Rolf Schweizer

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Rolf Schweizer (born March 14, 1936 in Emmendingen ; † June 6, 2016 in Selb ) was a German composer , cantor and church music director .

Live and act

Schweizer grew up in Mundingen , which is now part of Emmendingen. He received his first musical training in the village brass band. He studied Protestant church music at the Church Music Institute in Heidelberg a . a. with Wolfgang Fortner , Hermann Meinhard Poppen , Wolfgang Dallmann and Heinz Werner Zimmermann .

From 1956 to 1966 he was cantor at the Johanniskirche in Mannheim . In 1966 he became district cantor in Pforzheim , which he stayed until his retirement. In 1969 he was appointed church music director and in 1975 regional cantor of Mittelbaden. Schweizer was awarded the honorary title of professor in 1984 by the Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg (at that time Lothar Späth ).

In his work as a choir, wind and orchestra conductor, he became known far beyond the region. He also composed sacred songs, trombone and children's choir music, as well as larger choral, orchestral and organ works.

Since 1961 publication of various settings of new sacred songs in hymn books (including EG / EM), supplements, documentations, song books, choir and band arrangements etc. a. at the publishers Strube-Verlag (Munich), Hänssler Verlag (Stuttgart), Verlag Dohr (Bergheim), Verlag Neue Musik, the German Evangelical Church Congress (DEKT) (Fulda) and Carus-Verlag .

Rolf Schweizer was one of the protagonists of the musical genre New Spiritual Song . His most famous songs are O Lord, make me an instrument of your peace and sing a new song to the Lord, because He works miracles , which are contained in almost all Christian hymn books. Early on he belonged to the ecumenical lyricists and composers group of the Werkgemeinschaft Musik e. V. and the AG Music in the Ev. Youth e. V. and was a member of the lyricists and composers group TAKT . Schweizer was also influential as a church music teacher and shaped many younger church musicians through his training courses. His music theological publications also received attention in the church music theological discourse.

"The truth of an art lies not only in its perfect virtuosity, but in its intellectual, technical and human honesty."

- Rolf Schweizer

After retiring in 2001, Schweizer moved to Freiamt , where he continued to be musically active, for example with the Elztalkantorei and the Elztalsinfonietta orchestra and until 2010 as a conductor at the “Frohsinn” choir in the Ottoschwanden district.

Horn days

Since 2000, Rolf Schweizer has been the musical director of the International Black Forest Horn Orchestra , which has rehearsed and performed several works as part of the International Black Forest Horn Days , which Schweizer had composed especially for the ensemble. Since 2006 these Horn Days have been held as master courses for horn players, accompanied by Rolf Schweizer as a conductor. Under the professional guidance of Peter Arnold , this event is located in the BDB Music Academy in Staufen . The International Black Forest Horn Days are one of the largest music educational events for horn players.

Honors

The city of Pforzheim awarded Schweizer with the ring of honor in 1991 and honorary citizenship in 1998 for his services to church music in more than 35 years. With reference to the destruction of Pforzheim , Schweizer composed the “Requiem 02/23/1945 - For the dead and the living”.

Private

Rolf Schweizer was married to his wife Frohmut. The couple had three daughters. Most recently he lived in Selb , where one of his daughters, Constanze Schweizer-Elser, is a cantor.

Works

Songs

  • Let the earth bloom. Songs by Rolf Schweizer (1936-2016); Strube-Verlag Munich (2019)
  • O Lord, make me an instrument of your peace (1962; text of the so-called prayer of St. Francis ) EG 416
  • Sing a new song to the Lord, for He works miracles (1963; Text: Psalm 98: 1-2) EG 287
  • That is a delicious thing to thank gentlemen (1966; Text: Psalm 92: 2-6) EG 285
  • See, this is God's Lamb (Canon) (1972; Text: John 1.29) EG 190.4 / 714
  • You are at home in your walls (1972; Text: Wolfgang Fietkau , 1972)
  • Before the sun goes down (1974; Text: Christa Weiss / Kurt Rommel , 1965) EG 491
  • One carries the other's burden (1976; text and melody)
  • Peace child, peace (1980; text: Hildegard Wohlgemuth , 1980)
  • So that strangers become friends (1982; text and melody) EG 657
  • See, the bread we share here (1983; Text: Lothar Zenetti, 1972) EG 226
  • Song of the Hidden City (1986; Text: Arnim Juhre , 1986)
  • Table song for the Sabbath (2001; Text: Susanne Brandt , 2001)
  • Being a guest on earth (2001; Text: Arnim Juhre 2001)

