Singing movement
Singebewbewegung describes a political-musical form of expression that developed in the German Democratic Republic from 1960 partly on its own and partly as a campaign . In 1966 the Central Council of the FDJ passed a “resolution on the development of the singing movement”, in which it called for a strict pro-socialist orientation.
Beginning, background and development
In the early 1960s - as in the western states , based on the folk movement in the USA - an attempt by young people to sing together and to bring their own songs to the public arose in the GDR , soon to be known as the "singing movement". The form of presentation should set itself apart from entertainment and hits. In addition to folk music and chanson , the songs and protest songs also included blues and beat as a contemporary form of expression . The first merger of this kind was the Hootenanny Club in East Berlin .
In the beginning, the movement's mentor was primarily Perry Friedman , who lived in the GDR and came from Canada . Although he was a communist, from 1966 onwards he was pushed into the background by representatives of the FDJ and the American hootenanny idea with its preference for the English language was discredited as anti-socialist. In this context, the Hootenanny Club was renamed the October Club . Likewise, the idea that everyone could perform publicly what they had just written or composed did not last long. System-oriented functionaries such as Hartmut König or Gisela Steineckert soon determined the character of the singing movement.
The influence of the "singing movement" reached a climax in 1973 during the preparation of the Xth World Festival of Youth and Students in Berlin .
Many well-known folk, soul, hit and rock artists from the GDR had their roots in the “singing movement”. Some of them such as Bettina Wegner (founding member of the Hootenanny Club ; later expatriated), Kurt Demmler (among others, songwriter of the later banned group Renft ), Reinhold Andert or Barbara Thalheim brought a distance to the "official line" with later texts. There were also guest appearances by Reiner Schöne , Lin Jaldati , Dorit Gäbler and many others.
In the 1980s, many songs were created in the singing movement that dealt with peace and NATO's double decision .
effect
On the one hand, the FDJ succeeded in channeling these activities and making them an integral part of the SED's cultural policy .
On the other hand, since the shape remained the simple song to the guitar in the GDR presence - despite the presence ban for Wolf Biermann . Until the end of the GDR in 1989, there were always important songwriters who critically dealt with the real conditions of the GDR, such as Bettina Wegner , Hans-Eckardt Wenzel and further Stephan Krawczyk , Kalle Winkler . In addition, singing groups had formed all over the country which could not be constantly monitored culturally and politically and which for many members had the function of being able to express their opinions. Hammer = Rehwü, performed in 1982 as a joint project by Karls Enkel , Wacholder and Beckert & Schulz , is a special example - as an intermediate form to the Liedertheater .
Documentaries
- Songs make people , 1968, DEFA , by Gitta Nickel
- Hammer = Rehwü 1982
- Tell me where you are , 1993, MDR , by Axel Grote and Christian Steinke
literature
- Lutz Kirchenwitz: Folk, chanson and songwriter in the GDR - chroniclers, critics, emperor birthday singers. Dietz, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-320-01807-8 .
- Horst Traut: Yearbook for Folk Song Research, 43rd year, 1998, pp. 181–183, German Folk Song Archive
- Song and social movements eV: And that was in ... 30 years October Club, 1996, 52 p., With many portraits from the history of the singing club
Web links
- Some lyrics from the singing movement
- Carsten Beyer: The rise and fall of the folk scene in the GDR Deutschlandradio Kultur April 6, 2016
- Hootenanny '66 Recording of a panel discussion from the Music and Politics Festival , Saturday, February 27, 2016
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.kulturation.de/ki_1_thema.php?id=42
- ↑ Article at kulturation.de
- ↑ And that was in ... on musikundpolitik.de
- ^ Lutz Kirchenwitz: Folk, Chanson and Songwriter in the GDR.
- ↑ Karl's grandchildren and the hammer = Rehwü article on lastfm.de
- ↑ 30 years ago the premiere of the Hammer = Rehwü in Dresden Article on liveundlustig.com
- ↑ Between love and anger. Singing movement and songwriter in the GDR All films + discussion on jstor.org