Oskar Gottlieb Blarr (born 6 May 1934) is a German composer, organist, church musician and academic teacher.

Career

Blarr was born in Sandlack near

Bartenstein Bartoszyce (pronounced , german: Bartenstein, ; lt, Barštynas) is a town on the Łyna River in northern Poland, with 22,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Bartoszyce County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. Geog ...

(

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

). The Gothic church with its Baroque organ fascinated him early on; he began to form a lifelong love for organs. Blarr and his family fled to West Germany in 1945. He wrote his first compositions at the age of 12. He studied church music from 1952 at the Kirchenmusikschule in Hannover, percussion at the

Musikhochschule Hannover A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

, and composition with

Heinrich Spitta Heinrich Arnold Theodor Spitta (19 March 1902 – 23 June 1972) was a German music educator, composer and musicologist. Life Born in Strasbourg, Spitta came from a family of musicians and theologians. His father was the theologian Friedrich S ...

. He continued his studies, conducting with

Dean Dixon Charles Dean Dixon (January 10, 1915November 3, 1976) was an American conductor. Career Dixon was born in the upper-Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem in New York City to parents who had earlier migrated from the Caribbean. He studied conducting ...

and

Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...

in Salzburg, composition with

Bernd Alois Zimmermann Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. As a ...

in Cologne,

Krzysztof Penderecki Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki (; 23 November 1933 – 29 March 2020) was a Polish composer and conductor. His best known works include ''Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima'', Symphony No. 3, his '' St Luke Passion'', ''Polish Requiem'', ''A ...

at the

Folkwang-Hochschule The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in ...

in Essen, and

Milko Kelemen Milko Kelemen (30 March 1924 – 8 March 2018) was a Croatian composer. Life Milko Kelemen was born in Slatina, Croatia (then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). He studied under Stjepan Šulek in Zagreb, under Olivier Messiaen in Paris ...

and at the

Robert Schumann Hochschule The Robert Schumann Hochschule (Robert Schumann University of Music and Media) is a school for music studies at the university level located in Düsseldorf. The University has a student body of some 850 coming from over 40 countries. Forty-seven f ...

. He was the church musician of the

Neanderkirche The Neanderkirche (Neander Church) is a Protestant church in the centre of Düsseldorf, the Altstadt. The building in early Baroque style was completed in 1687 and later named after the Reformed minister and hymn writer Joachim Neander. It is now a ...

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

from 1961 to 1999. He also lectured there at both the ''Katechetisches Seminar'' and the Robert Schumann Hochschule from 1984. Blarr composed four

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

s about the life of Jesus, four

symphonie The Symphonie satellites (2 satellites orbited) were the first communications satellites built by France and Germany (and the first to use three-axis stabilization in geostationary orbit with a bipropellant propulsion system) to provide geost ...

s, chamber music and works for organ. He also set many songs of the genre

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 ...

to music, some of under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Choral Brother Ogo. His organ works were recorded with organists

Wolfgang Abendroth Wolfgang Walter Arnulf Abendroth (2 May 1906 – 15 September 1985) was a socialist German jurist and political scientist. He was born in Elberfeld, now a part of Wuppertal in North Rhine-Westphalia. Abendroth was an important contributor to the c ...

and

Martin Schmeding Martin Schmeding (born 1975) is a German church musician, concert organist and academic teacher, who has made recordings of the complete organ works by composers such as Brahms, Mendelssohn, Franz Schmidt, Max Reger and Tilo Medek. Career Bor ...

. He was a member of the ecumenical ''Textautoren- und Komponistengruppe der Werkgemeinschaft Musik'' e.V. and the association ''Musik in der Ev. Jugend'' (now: Textautoren- und Komponistengruppe

TAKT Takt time, or simply Takt, is a manufacturing term to describe the required product assembly duration that is needed to match the demand. Often confused with cycle time, takt time is a tool used to design work and it measures the average time in ...

Blarr visited Israel to experience where Jesus lived as a Jew. In 1983, the Israeli composer

Josef Tal Josef Tal ( he, יוסף טל; September 18, 1910 – August 25, 2008) was an Israeli composer. He wrote three Hebrew operas; four German operas, dramatic scenes; six symphonies; 13 concerti; chamber music, including three string quartets; ...

dedicated his organ work ''Salva Venia'' to Blarr, who premiered it the following year in Düsseldorf. In 2016 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the

University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn The University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn was established on 1 September 1999, in accordance with the new Statute of Sejm signed by Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski, as well as Minister of Education Mirosław Handke, in August of th ...

