Hans Helmuth Chemin-Petit (24 July 1902 – 12 April 1981) 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 ...

, conductor and

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

Born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, the son of and a concert singer Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933-1945'', CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, . studied from 1920 to 1926

violoncello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D ...

with

Hugo Becker Hugo Becker (born Jean Otto Eric Hugo Becker, 13 February 1863, died 30 July 1941) was a prominent German cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He studied at a young age with Alfredo Piatti, and later Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden. Biograp ...

and composition with

Paul Juon Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

at the Musikhochschule Berlin. He began his musical career as a cellist. In 1929 he celebrated his first national compositional successes with the chamber opera ''Der gefangene Vogel'' at the

Duisburg Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in Nor ...

opera festival and in 1933 with the premiere of his 1st

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

under

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...

. In addition to Busch,

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

Siegmund von Hausegger Siegmund von Hausegger (16 August 1872 – 10 October 1948) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Early life Siegmund was born in Graz, the son of Friedrich von Hausegger (1837-1899), a lawyer and writer on music. According to Siegmund's ow ...

and

Hans Joachim Moser Hans Joachim Moser (25 May 1889, Berlin''Die kleine Enzyklopädie'', Encyclios-Verlag, Zurich, 1950, Vol. 2, p. 202. – 14 August 1967, Berlin) was a German musicologist, composer and singer. Moser was the son of the music-professor Andreas Mos ...

were also among his patrons. From 1929, he taught at the Academy for Church and School Music in Berlin. After the

Machtergreifung Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s, Chemin-Petit was in the Nazi , which from 1938 called itself the National Socialist Altherrenbund of German Students. He also became a member of the

National Socialist People's Welfare The National Socialist People's Welfare (german: Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt, NSV) was a social welfare organization during the Third Reich. The NSV was originally established in 1931 as a small Nazi Party-affiliated charity active loca ...

and of the

National Socialist Factory Cell Organization The National Socialist Factory Cell Organization (german: Nationalsozialistische Betriebszellenorganisation, NSBO or NSBZO) was a workers organization in Nazi Germany. In 1927, some NSDAP workers in large factories, located mostly in the Berlin ...

(NSBO), of which he was no longer a member in 1938. He was appointed a member of the Werkprüfungsausschuss der Deutschen Komponisten. As late as 7 October 1934, he was able to perform in a concert of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. On 7 October 1934, he was still able to perform excerpts from the incidental music to Shakespeare's

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

in a concert of the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. In 1936, he was appointed professor at the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

. On 24 May 1938, Chemin-Petit's cantata ''An die Liebe'' was performed as part of the

Reichsmusiktage The Reich Music Days (German: ''Reichsmusiktage''} took place from 22 to 29 May 1938 in Düsseldorf. They were a Nazi propaganda event under the patronage of Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels had originally planned an annual return of the Reichsmusiktage ...

. In 1939, he took over the direction of the Reblingsche Gesangsverein and the cathedral choir in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, and in 1943 of the . In the final phase of the Second World War, he was briefly a member of the

Volkssturm The (; "people's storm") was a levée en masse national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. It was not set up by the German Army, the ground component of the combined German ''Wehrmacht'' armed forces, ...

from 6 December 1944. In 1945, he was re-employed at the Berlin Musikhochschule and additionally became director of the Potsdam Municipal Choir. He gave lessons in

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

, composition and choral conducting. In Potsdam, he founded the "Collegium musicum" in 1945. In 1965, he was appointed deputy director of the Hochschule für Musik, a post he held until his retirement in 1969. In 1963, he was appointed a member of the

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

, where he became director of the music department in 1968. His students included

Magdalene Schauss-Flake Magdalene Schauss-Flake (25 July 1921 – 24 September 2008) was a German composer and organist who gave recitals throughout the United States and Europe. Biography Schauss-Flake was born in Essen, where she studied church music at the Folkwang S ...

. Chemin-Petit was considered one of the most important choral conductors of his time and made a special contribution to the Berlin Philharmonic Choir, which he conducted from 1943 to 1981. Besides standard works from

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 ...

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

and

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...

, the then contemporary music formed an important cornerstone of his repertoire. Thus, he conducted numerous premieres and first performances of the works of composers such as

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

Johann Nepomuk David Johann Nepomuk David (30 November 1895 – 22 December 1977) was an Austrian composer. Life and career David was born in Eferding. He was a choirboy in the monastery of Sankt Florian and studied at an episcopal teacher training college in Linz, ...

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (he ...

Rudolf Wagner-Régeny Rudolf Wagner-Régeny (28 August 1903, Szászrégen, Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Reghin, Romania) – 18 September 1969, Berlin) was a composer, conductor, and pianist. Born in Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary, ...

Günter Bialas Günter Bialas (19 July 1907 – 8 July 1995) was a German composer. Life Bialas was born in Bielschowitz (today Bielszowice, a subdivision of Ruda Śląska) in Prussian Silesia. His father was the business manager of a German theatre, and his ...

and

Harald Genzmer Harald or Haraldr is the Old Norse form of the given name Harold. It may refer to: Medieval Kings of Denmark * Harald Bluetooth (935–985/986) Kings of Norway * Harald Fairhair (c. 850–c. 933) * Harald Greycloak (died 970) * Harald Hardrada ...

