Rudolf Mersy

Rudolf Mersy (born October 2, 1867 ; † May 30, 1949 in Aschbach ) was a traveling musician and composer. His work consists of around 600 compositions, which is why he is also called "Aschbacher Mozart".

Life

Rudolf Mersy spent his childhood and school days in Edinburgh because his father Philipp Mersy, also a traveling musician, had a permanent commitment there and took his wife Anna and his son there with him. Later he also attended a music school there. He played the violin and various wind instruments. For his 17th birthday, the family was back in Aschbach, and he was given a piano, an instrument that is rather untypical for the traveling musicians. During the First World War he was interned in Australia and New Zealand until 1920 (a fate shared by many musicians who were surprised on a trip from the beginning of the war). When he returned, he stopped traveling and devoted himself entirely to his compositions, in addition to farming.

He composed around 600 works - marches, polkas or waltzes - which earned him the nickname “Aschbacher Mozart”. He always carried pencil and paper with him so that he could write down the musical ideas immediately. His best-known work is the march “Seeadler”, named after Count Luckner's ship , which he is said to have met during his internment. Most of his records are lost. According to his daughter Ella, many of his compositions were on view at Saarland Radio and were lost there in World War II. However, Paul Engel was able to rediscover around 60 works when he collected and evaluated the sheet music that was still available in order to set up the Musikantenland Museum throughout the Musikantenland . His son Eduard Mersy was a teacher at the Würzburg Conservatory and wrote a violin school.

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• Paul Engel: "The West Palatinate Wandering Musicians in the Light of Scientific Investigation" from Erich Weingart / Paul Kaps: For example - Der Landkreis Kusel, Pfälzische Verlagsanstalt, 1985, pages 157-176