Stephan Simeon

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Stephan Simeon (born May 5, 1927 in Lucerne ; † December 18, 2017 ) was a Swiss composer , organist and choir director .

Live and act

Training and teaching

Stephan Simeon was born in Lucerne in 1927, where he also attended schools up to and including the Matura . In addition to studying theology , he completed his musical studies at the Zurich Music Academy , the Lucerne Church Music School and the Freiburg University of Music . He graduated as a choir director and organist and received a certificate in composition from Wolfgang Fortner . From 1967 to 1987 Simeon taught counterpoint , liturgical organ playing and conducting at the Academy for School and Church Music in Lucerne.

Choir direction

From 1970 to 1991 he was in charge of the youth singing weeks of the Engadiner Kantorei at the Laudinella cultural center in St. Moritz . As the successor to Hannes Reimann, he worked here with Edwin Nievergelt until 1979 , then with Monika Henking . Under his leadership an opening in the sense of ecumenism took place there. The newly composed choir undertook annual concert tours within Graubünden and the rest of Switzerland, occasionally to France , Israel and the USA .

From 1972 to 1996 Simeon conducted the Aargauer Lerche of the Engadiner Kantorei . When Academy Choir Lucerne he was from 1975 to 1980 at the podium. Especially in the field of a cappella choir music he pursued a lively concert activity with his vocal ensembles. In St. Moritz and in the Vorarlberg Provostry St. Gerold he held choir weeks until 2001.

composition

Stephan Simeon wrote especially sacred vocal music. These include cantatas and motets , several settings of psalms and whole music for church services. The texts are primarily German, occasionally also in Latin or Rhaeto-Romanic . He also wrote several songs in the organ book for the Catholic hymn book of German-speaking Switzerland .

«His opus includes smaller and larger choral and organ works, some with instrumental and orchestral accompaniment, especially in the field of sacred and liturgical music, and occasionally orchestral works and songs. His way of composing is based strongly on the twelve-tone and row technique with a particular preference for contrapuntal, polyphonic movements. "

Compositions (selection)

Organ music

  • Hymn. op.1.1965.
  • Doxology. op. 2. 1965–1970.
  • Two chorale preludes: "Rejoice, redeemed Christianity", "The Spirit of the Lord fills the universe." op. 35a & b. 2001.
  • Small chorale partita on "Who only lets God rule". Müller & Schade , Bern 2001. (= Swiss Organ Music Series , 7th)

Vocal music

  • Advent cantata. op. 11. Texts: Josef Griesbeck, Rainer Maria Rilke , Maria Luise Thurmair . For alto and tenor, speaker, choir (4-part), harp, string orchestra and community. 1987.
  • Cierto Cansancio. op.12. Text by Pablo Neruda . For solos (SATB), speaker, choir (4-st), half choir (ensemble), woodwinds, strings and organ. 1988.
  • Ego sum lux mundi - I am the light of the world. Motet for six voices (choir and solos). 1991.
  • Prayers Synod 72 . For priestly singing, four-part choir, congregation and organ (with performance variants without a choir). Opus 9. (= Editions of the Church Music School Lucerne, No. 12.) Swiss Church Music School, Lucerne 1976.
  • I am the light of the world. Op. 23. Word service music for mixed choir (4-st), wind instruments, organ and congregational singing. 1998-1999. (Original compositions by Stephan Simeon and song arrangements from the new Catholic church hymn book.)
  • Laudate Dominum. Psalm motets for mixed choir a cappella. 1974.
  • Psalm 95: «Come let us rejoice». For organ, tenor solo and choir (unison). Swiss Federation Europa Cantat , 1991.
  • Psalm 84: "How lovely are your homes, Lord!" For four-part mixed choir a capella. 2004.
  • Psalm 150. op. 22. For mixed choir (4-8 st), flute, percussion and organ. 1997.
  • Missa simplex. Three mass chants for the new ordo missae . For male choir, congregation and organ. Cron, Lucerne 1969.
  • “Becoming - passing away - being” - the year in biblical images as a symbol of creation and man. op. 10. Texts from the Zurich Bible . Cantata for mixed choir (4 to 8 voices), soprano and tenor solo, wind instruments, percussion and organ. 1979-1982.

Editing

  • Choral preludes to the Catholic church hymn book of Switzerland. Cron, Lucerne c. 1970.

Fonts

  • Confrontation of today's composers with the requirements and limits of liturgical «music for use». In: Musik und Gottesdienst , 28/5 (1974), pp. 106-109.

literature

  • Stephan Simeon - a sixties. In: Katholische Kirchenmusik , 112, 1987, pp. 176–177.
  • Erwin Mattmann : Stephan Simeon on his 80th birthday. In: Music and Liturgy. Edited by the Swiss Catholic Church Music Association. 132nd volume, No. 3/2007, p. 11.
  • Alois Koch : Stephan Simeon (1927-2017). Obituary. In: Musik und Gottesdienst , 72nd vol., No. 4, July 2018, pp. 162f.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nos. 58, 141, 179, 297, 381, 382, ​​439, 747, 761, 764, 765, 766, 781, 787.
  2. ↑ Biographies L – Z. On the website for the Catholic hymn book of German-speaking Switzerland , accessed on August 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ Stephan Simeon ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at musinfo.ch , accessed on August 21, 2016. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musinfo.ch
  4. ^ Peter Planyavsky : Between Gregorian chant and song contest. In: Theological-practical quarterly. (ThPQ), 164 (2016), pp. 247-255.
personal data
SURNAME Simeon, Stephan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss church musician and composer
DATE OF BIRTH May 5, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Lucerne
DATE OF DEATH 18th December 2017