, as well as his own compositions. Chemin-Petit died in Berlin at the age of 78 and was buried at the .

Honours

Berliner Kunstpreis The ''Berliner Kunstpreis'' (Berlin Art Prize), officially Großer Berliner Kunstpreis, is a prize for the arts by the City of Berlin. It was first awarded in 1948 in several fields of art. Since 1971, it has been awarded by the Academy of Arts ( ...

(1964) *

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 (25 March 1968)Auskunft des Bundespräsidialamtes * Goldene Nadel der (1977) * of the city of Berlin (1977) * Goldene Ehrennadel des

Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge The German War Graves Commission ( in German) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth ...

(1978).

Tonal language

Chemin-Petit's main works are in the field of choral-symphonic vocal music. His

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

s and

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

s settings are particularly noteworthy. He also wrote orchestral works,

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

and numerous smaller pieces for choir ''

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

''. He was a conservative composer whose works are consistently tonal. What is striking about many of his compositions is a great preference for

contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

forms of composition, such as

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

and

passacaglia The passacaglia (; ) is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used today by composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre. Origin The ter ...

, which he was able to shape with sovereign mastery, even in their most complicated forms. Chemin-Petit's style unites various influences from

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 ...

and

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 ...

Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

and Paul Hindemith and can be characterised overall as

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

rooted in the tradition of German late Romanticism, in which archaising and modern elements come together.

Work

Operas

* ''Der Gefangene Vogel'', Lyrical play for people or puppets (libretto: Karla Höcker; 1927,

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 ...

Berlin 1927). * ''King Nicolo'', opera in 7 scenes (libretto: Hans Chemin-Petit after

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the de ...

; 1959, premiere Aachen 1962) * ''Die Komödiantin'', light-hearted opera in 3 scenes (libretto: Hans Chemin-Petit after Heinz Coubier; 1965, premiere Coburg 1970) * The Rivals', light-hearted chamber opera (libretto: Hans Chemin-Petit and Wolfgang Poch after Gian Francesco Loredano; 1969, première Berlin 1984) * Kassandra'', drama in 2 scenes with preface and epilogue (libretto: Hans Chemin-Petit after

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

; 1980, première Berlin 1982)

Vocal music

* ''Von der Eitelkeit der Welt'', cantata after

Andreas Gryphius Andreas Gryphius (german: Andreas Greif; 2 October 161616 July 1664) was a German poet and playwright. With his eloquent sonnets, which contains "The Suffering, Frailty of Life and the World", he is considered one of the most important Baroque ...

for baritone and chamber orchestra (1935) * ''Werkleute sind wir'', cantata after

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), shortened to Rainer Maria Rilke (), was an Austrian poet and novelist. He has been acclaimed as an idiosyncratic and expressive poet, and is widely recogni ...

for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra (1944) * ''Psalm Triptych'', 1962 subsequently combined from: ** ''The 90th Psalm'' for baritone, mixed choir and orchestra (1953). ** ''The 150th Psalm'' for mixed choir and orchestra (1954) ** ''The 98th Psalm'' for mixed choir and orchestra (1962) * ''Prooemion'' after

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

for

mixed choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and organ (1960) or winds and percussion (1961) * ''Summa vitae'', cantata after Kurt Ihlenfeld and Psalm 130, 1 for mixed choir and chamber orchestra (1964) * ''Symphonic Cantata'' after words of Predictor Solomon for alto, mixed choir and orchestra (1966) * ''Introit and Hymn'' after Psalm 148 for mixed choir, organ, winds, harp and percussion (1969) * numerous motets, hymns, songs and madrigals for choir a cappella

Orchestral music

* Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1931) * Symphony No. 1 in A minor (1932) * Orchestral Prologue (1939) * Orchestral Concerto in D major (1944) * Symphony No. 2 in C major (1949) * Intrada e Passacaglia (1963) * Concerto for Organ, String Orchestra and Timpani (1963) * Music for Orchestra 1968 (1968) * Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1971) * Concerto for recorder (f') and harpsichord with string orchestra and percussion (1973) * Concerto symphonico for orchestra (1976) * Serene Suite for Orchestra (1980)

Chamber music

* 2 string quartets, in E minor (1925) and G minor (1926). * Little Suite for 9 solo instruments based on the music for the puppet show ''Dr. Johannes Faust'' (1938) * Trio in the old style for oboe, clarinet and bassoon (1943) * 2 solo sonatas for recorder (f'), in F (1956) and in d (1960) * Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon (1948) * Sonata in d for recorder (f') and organ in D minor (1964)

References

External links

HP Hans Chemin-Petit
*

Sinfonieorchester Collegium musicum Potsdam

Chemin-Petit-Archiv
in archive of the

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chemin-Petit, Hans 20th-century classical composers German conductors (music) German choral conductors German opera composers German music educators Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1902 births 1981 deaths Musicians from Potsdam Volkssturm personnel Academic staff of the Berlin University of the Arts