Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also included in this classification.

History

The earliest songs in German appeared in the 12th century. Art songs were created by

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer ...

s and

meistersinger A (German for "master singer") was a member of a German guild for lyric poetry, composition and unaccompanied art song of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. The Meistersingers were drawn from middle class males for the most part. Guilds The ' ...

while

cantastoria (; also spelled , or ) comes from Italian for "story-singer" and is known by many other names around the world. It is a theatrical form where a performer tells or sings a story while gesturing to a series of images. These images can be painted ...

(''Bänkelsänger'') sang songs in public that were orally transmitted. Song collections were written from the late 15th century, such as ''

Lochamer-Liederbuch The ''Lochamer-Liederbuch'' (Lochamer Song Book or Locham Song Book) is an extensive collection of German songs at the transition from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance. It dates from the mid-15th century and is regarded as one of the most i ...

'' and ''

Glogauer Liederbuch The ''Glogauer Liederbuch'' (Glogau Song Book) is a ''Liederhandschrift'' (medieval songbook) of sacred and secular songs and instrumental music, written about 1480. It is the earliest surviving set of partbooks (descant, tenor, and contratenor) ...

''.

Georg Forster Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold ...

's ''

Frische teutsche Liedlein Frische teutsche Liedlein is a five-part collection of songs, which was written and published in 1539-1556 by the doctor, composer and song collector Georg Forster (around 1510 in Amberg – 12 November 1568 in Nuremberg). It comprises 380 polyph ...

'' was first printed in 1536. In the period of

Sturm und Drang ''Sturm und Drang'' (, ; usually translated as "storm and stress") was a proto- Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s. Within the movement, individual subjectivity and, in particul ...

, poets and authors became interested in that which they saw as simple, close to nature, original, and unspoiled (nach dem ). Johann Gottfried Herder coined the term 'Volkslied' in the late 18th century, and published ''Von deutscher Art und Kunst'' (On German ways and artistry) in 1771. In 1778/79, a collection ''Volkslieder'' was published, promoted by

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, which mentioned neither an editor nor authors, in an attempt to suggest the songs as an expression of the soul of the people ().

Friedrich Silcher Philipp Friedrich Silcher (27 June 1789 in Schnait (today part of Weinstadt) – 26 August 1860 in Tübingen), was a German composer, mainly known for his lieder (songs), and an important Volkslied collector.Luise Marretta-Schär, Silcher, (Philip ...

(1789–1860) composed a great number of Lieder, many of which became Volkslieder, and he edited collections of Volkslieder. In the middle of the 18th century, the Berliner Liederschule promoted songs with simple melodies ''im Volkston'' (i.e. in the Volkslied style). Songs written following the concept include "

Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust "Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust" ("To wander is the miller's delight") is the first line of a poem by Wilhelm Müller, written in 1821 with the title "Wanderschaft" as part of a collection, ''Die schöne Müllerin''. While ''wandern'' is defined ...

" and " O Täler weit, o Höhen". In the early 20th century, the repertoire was broadened by workers' songs and students' songs. In 1914, John Meier founded the

Deutsches Volksliedarchiv The Deutsche Volksliedarchiv, a research institute for Volkslied (folk song) in German, was founded in 1914 and was integrated into the University of Freiburg in 2014, now called Zentrum für Populäre Kultur und Musik (Centre of popular culture ...

, a research and archive of Volkslied. The

Wandervogel ''Wandervogel'' (plural: ''Wandervögel''; English: "Wandering Bird") is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 to 1933, who protested against industrialization by going to hike in the country and commune with n ...

movement turned to singing while wandering, with the collection ' published in 1909, and reprinted until 1933.

Collections

Achim von Arnim Carl Joachim Friedrich Ludwig von Arnim (26 January 1781 – 21 January 1831), better known as Achim von Arnim, was a German poet, novelist, and together with Clemens Brentano and Joseph von Eichendorff, a leading figure of German Romanticism. ...

Clemens Brentano Clemens Wenzeslaus Brentano (also Klemens; pseudonym: Clemens Maria Brentano ; ; 9 September 1778 – 28 July 1842) was a German poet and novelist, and a major figure of German Romanticism. He was the uncle, via his brother Christian, of Franz ...

: ''

Des Knaben Wunderhorn ''Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Alte deutsche Lieder'' (German; "The boy's magic horn: old German songs") is a collection of German folk poems and songs edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and published in Heidelberg, Baden. The book was p ...