Awards

* 1985 for music * 2006 Compositions prize of

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

for ''Tangos und Choräle für Dietrich Bonhoeffer'' (Tangos and chorales for

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

), premiered on 15 June 2006 in the Christuskirche Neuss

Selected works

The German National Library holds four works authored by Blarr, and 168 compositions, as of 2017:

Oratorio

* ''Jesus-Passion'' (1985) * ''Jesus-Geburt. Weihnachtsoratorium'' (1988/91) * ''Oster-Oratorium'' (1996) * ''Die Himmelfahrt'' (2010)

Chamber music

* ''Psalm 47'', a setting of

Psalm 47 Psalm 47 is the 47th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "O clap your hands". The Book of Psalms is the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly differ ...

for soprano, tenor, choir (ad lib.), trumpet, trombone, percussion (steel drums), violin, harp and double bass (1998) * ''Tangos and Chorales für

'' (2006) *''Stadt am Fluß'', four short piano works (1. St. Lambertus, 2. Der Neandertaler, 3. Ich denke dein, 4. Karlrobert Kreiten); Edition Gravis, Bad Schwalbach, 1990.

Orchestra

* Symphony No. 1 "

Janusz Korczak Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). After spending ma ...

en karem concerto" (1985) * Symphony No. 2 "Jerusalem" (1994) * Symphony No. 3 "Zum ewigen Frieden" (2004) * Symphony No. 4 ""Kopernikus" (premiere:

Tonhalle Düsseldorf Tonhalle Düsseldorf is a concert hall in Düsseldorf. It was built by the architect Wilhelm Kreis. The resident orchestra, the ''Düsseldorfer Symphoniker'', play symphonic repertoire at the Tonhalle as well as opera at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein ...

, 7 October 2011)

Organ

* Sonata ''Schaallu schlom Jeruschalajim'' (1 Psalmodie; 2 Rundgang; 3 Tropierter Choral) * ''Lischuatcha kiwiti Adonai'' * ''Kenne Sie die Geschichte ... ?'' * ''Schlaflied für Mirjam'' * ''Dream talk'' (1 Toccata 1; 2 Canon rythmique; 3 Toccata II per l'elevatione; 4 Canon à 6; 5 Toccata III, Final) * Missa brevis (1 Kyrie "O milder Gott"; 2 Straßburger Gloria) * ''Hommage'' (1 Initium und Organum triplum; 2 Organum aliquotum; 3 Organum accordum and Finalis) * ''Handkuß für St. Margaretha'' * ''Al har habajit – auf dem Tempelberg'' (für great and small organ) (1 Zipporim we Schofar; 2 Epitaph für S.B.C.; 3 Near eastern counterpoint; 4 Magrepha) * ''"... qui tollis" – Seufzer für BAZI'' * ''Roncalli-Nashorn Else'' * ''Frühligsstimmen'' * ''Zum ewigen Frieden''

Neues Geistliches Lied

* "Weil du Ja zu mir sagst", text: Christine Heuser, first prize at the second competition of the

Evangelische Akademie Tutzing The ' (Protestant Academy of Tutzing) is an education and conference center in Tutzing, Bavaria, run by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria. It was founded in 1947. The main building is Schloss Tutzing on Lake Starnberg. The academy awards ...

in 1963 * "Shalom, wo die Liebe wohnt", text:

Diethard Zils Diethard Zils O.P. (born 1935) is a German Dominican, priest and hymnwriter. Born in Bottrop, Zils is known as a hymnwriter for the genre Neues Geistliches Lied and a translator of such songs. They have been included in the Catholic hymnal ''Go ...

* "Wer bringt dem Menschen, der blind ist, das Licht", text:

Arrangements

* ''Bilder einer Ausstellung'' (''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite (music), suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's ...

'') after Mussorgsky, for organ (1976) * Stravinsky on the organ (1978)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blarr, Oskar Gottlieb Sacred music composers German classical composers German male classical composers German classical organists German male organists 1934 births Living people People from Bartoszyce County People from East Prussia 21st-century organists 21st-century German male musicians Male classical organists