Bruno Grusnick (18 October 1900 – 4 August 1992) was a German musicologist and church musician.

Life

Grusnick came from

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...

and had already become acquainted with the musical aspirations of the

German Youth Movement The German Youth Movement (german: Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement ...

as a youth and student. From 1919 to 1925, in addition to music and

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

, he also studied German, English and

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

. In the field of music and musicology,

Hermann Kretzschmar August Ferdinand Hermann Kretzschmar (19 January 1848 – 10 May 1924) was a German musicologist and writer, and is considered a founder of hermeneutics in musical interpretation and study. Life and career Born in Olbernhau, Saxony, Kretz ...

, Max Friedlaender, Johannes Wolf,

Curt Sachs Curt Sachs (; 29 June 1881 – 5 February 1959) was a German musicologist. He was one of the founders of modern organology (the study of musical instruments). Among his contributions was the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which he created with Erich ...

Georg Schünemann Georg Schünemann (13 March 1884 – 2 January 1945) was a German musicologist. Life Born in Berlin, Schünemann, the son of a rector, was awarded a doctorate after studying music in 1907 with his dissertation on the ''history of conducting''. ...

and

Wilibald Gurlitt Wilibald Gurlitt (1 March 1889, Dresden – 15 December 1963, Freiburg) was a German musicologist. Gurlitt, son of the art historian Cornelius Gurlitt, attended the St. Anne Semi-Classical Secondary School (''Annenrealgymnasium'') in Dresd ...

were among his teachers. On 1 April 1928, he came to

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

Studienrat Studienrat (abbreviated StR) is an official title/rank of higher teachers in the German and Austrian education system. Even though the German and Austrian education systems use the same term, there are differences in the level and usage of this rank ...

to the . On 4 May 1928, he founded the ''Lübeck Singing and Playing Circle'', which was influenced by the , to spend their free time together doing sports, hiking and making music together. But already in the founding year, there were also public performances: for example, at the folk dance festival in the Wallanlagen and on 21 October a first spiritual concert. He soon met the pastor of the , who had also been appointed in 1928. , in 1930 he became cantor at St. Jakobi, a post he was to hold until 1972. The very next year he met

Hugo Distler August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer. Life and career Born in Nuremberg, Distler at ...

, who took up the position of organist at the church in 1931 through the mediation of

Günther Ramin Günther Werner Hans Ramin (15 October 1898 – 27 February 1956) was an influential German organist, conductor, composer and pedagogue in the first half of the 20th century. Ramin, the son of a pastor, was born in Karlsruhe, Germany. At the a ...

. Working closely together, Grusnick performed many of Distler's choral works, helping him to break through with performances at music festivals and music days throughout Germany and Europe, especially at the Kassel Music Days in 1935. In February 1931, Kühl, Distler and Grusnick introduced the then new service form of ''Musical Vespers'' in St. Jakobi, which soon became a firm tradition. In addition to Distler's modernism, Grusnick's choir work focused on the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

composers

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and soon

Buxtehude Buxtehude (), officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude (german: Hansestadt Buxtehude, nds, Hansestadt Buxthu ()), is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It is part of the Hamburg ...

. As early as 1931, Grusnick made several study trips to

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

, where he undertook source research on Buxtehude's vocal works in the

Düben Collection The Düben collection is a collection of musical manuscripts named after the original collector, Gustaf Düben, held in the Uppsala University Library. It includes much 17th-century baroque music, in particular the only surviving copies of many wo ...

of the university library there, in the research and processing of which he was to play a decisive role in the decades to come. He subsequently published eleven

chorale cantata A chorale cantata is a church cantata based on a chorale—in this context a Lutheran chorale. It is principally from the Germany, German Baroque music, Baroque era. The organizing principle is the words and music of a Lutheran hymn. Usually a chora ...

s and one solo cantata by Buxtehude in the Bärenreiter-Verlag, as well as sacred concertos by

Christoph Bernhard Christoph Bernhard (1 January 1628 – 14 November 1692) was born in Kolberg, Pomerania, and died in Dresden. He was a German Baroque composer and musician. He studied with former Sweelinck-pupil Paul Siefert in Danzig (now Gdańsk) and in War ...

that had survived in the collection. He was thus one of the most important editors of Buxtehude's vocal works. After war service and imprisonment from 1939 to 1946, he returned to Lübeck. In 1948 he was appointed

Kirchenmusikdirektor Kirchenmusikdirektor (KMD, director of church music) is a German title for professional church musicians (' who have responsibility for not only a parish but a larger region, in both Protestant and Catholic church music. The title is also sometimes ...

. In 1949, he established the tradition of performing Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' in St. Jakobi from three different galleries. In 1952 he had the overall direction of the 29th "German Bach Festival" of the

Neue Bachgesellschaft The Neue Bachgesellschaft, or New Bach Society, is an organisation based in Leipzig, Germany, devoted to the music of the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. It was founded in 1900 as the successor to the Bach Gesellschaft, which between 1850 and 1900 ...

, which took place in Lübeck. In the same year he brought the Hugo-Distler Archive to Lübeck. He made his last trip to Uppsala in 1986 and published a printable copy of the Buxtehude cantata on "

Nun danket alle Gott A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

" before the end of 1990.

Honours

* Honorary doctor of the

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

(1966) * Buxtehude-Preis der Hansestadt Lübeck (1969), with Walter Kraft *

Bundesverdienstkreuz The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

am Bande (24 November 1970).

Work

* (ed.) ''Weihnachtsnachtigall. Deutsche Weihnachtslieder für Schule und Haus.''''Weihnachtsnachtigall deutsche Weihnachtslieder für Schule und Haus''
on WorldCat Lübeck: Westphal 1928 *''Eine Buxtehude-Fahrt nach Upsala'' in ' 1932, *''Dietrich Buxtehude: Leben u. Werke'', Bärenreiter Kassel 1937 *''Hugo Distler'', Lübeck 1982 *''Hugo Distler und Hermann Grabner'', erweiterter Sonderdruck aus ''Musica'' (1964), 18. Jg., H. 2 *''Wie Hugo Distler Jakobiorganist in Lübeck wurde'', Sonderdruck aus ' (1958), 28. Jg., H. 3 *Alec Hyatt King / Bruno Grusnick (Übers.): ''Mozart im Spiegel der Geschichte : 1756–1956. Eine kritische u. bibliographische Studie'', Bärenreiter Kassel 1956 *''29. Deutsches Bachfest der Neuen Bachgesellschaft vom 5.–8. September 1952 in Lübeck – Bach-Fest-Buch'', Neue Bachgesellschaft Kassel 1952 *''Die Dübensammlung. Ein Versuch ihrer chronologischen Ordnung'', in: ''Svensk tidskrift för musikforskning'', xlviii (1966), 70

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grusnick, Bruno German publishers (people) Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1900 births 1992 deaths Musicologists from Berlin

Life

Honours

Work

References

Further reading

External links