.'' 1806/1808. * Andreas Kretzschmer, Anton Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio: ''Deutsche Volkslieder mit ihren Originalweisen.'' 2 vols. Berlin 1838/1841. * Rochus Freiherr von Liliencron: ''Die historischen Volkslieder der Deutschen vom 13. bis 16. Jahrhundert.'' 5 vols. Leipzig 1865–1869, reprographied reprint 1966. *

Ludwig Erk Ludwig Christian Erk (6 January 1807, Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important ...

Franz Magnus Böhme Franz Theodor Magnus Böhme (11 March 1827 in Willerstedt – 18 October 1898 in Dresden) was a German academic, musicologist, composer, folksong collector and writer on music history and folksong. Biography The son of a farmer, Böhme becam ...

: ''

Deutscher Liederhort The ''Deutscher Liederhort'' is a large collection of Volkslieder (folk-song)s, now considered their authoritative source. It is often abbreviated as "Erk-Böhme" after its editors Ludwig Erk and Franz Magnus Böhme Franz Theodor Magnus Böhme (1 ...

.'' Leipzig 1893/1894. * August Linder: ''Deutsche Weisen – Die beliebtesten Volks- und geistlichen Lieder für Klavier'' (with text), ca. 1900 * (ed.): ' Melody edition with chords. Reprint of the 10th edition, Leipzig 1913 (ED 3586). Schott, Mainz 1983, . * Bertold Marohl, ''Der neue Zupfgeigenhansl'', 121 young Lieder with texts, melodies, numbered chords and a einer finger positions for guitar. Mainz (et al.), Schott 1983 * , ''Der Spielmann – Liederbuch für Jugend und Volk'', Matthias Grünewald Verlag Mainz; 1st ed. 1914 katholische)_Quickborn_Bewegung.html" ;"title="Quickborn.html" ;"title="katholische) Quickborn">katholische) Quickborn Bewegung">Quickborn.html" ;"title="katholische) Quickborn">katholische) Quickborn Bewegung with many expanded reprints, certainly up to 1976 * , ''Unsere Lieder – Ein Liederbuch für die wandernde Jugend''; Sauerland Verlag, Iserlohn, 1st ed. 1921. * Hermann Böse, ''Das Volkslied für Heim und Wanderung''; Arbeiterjugend Verlag Berlin, 1st ed. 1922, reprints 1923, 1927. * : ''Verklingende Weisen.'' Lothringischer Verlags- und Hilfsverein, Metz 1926 (vol. 1). * Hermann Peter Gehricke, , ,

Karl Vötterle Karl Vötterle (12 April 1903 – 29 October 1975) was a German music publisher. Life Vötterle was born in Augsburg. With the intention of printing song sheets for the members of the musical youth movement, he founded the Bärenreiter-Verlag ...

, ''Bruder Singer, Lieder unseres Volkes''; Bährenreiter Edition 1250, Kassel 1951; 1974 new ed. * Heiner Wolf, ''Unser fröhlicher Gesell, Ein Liederbuch für alle Tage'', Möseler Verlag Wolfenbüttel \ Voggenreiter Verlag Bad Godesberg, 1955, reprints at least until 1964 * Josef Gregor, Friedrich Klausmeier, Egon Kraus: ''Europäische Lieder in den Ursprachen.'' Vol. 1: ''Die romanischen und germanischen Sprachen'', Berlin 1957. *

Ernst Klusen Ernst Klusen (20 February 1909 in Düsseldorf – 31 July 1988 in Bad Segeberg) was a German musicologist, educator and Volkslied Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of ...

: ''Das Mühlrad, Ein Liederbuch der Heimat'', Kempen\Niederrhein 1966 * Klusen: ''Volkslieder aus 500 Jahren – Texte und Noten mit Begleitakkorden.'' Fischer, Frankfurt 1978. * Klusen: ''Deutsche Lieder.'' Texts und melodies. Insel, Frankfurt/M. 1980, . * Willy Schneider: ''Deutsche Weisen – Die beliebtesten Volkslieder für Klavier mit Text.'' Lausch & Zweigle, Stuttgart 1958. *

Wolfgang Steinitz Wolfgang Steinitz (28 February 1905 – 21 April 1967) was a German linguist and folklorist. Through his rediscovery of hidden social commentary in traditional folk songs, he was an important pioneer of the German folk-revival in both East a ...

