The Leipziger Universitätschor (LUC) is the university choir of the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

. A mixed choir, it is formed by approximately 100 students from all faculties. It was founded in 1926 as Madrigalkreis Leipziger Studenten (Madrigal circle of Leipzig students), and has gone by its present name since 1938. It is now part of the

Leipziger Universitätsmusik Leipziger Universitätsmusik refers to music education and performance at the University of Leipzig. Music at the university dates back to its founding of the university in the 15th century. At present, Leipziger Universitätsmusik is the name of s ...

History

Music at the

has a long tradition. Music was one of four initial topics taught upon the university's founding. The first (director of university music) known by name was

Werner Fabricius Fabricius Werner (1633-1679), an organist and composer of note, was born April 10, 1633, at Itzehoe, Holstein. As a boy he studied music under his father, Albert Fabricius, organist in Flensburg, and Paul Moth, the Cantor there. He went to the G ...

, who served from 1656 to 1679; he was followed by

Johann Kuhnau Johann Kuhnau (; 6 April 16605 June 1722) was a German polymath, known primarily as a composer today. He was also active as a novelist, translator, lawyer, and music theorist, and was able to combine these activities with his duties in his offici ...

and Max Reger, among many others. On 17 June 1926, Friedrich Rabenschlag founded the Madrigalkreis Leipziger Studenten in his room in the

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

Bachviertel. The small group performed mostly a cappella music of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

. When Rabenschlag became the church musician (''Kantor'') of the

Paulinerkirche, Leipzig The Paulinerkirche was a church on the Augustusplatz in Leipzig. It was built in 1231 as the Klosterkirche for the Dominican monastery in Leipzig. From the foundation of the University of Leipzig in 1409, it served as the university church. Aft ...

, the university church, in 1933, performances were often held there, often in collaboration with the Universitätskantorei. Both choirs merged in 1938 to the Leipziger Universitätschor. Rabenschlag conducted the choir until 1962, when he retired for health reasons. On 27 November 1962, Rabenschlag's successor was

Hans-Joachim Rotzsch Hans-Joachim Rotzsch (25 April 1929 – 25 September 2013) was a German choral conductor, conducting the Thomanerchor from 1972 until 1991 as the fifteenth Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach. He was also a tenor and an academic teacher. B ...

, who continued to conduct the choir even after he was appointed ''

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor a ...

'' in 1972. During his tenure, the Paulinerkirche, the choir's home, was dynamited on 30 May 1968 by the GDR regime. On 19 December 1973,

Max Pommer Max Pommer (born 9 February 1936) is a German musicologist and conductor, a director of the Leipziger Universitätschor and the founder and conductor of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. Career Born in Leipzig, Pommer was a student of th ...

became the new conductor of the Leipziger Universitätschor. He focused on historically informed performances, but also conducted contemporary works by

Paul Dessau Paul Dessau (19 December 189428 June 1979) was a German composer and conductor. He collaborated with Bertolt Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them. Biography Dessau was born in Hamburg into a ...

and

Alfred Schnittke Alfred Garrievich Schnittke (russian: Альфре́д Га́рриевич Шни́тке, link=no, Alfred Garriyevich Shnitke; 24 November 1934 – 3 August 1998) was a Russian composer of Jewish-German descent. Among the most performed and re ...

. In 1987,

Wolfgang Unger Wolfgang Unger (31 December 1948 – 19 April 2004) was a German conductor, especially a choral conductor, and an academic in Halle and Leipzig. He founded several choirs and focused on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. Li ...

took over as conductor. He revived the academic services, now held at the Nikolaikirche. Unger was appointed Universitätsmusikdirektor in 1991. The choir celebrated its 65th anniversary with a performance of Mozart's Requiem on 22 November 1991. Twenty-five years after the demolition of the Paulinerkrche, the choir performed a memorial concert at the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The f ...

on 26 May 1993. The choir's recording of

Hugo Distler August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer. Life and career Born in Nuremberg, Distler att ...

's ''Litugische Gesänge'' won an

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize. Th ...

award . Unger led the choir until his death in 2004. He was succeeded by

David Timm David Timm (born 24 April 1969) is a German pianist, organist, choral conductor and jazz musician. Since February 2005 he has been (University Music Director) of the Leipzig University, and thus also director of the Leipziger Universitätschor, ...

Conductors

Several conductors shaped the choir: * 1926–1962: Friedrich Rabenschlag * 1962–1963: Christoph Schneider (ad interim) * 1963–1973:

* 1973–1987:

* 1987–2004:

* 2004–2005: Ulf Wellner (ad interim) * Since 2005:

References

Literature

* Manuel Bärwald: ''Der Leipziger Universitätschor in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Untersuchungen zu Ursprung, Entwicklungen und Traditionen im Kontext seiner Chorleiter.'' In: Eszter Fontana (ed.): ''600 Jahre Musik an der Universität Leipzig. Studien anlässlich des Jubiläums.'' Stekovics, Wettin 2010, , pp. 349–365. *

External links

* *
Leipziger Universitätschor
vdkc.de {{Authority control Leipzig University

German choirs 1926 establishments in Germany Music in Leipzig