Helmut Barbe (28 December 1927 in Halle - 18 April 2021) was a German composer. Barbe studied at the (''Berliner Kirchenmusikschule'') where he was taught by

Gottfried Grote Gottfried Grote (15 May 1903 – July 1976) was a German church musician. Born in Oberfrohna, Grote was from 1926 to 1935 organist and choir director of the Bach-Verein (Bach association) in Wuppertal, which later was named ''Wupperfelder Kantorei ...

and

Ernst Pepping Ernst Pepping (12 September 1901 – 1 February 1981) was a German composer of classical music and academic teacher. He is regarded as an important composer of Protestant sacred music in the 20th century. Pepping taught at the and the . His musi ...

. Between 1952 and 1975 he was the

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 church in Berlin's

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 ...

quarter. After this he took a post as a 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 universit ...

in what was at that time

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. In 1956 Barbe premiered his musical "Hallelujah Billy" at the

German Evangelical Church Assembly The German Evangelical Church Assembly (German ''Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag'', DEKT) is an assembly of lay members of the Evangelical Church in Germany, that organises biennial events of faith, culture and political discussion. History ...

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. This led commentators to identify him as a pioneer of contemporary worship music, in German ''

Neues Geistliches Lied ''Neues Geistliches Lied'' (, ''new spiritual song''), abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers. History The idea to reach youn ...

'' (NGL, literally: new spiritual song).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbe, Helmut 20th-century classical composers German classical composers Sacred music composers Academic staff of the Berlin University of the Arts 1927 births 2021 deaths People from Halle (Saale) German male classical composers 20th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians