Publishing house Singing Congregation

The publisher Singing community is a music publisher for church music . Its products are aimed primarily at church and community choirs, male and youth choirs. The office has been in Wuppertal since 1966 .

Johannes Heyenbruch was the publishing director from 1951 to 1977. Gerhard Michael took over the practical work from 1960 before he was given the management of the publishing house in 1977. After Holger Würth, who was responsible for the publishing house from 1998 to 2011, it has been Thomas Kraft since 2012.

history

The Singende Gemeinde publishing house was founded in Vluyn (Lower Rhine) in October 1951 . It belongs to the Christian Choir Association, a choral organization in which mostly free church choirs are members. The publishing house was founded to provide literature for its choirs and training materials for its choir directors.

The name of the publisher is both a program and a mandate to ensure that "the biblical office of singing in the congregation remains alive."

The choirs of the Christian Choir Association consist of laypeople who are usually led by lay choir directors. The focus of the choir work is on helping to organize the services. For this you need song sets, sayings, canons, often with the participation of the community. For larger events and more efficient choirs, the publisher also offers smaller motets and small cantatas .

The two musicians and singers of the Christian Singers Association, Paul Ernst Ruppel (1913–2006) and Herbert Beuerle (1911–1994), shaped the style of sheet music in the post-war period. (Most of Paul Ernst Ruppel's works have been published in the VSG) As pupils of Hugo Distler and Ernst Pepping , Ruppel and Beuerle are part of the Wandervogel or Singing movement , which in the Protestant churches led to a renewal of the liturgical movement of the 19th century Church music performed ( Alfred Stier , Richard Gölz , Walter Kiefner , Wilhelm Stählin ). Other composers from the Christian Singers Association and the Singing Community Publishing House are particularly notable in this tradition: Johannes Petzold (1912–1985) and Hans-Georg Lotz (1932–2001).

The choral music of the Christian Singers Association before the publishing house was founded (between 1879 and 1951) is stylistically attributable to Romanticism. The composers of this era include: August Eduard Grell (1800–1886), Ernst Gebhardt (1832–1899), August Rücker (1871–1952), Emil Janßen (1890–1975), Fritz Liebig (1873–1958), Gerhard Schmeling (1889-1970).

The return to the singing movement led, among other things, to the rediscovery and publication of the music of the Baroque period ( Melchior Franck , Heinrich Schütz , Johann Sebastian Bach ), which was then expanded through the acceptance of the Romantics from around 1972 ( Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy , Albert Becker ).

Original works and adaptations are published. The criterion for the publication is the realization by amateur choirs. A publishing committee and song committees are responsible for the publication.

The first works of modern Christian music, stylistically diverse from the New Spiritual Song to Christian Pop Music , appeared from 1982 in the sheet music and recordings series “Ninive”. Responsible text authors were among others Kurt Rose (1908–1999), Hartmut Handt (* 1940) and Lothar Zenetti (1926–2019); composers include Dieter Falk (* 1959), Rolf Schweizer (* 1936), later Manfred Staiger (* 1959), Armin Müller-Arnold (* 1960), Florian Sitzmann (* 1965), Martin Sellke (* 1965), Matthias Kiemle (* 1963) and Marc-Alexander Heilmann (* 1974).

Publishing program

Description of some issues:

• The federal gifts are the basic supply for the member choirs of the Christian Choir Association, formerly on sheets, since 1998 in booklet form (most recently in 2009: “One in Christ”). A CD and a work aid always appear with a score and choir edition. The song committee for mixed choirs decides on the selection.
• Choir books on different topics (e.g. times of day, funeral ceremonies), in different line-ups (three-part: "DreiKänge"), for sociable singing at singing camps ("Singsurium") and the church year (e.g. the annual "Singheft", for Christmas: "Look at the star", for Passion, Easter, Pentecost: "Christ in our world" 2011).
• Series of sheets for Chorpop (“Ninive” and “Singalong”) and magazine editions (“You are holy”). The Nineveh Song Committee decides on the selection of the Nineveh editions.
• Small motets appear in the series "Chorblatt Singende Gemeinde",
• small cantatas in "Singt undspiele".
• CDs appear on choir books, on special topics and on the Nineveh sheet music series.
• Choral music for male choirs, most recently the choir booklet (2005): “Lord, I'll come to you”. The song committee for male choirs decides on the selection.
• Training material, e.g. For example: "Choral voice training" (Joachim Duske) and "The language in choral singing" (Gerhard Trubel).
• Concordance on all notes for mixed choir.

Discography

Sound carriers published by the music label Verlag Singende Gemeinde (LC 00064):

MC (95) .500 ff.

prefix	Catalog number			title	Contributors	year	Remarks
	MC	CD	#
CS			500	Nineveh That is where it all begins	Jubila youth choir under the direction of Martin Falk and Horst Krüger Martin Falk (Speaker) Horst Krüger (Speaker)	1982
				Hallelujah • Thoughts on the title • This is where it all begins • Worry is closer to us than hope • In the middle of the crowd • We want to dare (we like to dare) • How should I sing songs • Rejoice, you askers • Translation to "Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child" • Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child • This is how I want to sing about you • Lord, our life and the world • Lord, how are your works so great and much • Lord, I see them Heaven • Hallelujah, praise the Lord with me • This is a delicious thing • Somebody's Knocking (Somebody's Knocking At Your Door) • The thing with God • Among the many words • A word has come • Hear you not the songs • I praise my God • Love is not just a word • I think now my foot is shaking • Like a dream
CS			501	Nineveh 2	Zain	1990 (?)
				[1] Come up, bring gifts and praise • [2] Somebody's Knocking At Your Door • [3] You mighty ones, I don't want to sing • [4] Let Us Break Bread Together • [5] They are to be envied • [6 ] The angel spoke • [7] Alleluia • [8] Praise the Lord, my soul • [9] Joy has made up a song • [10] If We Ever Needed The Lord Before • [11] The way we want to go • [12] Then my people will be happy again • [13] I trust in you
CS	95		503	Nineveh 3 youth choirs in the Christian Singers Association	Ninive Choir under the direction of Armin Müller	1991	In coproduction with the music label ERF-Verlag , there under MC-No. (312.0) 15.046, published

literature

• Wolfgang Schmidt (editor): Hundred Years of Christian Singers' Association 1879–1979. Publishing house Singende Gemeinde, Wuppertal 1979.

Web links

• Publisher's website

Coordinates: 51 ° 17 ′ 3.5 ″  N , 7 ° 8 ′ 55.6 ″  E