Orchestra and choral works

  • One bear the other's burden ; Fidula Publishing House (1977)
  • The two blind men ; Hänssler Publishing House (1978)
  • Song of the carol singers ; Hänssler Publishing House (1978)
  • Worrying ; Hänssler Publishing House (1979)
  • Three cantatas for male choir ; Publishing House Singing Congregation (1982)
  • Psalm in blue ; Strube-Verlag (1987)
  • Spiritual canons of sayings ; Fidula Publishing House (1989)
  • Sinfonietta '90 ; Strube-Verlag (1990)
  • Sonata sacra ; Pro Organo (1991)
  • Ludi organi ; Pro Organo (1992)
  • Six sacred songs and new songs ; Strube-Verlag (1992)
  • Sabbath of creation ; Strube-Verlag (1993)
  • Sonata da chiesa No. 2 ; Edition Walhall (1994)
  • Psalm cantata "Lebendige Steine" , Edition Musica Rinata (1995)
  • Music for Psalm 104 ; Strube-Verlag (1995)
  • Three spiritual impressions ; Strube-Verlag (1995)
  • Singing people of God ; Strube-Verlag (1996)
  • Hymn I-III ; 1988/1989/2007, Dohr Verlag (1997)
  • Call-Partita to Isaiah 58 ; Strube-Verlag (1997)
  • Sonata festivo ; Strube-Verlag (1997)
  • Psalm in swing ; Strube-Verlag (1997)
  • The fourfold arable field ; Carus-Verlag (1998)
  • Sound of life ; (Text: Hartmut Handt); Strube-Verlag (1998)
  • Salt of the earth, light of the world ; Strube-Verlag (1999)
  • European Christmas Carol Suite ; Strube-Verlag (1999)
  • Sound images of hope Swiss ; Strube-Verlag (1999)
  • You are the living stones ; Edition Musica Rinata (2000)
  • Jonah, go to Nineveh ; Strube-Verlag (2001)
  • A song sounds through the world ; Möseler (2002)
  • Psalm sayings ; Bärenreiter-Verlag 2003
  • Prelude in swing ; Strube-Verlag (2004)
  • Sinfonietta concertante ; Strube-Verlag (2004)

Book publications

  • Rolf Schweizer, ritual and departure. Church music between educational mandate and artistic claim , ed. by Peter Bubmann , Munich 1996.

Literature about Rolf Schweizer

  • Peter Bubmann, church music between ritual and departure. Rolf Schweizer's contributions to the theory of church music as an impetus for a further discussion, in: Peter Bubmann, From Mystik bis Ekstase. Challenges and perspectives for music in the church , Munich (Strube-Verlag) 1997, 155–164.
  • Peter Bubmann, Art. "Rolf Schweizer", in: Renate Steiger (ed.): The College for Church Music of the Evangelical Church in Baden Heidelberg and its founder Hermann Meinhard Poppen (Festschrift for the 75th anniversary), Munich 2006, 209–211.
  • Peter Bubmann, "Rolf Schweizer", in: Norbert Bolin / Andreas Bomba (on behalf of the International Bach Academy Stuttgart ): Baden-Württemberg, the land of music. Basis undspitze , Stuttgart 2006, 144–146.
  • Peter Bubmann, The future of church music - Rolf Schweizer's contributions to the theory and practice of sacred music-making, in: Gottesdienst und Kirchenmusik , 2/1996, 43–46.
  • Peter Bubmann, Music beyond all human understanding: Rolf Schweizer - a portrait, in: Musik und Kirche 67 (1997), 188–190.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rolf Schweizer: Obituary notice ( Memento from June 11, 2016 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. ↑ Honorary citizen of Pforzheim, Rolf Schweizer, died at the age of 80 . Press release from the city of Pforzheim, June 7, 2016.
  3. ↑ Rolf Schweizer 1954–1966 . Church music at the Johanniskirche Mannheim Lindenhof, accessed on June 9, 2016.
  4. ^ Doris Banzhaf: Baden loses important church musician. Rolf Schweizer died at the age of 80 ( memento from June 7, 2016 in the web archive archive.today ) Evangelical Church in Baden, June 7, 2016.
  5. ^ Prof. KMD Rolf Schweizer: Vita . Verlag Christoph Dohr, accessed on June 9, 2016.
  6. ^ Rolf Schweizer: Ritual and departure. Church music between an educational mandate and an artistic claim . Ed .: Peter Bubmann. Munich 1996, ISBN 978-3-921946-32-9 .
  7. ↑ Axel Frieb Prize: Church music and community development . In. Birger Petersen-Mikkelsen, Axel Frieb-Preis (Ed.): Church music and proclamation - proclamation as church music: the presentations of the symposium on the relationship between theology and church music, Eutin 2001 / organized by the North Elbe regional association of evangelical church musicians in Germany (= Eutin contributions for music research 4). B. Petersen-Mikkelsen, Eutin, ISBN 3-8311-4465-6 , pp. 70-71.
  8. ^ Susanne Moßmann: Rolf Schweizer zum. 80th birthday , kirchenchorverband-baden.de, article from March 14, 2016.
  9. ↑ a b A difficult year ago: “Frohsinn” looking for a conductor . Badische Zeitung , March 17, 2010.
  10. ^ Website of the Black Forest Horn Days at the BDB Music Academy Staufen
  11. ↑ Prof. Rolf Schweizer (born 1936): honorary citizen since 1998 . ( Memento from October 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Website of the city of Pforzheim, 2015, accessed on June 7, 2016.
    Thomas Frei: Reception for Rolf Schweizer: A life for church music . ( Memento from May 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Pforzheimer Zeitung , March 20, 2011, accessed on June 7, 2016.
  12. ↑ Johannes Adam: From Singing the New Song: The former country cantor Rolf Schweizer is dead . Badische Zeitung , June 7, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Swiss, Rolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, cantor and church music director
DATE OF BIRTH March 14, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Emmendingen (Baden)
DATE OF DEATH June 6, 2016
Place of death Selb (Bavaria)