
• J. Prüfer (Ed.): Friedrich Fröbels Mutter- und Kose-Lieder, Leipzig 1919, p. IX f
• F. Kohl: Four letters from Friedrich Froebel to Robert Kohl, Leipzig 1932
• H. König (Ed.): My dear Mr. Froebel! Letters from women and virgins to the friend of children and people, Berlin 1990
• S. von Ramin: On romantic early childhood education - demonstrated using the example of Froebel's "Mutter- und Kose-Lieder", Berlin 1998 (unpublished diploma thesis)
• S. Leibhardt: Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel's "Balllieder" and "Mutter- und Kose-Lieder". A pedagogical and music-theoretical investigation, Ingolstadt 2001 (unpublished diploma thesis)
• Ch. Konrad: The "Mother and Koselieder" by Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel. Studies on the history of its origins and effects, Würzburg 2006 (dissertation)
• Manfred Berger:  Robert Kohl (theologian). In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 29, Bautz, Nordhausen 2008, ISBN 978-3-88309-452-6 , Sp. 782-786.
• Christian Heermann : The Kohl story. Stations of the superintendent Robert Kohl, the temporary employer of Karl May, and his prominent heirs. In: Karl-May-Haus Information No. 25 [2011]