Rudolf Mauersberger (29 January 1889 – 22 February 1971) was a German

choral conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties ...

and composer. His younger brother

Erhard Erhard is a male German given name and surname, and may refer to: People *Erhard of Regensburg, bishop of Regensburg in the 7th century * Erhard Altdorfer (c. 1480–1561), German Early Renaissance printmaker, painter and architect *Erhard Arnold J ...

was also a conductor and composer.

Career

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-25397-0001, Wartburg, Kreuzchor Dresden singt

Fotothek df ps 0000377 002 Ansicht mit Siegesdenkmal, Rathausturm und Kreuzkirch

After positions in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

and

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

, he became director of the renowned

Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surroundin ...

in 1930, a position he held until his death. In May 1933, Mauersberger became a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

; Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945'', CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, p. 4.492. there are strong indications though that he tried to minimize the influence of the NS-Ideology and in particular of the

Hitler-Jugend The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

onto the choir. He refused to stage NS-songs with the choir, Dieter Härtwig/

Matthias Herrmann Matthias Herrmann (born 14 October 1955) is a German musicologist and university professor. Life Born in Mildenau, Herrmann became a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducted by Kreuzkantor Rudolf Mauersberger, later Martin Flämig. He then s ...

(edits.): "Der Dresdner Kreuzchor"; Ev. Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, and continued to perform the works of banned composers such as

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 ...

and

Günter Raphael Günter Raphael (30 April 1903 – 19 October 1960) was a German composer. Born in Berlin, Raphael was the grandson of composer Albert Becker. His first symphony was premiered by Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1926 in Leipzig. From 1926 to 1934 he taug ...

, at least as late as 1938. Probably his most famous work is the

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...

Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst Wie or WIE may refer to: * Y, the twenty-fifth letter of the Latin alphabet, pronounced ''wie'' People * Michelle Wie West (born 1989), American professional golfer * Ole Petter Wie (born 1966), Norwegian businessman * Virginia Van Wie (1909� ...

'' (''How desolate lies the city''), written after the destruction of Dresden in February 1945. The text is taken from the ''

Lamentations of Jeremiah The Book of Lamentations ( he, אֵיכָה, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ...

'', verses 1,1.4.9.13; 2,15; 5,17.20–21. The work is often seen as a bemoaning of the destroyed city, but given the biblical context, it can also apply to the whole of Germany and her people, the destruction of the country being punishment for its iniquities. Mauersberger's ' also reflects the destruction. He wrote a

Passion music In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ. Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...

after

St Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...

, ''Passionsmusik nach dem Lukasevangelium'', and the ''Dresdner Te Deum''.

Selected works

;Choral cycles for soloists and mixed choir a capella * ''Tag und Ewigkeit'', 1943 * ''Weihnachtszyklus der Kruzianer'' (Christmas Cycle of the Kreuzchor), 1944–1946, including "Kleiner Dresdner Weihnachtszyklus" (excerpts), 1951 ( de) * ''Chorzyklus Dresden'' (Choral Cycle Dresden), 1945–1950, finished 1955, including ''

'' ( de) * ''Erzgebirge'', 1946–1954 * ''Der kleine Jahreskreis'', 1950 ;Religious works * ''Christvesper mit Turmgesängen'', 1932–1963 * ''Christmette'', 1936 * ''Fangt euer Tagwerk fröhlich an'', 5 kleine Spruchmotetten 1940, 1943 * ''Ostermette'', 1941 * ''Dresdner Te Deum'', 1944/45 * ''Passionsmusik nach dem Lukasevangelium'', 1947 * ''

Dresdner Requiem Dresdner Bank AG was a German bank and was based in Frankfurt. It was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in May 2009. History 19th century The Dresdner Bank was established on 12 Novemb ...

'', 1947/48 ( de) * ''Geistliche Sommermusik'', 1948 * ''Eine kleine Weihnachtskantate'' (Christmas cantata), 1948 * ''Motette vom Frieden'', 1953 * ''Evangelische Messe'', 1954 * ''Gesänge für die Kreuzkapelle zu Mauersberg'', 1954–1956 ( de) ;Secular works * ''Maiwärts'', Frühlingsode (Ode for spring), 1917/18 *Pfeifen, 1942 * ''Kritik des Herzens'', 1958 * ''Habt Ruh und Frieden'', Gedächtnisgesang, 1943 * ''Drei Jahreszeitengedichte'', 1965/66 ;Instrumental music * Piano trio in C minor, 1913/14 * ''Introduktion, Ciaconna und Choral'' E minor for organ, 1912–1914 * ''Introduktion und Passacaglia'' A minor for organ, 1912–1914 * ''Präludium und Doppelfuge'' (prelude and double fugue) D minor for organ, 1912–1914 * ''Freie Orgelwerke'', 1914–1916 * Symphony E minor ("Tragische"), 1914–1916

Recordings

with the

: * Bach: ''

Mass in B minor The Mass in B minor (), BWV 232, is an extended setting of the Mass ordinary by Johann Sebastian Bach. The composition was completed in 1749, the year before the composer's death, and was to a large extent based on earlier work, such as a Sanctu ...

'' *

Schütz Schütz (also spelled ''Schuetz'' without Umlaut ü) is a German surname, deriving from ''Schütze'' (shooter/marksman). Notable people with the surname include: People * Alfred Schütz (1899–1959), sociologist and philosopher * Antal Schütz ...

: '' Geistliche Chormusik'' * Schütz: ''

Psalmen Davids Psalmen Davids (Psalms of David) is a collection of sacred choral music, settings mostly of psalms in German by Heinrich Schütz, who had studied the Venetian polychoral style with Giovanni Gabrieli. Book 1 was printed in Dresden in 1619 as his O ...

'' with the Kreuzchor and the

Thomanerchor The Thomanerchor (English: St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig) is a boys' choir in Leipzig, Germany. The choir was founded in 1212. The choir comprises about 90 boys from 9 to 18 years of age. The members, called ''Thomaner'', reside in a boarding scho ...

, conducted together with

Erhard Mauersberger Erhard Mauersberger (29 December 1903 in Mauersberg, Saxony – 11 December 1982 in Leipzig) was a German choral conductor who conducted the Thomanerchor as the 14th Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach. He was also an academic teacher and ...

: * Bach: Matthäuspassion

Career

Selected works

Recordings

References

Further reading