Ernst Hermann Meyer
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Ernst Hermann Ludimar Meyer (8 December 1905 – 8 October 1988) was a German composer and
musicologist 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 m ...
, noted for his expertise on seventeenth-century English chamber music.


Life

Meyer was born in Berlin. He received his first piano lessons at the age of six, and started composing at eleven. After finishing school, he worked as an apprentice at a bank, and in 1926 he started the advanced study for music at
Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...
, where in 1930 he completed his Ph.D. on the 17th century chamber music of North German composers. He became a pupil of
Hanns Eisler Hanns Eisler (6 July 1898 – 6 September 1962) was an Austrian composer (his father was Austrian, and Eisler fought in a Hungarian regiment in World War I). He is best known for composing the national anthem of East Germany, for his long artisti ...
and under his influence joined the Communist Party. Being a Jew and the composer of militant protest songs, he emigrated to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in 1933 to avoid detention by the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
. There he eventually became a close friend of leftist composer
Alan Bush Alan Dudley Bush (22 December 1900 – 31 October 1995) was a British composer, pianist, conductor, teacher and political activist. A committed communist, his uncompromising political beliefs were often reflected in his music. He composed pro ...
, who was also in contact with exiled composers Eisler and Kurt Weill. In the UK Meyer researched English chamber music of the 17th century, lectured for the Workers Educational Association and conducted the Labour Choral Union. In 1939 he began lecturing at Bedford College, London; in 1945 he was given a guest professorship at
King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...
. But unlike some of his fellow émigré composers (such as
Hans May Hans May (11 July 1886 – 1 January 1959) was an Austrian-born composer who went into exile in Britain in 1936 after the Nazis came to power in his homeland, being of Jewish descent. May first gained attention as a composer during the 1920s a ...
), Meyer only ever worked on the fringes of British cinema, for which he produced some scores for documentaries and instructional films. He did some unique work on the use of sound effects, dubbing and editing.Huntley, John. ''British Film Music'' (1947), p. 217 Meyer returned to
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
(GDR) in 1948 and became one of the most influential figures of music culture there. He was active politically as a communist, and his works include choral, orchestral, and chamber music written to display commitment to Marxist–Leninist ideals. In 1982 the second edition of his book ''Early English Chamber Music: The History of a Great Tradition from the Middle Ages to Purcell'' was published. Meyer was head of the German Society of Composers and Musicologists, professor of musicology at Berlin's
Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...
, chairman of the German Handel Society, and founder of the annual Handel Festival, which is still celebrated in Halle, Germany.


Works

Meyer composed numerous songs, as well as chamber music, two symphonies and other works for orchestra, an opera, and an oratorio. He wrote numerous musicological articles as well as a book on English chamber music. His pupils included Serge Hovey. As a musicologist, he edited numerous manuscripts by English composers of the Tudor and Renaissance periods (for example, ''Englische Fantasien aus dem 17. Jahrhundert : für drei Streichinstrumente = English fantasias from the 17th century : for three string instruments'' ).


Selected Compositions

Among more than 300 songs, orchestral works, and other works: * Symphony for Strings (1947) * ''Mansfeld Oratorio'' (1950) * String Quartet in G, Nr. 1 (1956) * String Quartet Nr. 2 (1959) * ''Poem,'' for Viola and Orchestra (1961) * Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1964) * Symphony in B (1967) * String Quartet Nr. 3 (1967) * Concerto for Harp and Chamber Orchestra (1968) * ''Leinefelder Divertimento'' (1969) * Toccata for Orchestra (1971) * ''Reiter der Nacht'', opera (1972) * Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1978) * Sonata for Viola and Piano (1979) * ''Essay'' for Viola Solo (1983)


Selected books

Among many papers and essays: * ''Die mehrstimmigie Spielmusik des 17. Jahrhunderts in Nord- und Mitteleuropa,'' Heidelberg 1930 * ''English Chamber Music: The History of a Great Art from the Middle Ages to Purcell,'' London 1946 ()


References


Further reading

* Gur, Golan. 2015. "Classicism as Anti-Fascist Heritage: Realism and Myth in Ernst Hermann Meyer’s Mansfelder Oratorium (1950)." In: Kyle Frackman and Larson Powell (ed.), ''Classical Music in the German Democratic Republic: Production and Reception.'' Rochester: Camden House, pp. 34–57 *
List of émigré musicians from Nazi Europe who settled in Britain The rise of Nazism and its aftermath led to a wave of Central European intellectuals, many of them Jewish, seeking escape abroad during the 1930s and 1940s due to persecution at home. It has been claimed that nearly 70 composers came to the UK to ...


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Ernst Hermann 1905 births 1988 deaths 20th-century classical composers German opera composers Male opera composers Musicians from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Heidelberg University alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin German male classical composers Academics of Bedford College, London 20th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians Recipients of the Medal of Merit of the GDR