Johannes Piersig (24 November 1907 – 26 April 1998) was a German Kantor,

docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...

for organ playing, music education and music theory, and later in 1979/80

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the Free University of Hamburg.

Life

Born in Geestemünde, Piersig studied singing and organ playing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig. After several concert tours, he took up the position of cantor at St Elizabeth's Church, Wrocław in 1932. In 1941, he became

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 ...

at the university there and at the same time taught as a lecturer at the Hochschulinstitut für Musikerziehung. As a result of the end of the war, Piersig had to flee towards the West in May 1945. He returned to his city of study and became Kantor of the St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig, a post in which he remained until 1959. Just one year after the end of the war, he also received a position as lecturer for organ playing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig. There he also taught his later successor as church music director at St. Nikolai. On 1 April 1947, he was appointed church music director and for music theory at the

Martin Luther University Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

in Halle, where he simultaneously took over the direction of the Robert-Franz-Singakademie as successor to the Royal Music Director Alfred Rahlwes. From 1956, he additionally taught at the

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 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 initiative o ...

. In the same year, Piersig received his doctorate at the

Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university in ...

with his dissertation ''Das Weltbild des Heinrich Schütz''. Promoted by the members of the ', he received a professorship with a teaching assignment for musicology in 1948. After the attacks on the ''Spirituskreis'' by the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

regime of the GDR, Piersig fled a second time, this time to the Federal Republic, and a year later began working as a

church music Church music is Christian music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. History Early Christian music The on ...

ian in

Blankenese Blankenese () is a suburban quarter in the borough of Altona in the western part of Hamburg, Germany; until 1938 it was an independent municipality in Holstein. It is located on the right bank of the Elbe river. With a population of 13,637 as of ...

. In 1978, he obtained a position as a lecturer at the Free University of Hamburg (renamed the "Free University of Northern Germany" after its move to

Seevetal Seevetal (Northern Low Saxon: ''Seevdaal'') is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km south of Hamburg, and 15 km west of Winsen (Luhe). Its seat is in the village Hittfel ...

) and was rector of this Christian-oriented, non-governmental university in 1979 and 1980. Piersig died in Wedel,

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

at the age of 90.

Significance

Piersig's musicological research was mainly concerned with Baroque church music (among others ''Europäische Orgelmusik '', 1958). In addition, he worked on various research commissions on music history.

Honours

Orlando di Lasso Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Pales ...

-Medaille *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 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 ...

with ribbon (1981)

Work

* ''Das Weltbild des Heinrich Schütz'' (Dissertation, 1947) * ''Europäische Orgelmusik'' (1958) * ''Beiträge zu einer Rechtssoziologie der Kirchenmusik''.''Beiträge zu einer Rechtssoziologie der Kirchenmusik''
on WorldCat (1972) * ''Das Fortschrittsproblem in der Musik um die Jahrhundertwende'' (1977) * ''So ging es allenfalls'' (Lebenserinnerungen aus dem Nachlass, 2003)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Piersig, Johannes German music educators Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Music directors 1907 births 1998 deaths People from Bremerhaven