Theodor Pröpper (26 May 1896 – 31 July 1979) was a German church

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Pröpper was born in

Balve Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in ''Hönnetal'', a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpe Dam, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the Sauer ...

and spent most of his career there as an organist at Saint Blasius church.

Career

Pröpper studied at the church music school in

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

from 1912 to 1914, after which he became organist at the St. Blaise parish church in Balve. He later studied at the State Academy of Music in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

(with

Joseph Haas Joseph Haas (19 March 1879 – 30 March 1960) was a German late romantic composer and music teacher. Biography He was born in Maihingen, near Nördlingen to teacher Alban Haas from his second marriage, being half-brother to the theologian a ...

among his teachers) and also had private composition lessons from Gottfried Rüdinger, returning to Balve in 1925. From 1930 to 1934 he held a position in the local government but was removed by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s. In February 1946 he became deputy mayor of Balve. Pröpper received a number of church honours and appointments throughout his career. In 1966 he was awarded the

Federal Cross of Merit 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 ...

(first class) and in 1974, the Orlando di Lasso medal. He died in Balve and was buried there.

Volunteering

Theodor Pröpper was the co-founder of

Sauerländer Heimatbund The Sauerländer Heimatbund (English: Sauerland Home Federation) Heimat is a German word that has no simple English translation. It is often expressed with terms such as home or homeland, but these English counterparts fail to encapsulate centur ...

Selected works

* ''Tu es Petrus'', cantata *''Johanneskantate", cantata * ''Klingemund'', songbook *''Das Balver Zeitwendspiel'', drama *''

Franz Hoffmeister Franz Hoffmeister (22 March 1898 – 27 March 1943) was a German Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Sauerländer Heimatbund and Festspiele Balver Höhle. Life Hoffmeister was born in Ramsbeck. He was consecrated to a Roman Catholic p ...

. Leben und Werk'', Verlag Bonifatius Druckerei, Paderborn 1949

Recordings

*''Tu es Petrus'' (op. 26) Märkisches Jugendsinfonieorchester and Oratorienchor Letmathe, director: Gerhard Michalski, recorded by Johannes Freiherr von Linden, mpc records 58802002, in cooperation with

Festspiele Balver Höhle Festspiele Balver Höhle is an arts festival, featuring musical and theatrical performances, in Balve, Germany. The festival is centered on the cave of Balve (''Balver Höhle'' in German). The association was founded in 1985 in Volkringhausen a ...

:Naira Gloudschadze (soprano) :Marie-Helen Joel (contralto) :Terence Vanden Berg (tenor) :Dieter Goffing (bass) :Gebhard Reichmann (organ)

References

''Kurzporträt Pröppers''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Propper, Theodor 1896 births 1979 deaths People from Märkischer Kreis German classical organists German male organists People from the Province of Westphalia Westphalia culture Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German composers 20th-century organists 20th-century German male musicians Kirchenmusikdirektor Male classical organists