: ''Deutsche Volkslieder demokratischen Charakters aus 6 Jahrhunderten.'' 2 vols, Berlin 1953, 1956. * Klingende Brücke: ''Liederatlas europäischer Sprachen der Klingenden Brücke.'' Vol. 1: Bonn 2001, vol. 2: Bonn 2002, vol. 3: Bonn 2003, vol. 4: Bonn 2006

Volkslieder

* Ach, wie ist's möglich dann * * Als der Großvater die Großmutter nahm *

Ännchen von Tharau "Ännchen von Tharau" (Low Prussian: "Anke van Tharaw") is a 17-stanza poem by the East Prussian poet Simon Dach. The namesake of the poem is Anna Neander (1615–1689), the daughter of a parson from Tharau, East Prussia (now known as Vladimirovo i ...

Auf der Lüneburger Heide The song Auf der Lüneburger Heide ("On the Lüneburg Heath") was composed in 1912 by Ludwig Rahlfs based on a poem from the collection ''Der kleine Rosengarten'' ("The Little Rose Garden") by Hermann Löns. It is often played at folk festivals in ...

* Backe, backe Kuchen * Bolle reiste jüngst zu Pfingsten * *

* Der Kuckuck und der Esel *

Der Mond ist aufgegangen "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" (German for "The moon has risen") is a German lullaby and evening song by Matthias Claudius, one of the most popular in German literature. Also known under the name Abendlied (German for "evening song") it was first rele ...

* Der treue Husar *

Die Gedanken sind frei "" (Thoughts are free) is a German song about freedom of thought. The original lyricist and the composer are unknown, though the most popular version was rendered by Hoffmann von Fallersleben in 1842. Text The idea represented in the title—that ...

* In einem kühlen Grunde / Die Klage * Drei Chinesen mit dem Kontrabass * Du, du liegst mir im Herzen * Ein Heller und ein Batzen * Es tönen die Lieder *

Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud "Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud" ("Go forth, my heart, and seek delight") is a summer hymn with a text in German by theologian Paul Gerhardt written in 1653. It was first published that same year in the fifth edition of Johann Crüger's hymna ...

De Hamborger Veermaster De Hamborger Veermaster (Standard German: Der Hamburger Viermaster, English: Hamburg's four-master) is a famous sea shanty sung in Low German, presumably first published between 1850 and 1890. It is partly in English, an adaptation of the shanty "Th ...

* Hänschen klein *

Heidenröslein "" or "" ("Rose on the Heath" or "Little Rose of the Field") is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1789. It was written in 1771 during Goethe's stay in Strasbourg when he was in love with Friederike Brion, to whom the poem is addr ...

to the 1829 melody by Heinrich Werner * Ich hab die Nacht geträumet * In einem kühlen Grunde *

Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen "" ("Innsbruck, I must leave thee") is a German Renaissance song. It was first published as a choral movement by the Franco-Flemish composer Heinrich Isaac (ca. 1450–1517); the melody was probably written by him. The lyricist is unknown; an autho ...

Kein schöner Land in dieser Zeit "" (No country more beautiful in this time) is a popular Volkslied in German. It goes back to a song by Anton Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio, first published in 1840 in a folk song collection. It gained popularity in the 1910s in the Wandervogel moveme ...

* Kommt ein Vogel geflogen * Leise rieselt der Schnee *

Muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus "Muss i denn" (German for "must I, then") is a German folk-style song in the Swabian German dialect that has passed into tradition. The present form dates back to 1827, when it was written and made public by Friedrich Silcher.August Bopp, ''Friedr ...

Nun ruhen alle Wälder "" (literally: O world, see here your life) is a Lutheran Passion hymn in German by Paul Gerhardt. In 16 stanzas of 6 lines, it was first published in 1647 in Johann Crüger's ''Praxis pietatis melica''. The hymn is known as the source for chorale ...

* *

O Tannenbaum "" (; "O fir tree", English: O Christmas Tree) is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were written in 1824 ...

*Sah ein Knab’ ein Röslein stehn (

) * Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht * Weißt du, wie viel Sternlein stehen

References

External links

* * {{Wikisourcelang-inline, de, Volkslieder
Center for Popular Culture and Music (Deutsches Volksliedarchiv)

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

Volksliederarchiv
volksliederarchiv.de

History

Collections

Volkslieder

References

Further reading

External links