Philipp Friedrich Silcher (27 June 1789 in Schnait (today part of

Weinstadt Weinstadt (meaning "Wine City") is a town in the Rems-Murr district, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Rems Valley approximately 15 km east of Stuttgart. Its population in 2012 was 25,998. The town is compose ...

) – 26 August 1860 in

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in thr ...

), was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, mainly known for his

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er (songs), and an important

Volkslied Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also ...

collector.Luise Marretta-Schär, Silcher, (Philipp) Friedrich in ''New Grove'' Vol. 23 ed. Stanley Sadie, 2nd Ed. (2001)

Life

Silcher was meant to be a school teacher, but dedicated himself entirely to music in the seminary in

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...

after he met

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

. He was taught composition and piano by

Conradin Kreutzer Conradin Kreutzer or Kreuzer (22 November 1780 – 14 December 1849) was a German composer and conductor. His works include the operas ''Das Nachtlager in Granada'' and incidental music to ''Der Verschwender'', both produced in 1834 in Vienna. ...

and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. In 1817 he was named musical director at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

. He is regarded as one of the most important protagonists of choir singing. He arranged many German

er and international

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

s that have remained standard repertoire of many choirs in Germany and became an integral part of German daily life. In 1829 Silcher founded the "Akademische Liedertafel" in Tübingen and directed it until his death. He was married to Luise Rosine Ensslin (1804–1871). They had two daughters and one son. A wine

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

was named after him, the ' (not to be confused with '' Schilcher''). The asteroid 10055 Silcher also bears the composer's name.

Works

Amongst his best-known songs are: *"

Ich hatt' einen Kameraden "Der gute Kamerad" ("The Good Comrade"), also known by its incipit as "Ich hatt' einen Kameraden" ("I had a comrade") is a traditional lament of the German armed forces. The text was written by German poet Ludwig Uhland in 1809. Its immediate ins ...

" *"

Alle Jahre wieder Alle Jahre wieder (English: "Every year again") is a well-known German Christmas carol. The text was written in 1837 by .Wilhelm Hey: ''Noch funfzig Fabeln für Kinder.'' In Bildern gezeichnet von Otto Speckter. Nebst einem ernsthaften Anhange. Neue ...

" *"" (also set by

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, but popular in Silcher's version) *" Die Lorelei" *Abschied ( "Muss i' denn zum Städtele hinaus"), which "inspired" the English-language "

Wooden Heart "Wooden Heart" is a pop song recorded by Elvis Presley. The composition is based on a German folk song " Muss i denn" (''lit.'' Must I then) and it was featured in the 1960 Elvis Presley film ''G.I. Blues''. The song was a hit single for Presl ...

" made famous by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

when he was stationed in Germany during his military service. * Melody of "

So nimm denn meine Hände "" (So take my hands now) is a Christian hymn often sung at funerals. The text by Julie Hausmann was first printed in 1862. The melody by Friedrich Silcher appeared already in 1843 with a different text. The song is well-known beyond churchgo ...

", originally for a different song *

Ännchen von Tharau "Ännchen von Tharau" (Low Prussian: "Anke van Tharaw") is a 17-stanza poem by the East Prussian poet Simon Dach. The namesake of the poem is Anna Neander (1615–1689), the daughter of a parson from Tharau, East Prussia (now known as Vladimirovo i ...

References

External links

* * *
Silcher Museum
in Weinstadt * *
"The song of the Lorelei"
(English lyrics and MP3) *
Silcher Monument in Tübingen
atlasobscura.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Silcher, Friedrich 1789 births 1860 deaths People from Rems-Murr-Kreis German Romantic composers University of Tübingen faculty 19th-century classical composers German male classical composers 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians