Rudolf Reuter (musicologist)

Rudolf Reuter (born April 15, 1920 in Münster / Westf .; † January 13, 1983 ibid) was a German musicologist , organ monument curator, organist , harpsichordist , conductor , chamber musician and professor.

Life

After graduating from high school Paulinum in Münster (1937), Rudolf Reuter studied music (piano, theory, organ), then theology and music and, after five years of military service, music and musicology, plus art history and history in Hamburg, Cologne and Münster / Westfalia. - In 1948 he did his doctorate with Werner Korte (University of Münster) on Johann Sebastian Bach's organ and piano fugue .

From 1948 until his death in 1983 he was a professor at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster , taught music theory , music history, organ studies and early music performance practice and headed the university's collegia vocale et instrumentale for 20 years. He also held lectureships at the Episcopal Institute for Church Music in Münster and at the Westphalian School of Music (later State University of Music Westphalia-Lippe, Münster department ).

In 1949, the then state curator of Westphalia, Wilhelm Rave , commissioned him to sift through the holdings of historical organs in Westphalia and Lippe. This has resulted in close cooperation with the Westphalian State Office for Monument Preservation (chief curator Franz Mühlen and chief building officer Franz Fischer) for over three decades . The resulting task of a continuous inventory of the historical organs in Westphalia and Lippe led from 1950 to 1962 in 55 urban and rural districts of the region and in around 500 archives to the publication of the basic publication Orgeln in Westfalen (Kassel 1965), the first large comprehensive systematic documentation of historical organ inventory in the history of musicology in general. The organ science research center set up for Rudolf Reuter in the course of his research in the musicological seminar of the University of Münster , of which he was director until his death, expanded its radius to other German federal states and some European countries, where he was called in as a consultant on organ monument preservation measures. In 1951 he was also a co-founder of the Society of Organ Friends (GdO). In 1971 he was elected a full member of the Historical Commission for Westphalia .

The work on his bibliography of the organ (Kassel 1973) brought Rudolf Reuter to the leading libraries in Europe. In addition, he wrote numerous books and essays, mainly on the subject of the organ or the musical history of Westphalia. Under his leadership, a large group of doctoral students devoted themselves to individual topics from the field of organ science Westfalica research he oversees, which appeared in the series of publications initiated by Reuter by the organ science research center at the Bärenreiter-Verlag Kassel.

His artistic practice extended mainly to organ concerts, primarily on the monument organs he looked after and restored in Westphalia and Lippe, to radio and television broadcasts (including in the series "Church organs of our home" of the WDR Cologne) and to numerous recordings as part of the series "Music on historical instruments" (5 double LP episodes) by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe . In particular, the large monument organs of the most important Westphalian baroque organ builder, Johann Patroclus Möller (1698–1772), received extensive restoration measures from him and repeated awards. In addition, he gave concerts all over Europe with his trio Rameau (Annemarie Jochum / violin, Wolfgang Eggers / violoncello) on historical instruments, especially in the Erbdrostenhof in Münster , where he restored and looked after a Ruckers harpsichord from 1640 and played in numerous concerts. As a choir and orchestra director, he performed the major works of literature of the 18th and 19th centuries with the student collegia of the University of Münster.

In 1980 he set up Germany's first organ museum in the former town hall of the East Westphalian town of Borgentreich (opposite the town church of St. Johannes Baptist with the largest European spring-loaded organ from the 17th and 18th centuries, one of his most popular research objects).

Suddenly and unexpectedly, torn from the midst of lively creative work, Rudolf Reuter died in January 1983 in his house in Münster-Angelmodde.

Publications (selection)

• Johann Sebastian Bach's organ and piano fugue. (= Diss. Westfälische Landesuniversität Münster 1948). Open Access available via ViFaMusik
• Organs in Westphalia. Inventory of historical organs in Westphalia and Lippe. Publications of the Organ Science Research Center Volume 1, Kassel 1965.
• The basics of organ building on the Iberian Peninsula. Esslingen 1965.
• Organ bibliography. Literature of the history of the organ up to 1968. Publications of the organ science research center Volume 3, Kassel 1973.
• The organ in the preservation of monuments in Westphalia 1949-1971. Publications of the Organ Science Research Center Volume 4, Kassel 1971.
• Organs in Spain (posthumously, with 150 illustrations after photos by Heinz Vössing). Edited by Hannalore Reuter. Publications of the Organ Science Research Center Volume 14, Kassel 1986.

In addition, numerous organological articles and individual monographs in the series Westfälische Kunststätten of the Westphalian Heimatbund in connection with the Westphalian Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Münster , etc. a .:

• Historical organs in the Münsterland, issue 17, Münster 1981.
• Historical organs in the Olpe district, issue 22, Münster 1982.

Numerous articles in music in the past and present (MGG) , so about:

• Müller (Möller), Johann Patroclus, Volume 9, Columns 860-62, Kassel 1961.

Autobiographical sketch:

• Rudolf Reuter: To a certain extent, professional Westphalia, in: "Westphalia among themselves", Frankfurt / M. 1978.

Rudolf Reuter as namesake

In Borgentreich, Rudolf-Reuter-Platz commemorates the founder of the organ museum.

Publications by students of Rudolf Reuters (selection)

• Ulrich Wulfhorst: The Westphalian organ builder Johann Patroclus Möller - Part 1: Life and work. Part 2: The sources (= publications by the Organ Science Research Center. Volume 2). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1967.
• Winfried Schlepphorst : Organ building in western Lower Saxony, Volume 1 (Niederstift Münster / Grafschaft Lingen and Bentheim) (= publications by the Organ Science Research Center. Volume 7). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1975.
• Reinhard Skupnik: The Hanoverian organ builder Christian Vater 1679–1756 (= publications of the organ science research center. Volume 8). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1976.
• Reinhard Lüttmann: The organ register and its instrumental model in France and Spain before 1800 (= publications of the organ science research center. Volume 10). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1979.
• Hugo Wohnfurter: The Bader family of organ builders 1600–1742 (=  publications of the Organ Science Research Center . Volume 11 ). Bärenreiter, Kassel / London 1981, ISBN 3-7618-0648-5 .
• Wolf Kalipp : The Westphalian family of organ builders Vorenweg-Kersting 1784–1879 (= publications of the Organ Science Research Center. Volume 12). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1984.
• Hans Hermann Wickel: Foreign organ builders in Westphalia (= publications of the organ science research center. Volume 13). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1984.
• Winfried Schlepphorst (Ed.): Organ art and organ research. Commemorative publication Rudolf Reuter ( Publications of the Organ Science Research Center. Volume 15). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1990 (18 contributions from students and friends of Rudolf Reuters).
• Franz Josef Ratte: The temperature of the piano instruments. Source studies on the theoretical fundamentals and practical applications from antiquity to the 17th century (= publications by the Organ Science Research Center. Volume 16). Bärenreiter, Kassel 1991.

Web links

• Biographical information on the website of the Historical Commission for Westphalia
• Literature by and about Rudolf Reuter in the catalog of the German National Library