Friedhelm Flamme (born 1963) is a German

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

choral director Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

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 mu ...

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

Life and achievements

Born in

Volkmarsen Volkmarsen is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in northern Hesse, Germany. It is home to 6840 residents. Geography Location Volkmarsen lies on the northern edge of the ''Waldecker Tafel'' (Waldecker Shield (geology)) where it flatten ...

, Flamme who has been associated with church music since his youth, was already active as an organist when he was young. He studied at the

Hochschule für Musik Detmold The Hochschule für Musik Detmold is a university-level music school situated in Detmold, Germany. Academics The Hochschule offers performance degrees in composition, all orchestral instruments, piano, voice, opera, art-song, conducting, as we ...

and at the

University of Paderborn Paderborn University (german: Universität Paderborn) is one of the fourteen public research universities in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It was founded in 1972 and 20,308 students were enrolled at the university in the winter ...

school music, church music, organ (concert exam with distinction with ),

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

, composition, educational science and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

. Further studies led him to

Guy Bovet Guy Bovet (born 22 May 1942 in Thun) is a Swiss organist and composer. Career Bovet studied under Marie Dufour in Lausanne, Pierre Segond in Geneva and Marie-Claire Alain in Paris. From 1979 to 1999 he taught Spanish organ music at the Univer ...

Ewald Kooiman Ewald Kooiman (June 14, 1938 in Wormer, North Holland – January 25, 2009 in Hurghada), was a Dutch organist. He studied organ in Amsterdam with Piet Kee and with Jean Langlais in Paris. In addition, he was professor of Romance languages. R ...

Jon Laukvik Jon Laukvik (born 16 December 1952, in Oslo) is a Norwegian organist. Laukvik studied church music, organ and piano in Oslo. Afterwards, he worked with Michael Schneider and Hugo Ruf in Cologne and Marie-Claire Alain in Paris. In 1980, he was a ...

, Thierry Mechler, ,

Harald Vogel Harald Vogel (born 21 June 1941 in Ottersberg) is a German organist, organologist, and author. He is a leading expert on Renaissance and Baroque keyboard music. He has been professor of organ at the University of the Arts Bremen since 1994. Book ...

, Herbert Wulf and Wolfgang Zehrer. Since 1991, he has been working as a church and school musician in the and at the in the

Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover (german: Evangelisch-lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers) is a Lutheran church body ''(Landeskirche)'' in the northern German state of Lower Saxony and the city of Bremerhaven covering the territory of th ...

. From 1991 to 2004, he was

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

at the Laurentiuskirche Dassel, from 1991 to 2007 he was the church music supervisor in the Göttingen North district. In 1993, 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 ...

. Since 2002, he has been a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

at the Detmold University of Music. He has conducted a large number of vocal concerts, especially cyclic performances of Bach's

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s with the ''Vokalensemble Südniedersachsen''. In 2006, he received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

from the Musicological Institute of the Detmold University of Music and the University of Paderborn with a thesis on the compositional output of

Friedrich Gulda Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields. Biography Early life and career Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...

. He published compositions and wind arrangements. As an organist, Flamme gives concerts in Europe and overseas; he can rely to a broad repertoire and an extensive discography (Internet Classical Award 2004 for the recording of the complete organ works of

Maurice Duruflé Maurice Gustave Duruflé (; 11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, musicologist, and teacher. Life and career Duruflé was born in Louviers, Eure in 1902. He became a chorister at the Rouen Cathedral Choir School fro ...

). Currently his CD series ''Organ Works of the North German Baroque'' (cpo/jpc) is widely acclaimed by critics and the public. The composer Walter Steffens wrote for Flamme his organ symphony ''Le Cantique des Cantiques'' based on pictures by

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

. Flamme is particularly committed to the rediscovery of the French composer whose works he presented in first recordings. In 2013, he was responsible for the German

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

of the ''Symphonie Eucharistique''. In 2018, Flamme was appointed honorary professor of the Hochschule für Musik Detmold.hfm-detmold.de
''Honorarprofessortitel verliehen''
retrieved 29 October 2020.

Recordings

* Organ Works Of The North German Baroque. Vol. I bis XV, 2004–2016. * Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Complete Organ Works, 2010. * Marcel Dupré. Le Chemin de la Croix, 2005. * Maurice Duruflé. Complete Organ Works, 2004. * Carl Nielsen – Rued Langgaard. Organ Works, 2010. * Auguste Fauchard, 1994. * Auguste Fauchard. Anthologie

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (; 4 February 1811 – 13 October 1899) was a French organ builder. He has the reputation of being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century. He pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ buildi ...

. Vol. 4, 2004. * Friedhelm Flamme plays pieces by Max Reger (among others ''Vier Choralfantasien''), 2004. * Walter Steffens. Guernica and other Paintings, 2009.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Flamme, Friedhelm German choral conductors German organists 1963 births Living people People from Waldeck-Frankenberg Kirchenmusikdirektor