The document examines Hugo Distler’s organ solo works within the context of performance. Chapter One contains relevant biographical information primarily based on the work of Ursula Herrmann. Chapter Two discusses the cultural, academic, and career influences on Distler’s compositional output. Chapter Three has analyses of select organ works and a discussion as to how these relate to performance. Chapter Four provides information about the playing and physical execution of Distler’s music at the organ console, with much of the information coming from primary sources written by Distler himself. Distler was born out of wedlock in Nürnberg. His early childhood was fraught with bad experiences. Under the guardianship of his maternal grandparents, he attended a Gymnasium and a music academy. When he was later unable to complete his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory, his teachers provided him with excellent recommendations, and Distler became the new organist at St. Jakobi in Lübeck in 1931. In this new environment, he became famous as a church musician, organist, conductor, and composer - the par excellence of German music. His other positions were in academia in Stuttgart and Berlin, and he eventually became a full professor. Due to the repression by the Nazi party, constantly being overworked, and the impact of his early childhood upon his psyche, Distler committed suicide on All Saints Day, November 1, 1942. Distler became the first person to compose music for the organ in a modern style that was suited for the sound of the Baroque organ. His organ music is based on vocal techniques, experiments with rhythm, uses a variety of scales and modes, and is generally pentatonic. The ideology of clarity in Distler’s works is of utmost importance. It should be apparent that this dictates the performer’s choices regarding how to interpret them. Registration, tempi, and articulation are servants to the composition. Performers of his music need to remain cognizant of this.

Diss.--Berlin, 1995. / Bibliogr. p. 271-295. Index.

Thesis (PhD) -- Stellenbosch University, 1988. / This dissertation analyses the style of the published instrumental works of Hugo Distler (1908-1942). Emphasis is placed on the innovative aspects of the style rather than on the rejuvenation of older stylistic models, this latter feature having up to the present received more attention than any other. An examination of the concept of style analysis in general as well as the problems arising from its application specifically to the instrumental works of Distler prepares the ground for an investigation of the principles on which the style is based. To begin with these principles are presented hypothetically and then verified by way of detailed discussion and numerous examples from the music itself. It is argued that they result from a style of remarkable integrity. A distinction is made between general stylistic principles (which include a linear-additive principle, a vocal principle and the principle of play) and specific structural principles. The latter are explained as specific realizations of the former on a structural level. Consequently the innovations on this level are described in great detail. This forms the main body of the dissertation. The terminology thus developed is then applied to an examination of melodic, harmonic, rhythmical and formal characteristics. It is found that an appropriate analysis and apt description of the style is possible in this way. The most important result of the investigation is the finding that Distler's style represents a highly original contribution to the search 'for a way to overcome the conventional tonal style without, however, resorting to atonality.

No description available.

Via denna uppsats, vilken behandlar tre utvalda orgelkompositioner av de svenska tonsättarna Valdemar Söderholm, Torsten Sörenson och Gunnar Thyrestam, alla i sin profession också aktiva kyrkomusiker och pedagoger, vill jag fästa uppmärksamheten på en idag något negligerad era, nämligen den nysakliga perioden inom Musica Sacrae. Dessutom vill jag med dessa tämligen tidiga verk i deras respektive opuslistor påvisa att just denna musik något oriktigt och måhända även fördomsfullt bundits till ett senare ”orgelrörelse-ideal”, till en instrumenttyp som inte är att betrakta som kongenial och själsbefryndad med kompositionerna. / <p>Jan Pieterson Sweelinck (1562-1621): Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehe</p><p>Hugo Distler(1908-1942): Orgelpartita över "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der von uns den Gotteszorn wandt" Choral - Bicinium - Ricercare</p><p>Torsten Sörenson (1908-1992): Toccata (a-moll)</p><p>Valdemar Söderholm (1909-1990): Toccata och Fuga d-moll</p><p>Gunnar Thyrestam (1900-1984): Preludium ocg Fuga B-dur</p><p>Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847): Orgelsonat nr. 6: Choarl mit Vartiationen - Fuga - Finale</p><p>Anton Linnerhed, orgel</p>

This document was created to provide a new edition of Hugo Distler's Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen variations from Die Weihnachtsgeschichte, op. 10. Through my experiences with this work as a singer and a conductor it has become clear that, although the work was written for modest forces and was intended for practical use within a church service, the work's practicality is compromised due to a number of factors. Several editions of the variations exist, but all pose problems to modern choral ensembles. These problems include: lack of uniform barlines, which makes conducting the work difficult since Distler writes simultaneously contrasting meters throughout Die Weihnacthsgeschichte; omission of the surrounding texts for dramatic context; an antiquated German font that is difficult to read; English translations which obscure literal meaning and Distler's careful text-painting; and lack of a piano reduction. I demonstrate that it is possible to create a new edition of Distler's Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen variations that is more accessible to modern choral ensembles while respecting the composer's stylistic and dramatic intent. This edition (1) retains Distler's original meters but makes them easier to read by regularizing the barring; (2) includes other texts from the Weinachtsgeschichte to provide context for the variation texts; (3) is printed in a more legible modern font; (4) preserves the original German language but also provides English translations for the texts to make it easier for non-German speakers to understand meaning and recognize text-painting; and (5) includes a piano reduction of the vocal parts. The methodology I have used in the editorial process is provided and examples are discussed. I also provide suggestions for rehearsal procedures to help preserve the composer's stylistic intent. My completed new edition has been included for perusal.

Das Komponieren für Männerchor war in Zeiten von Diktaturen und Kriegen selten unpolitisch. Männerchorsätze schrieb man zum Beispiel für Soldaten im Felde, sozusagen für deren 'Feierabend', für die Freizeitbeschäftigung vor und nach der Schlacht. In seiner Leipziger Zeit hat Johann Nepomuk David einen Männerchorsatz a cappella geschrieben: mit geistlichem Text. In dem Beitrag wird die stilistische Stellung dieses und anderer in seinem Umkreis geschriebener Chorsätze des Komponisten anhand einer Reihe von Sätzen mit derselben Besetzung, aus derselben Zeit und aus demselben politischen Umfeld diskutiert.

Johann Nepomuk David (1895–1977) lebte und wirkte von 1934 an für gut ein Jahrzehnt in Leipzig. Untersuchungen seiner Werke aus jenen Jahren und ihrem unmittelbareren zeitlichen Umfeld stehen im Zentrum dieses Bandes. Die Autorinnen und Autoren nehmen je ein Werk bzw. ein Werkkonvolut Davids in den Blick, vorzugsweise solche für öffentlichkeitswirksame Bereiche wie für Orchester und für Chor. Eine Unterhaltung über in den dreißiger Jahren entstandene Männerchöre, eine zeitgeschichtliche Untersuchung und ein Gespräch über das Verhältnis von Werk und öffentlichem Handeln Davids ergänzen die Beiträge. Der Band verdankt sich einer Initiative der Fachrichtung Komposition/Tonsatz der Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ Leipzig. In seinem Kern ging er aus Vorträgen hervor, die bei einem halbtägigen Symposium im Wintergarten des Bläserhauses gehalten wurden, das im November 2011 im Rahmen der David-Tage stattfand.