Walther Hensel (born Julius Janiczek; 8 September 1887 − 5 September 1956) was a German

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...

, who dedicated himself above all to the research and cultivation of folk songs.

Life and achievements

Born in Moravská Třebová,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, Hensel studied the German language as well as literature and musicology in Vienna, Freiburg/Switzerland and Prague and initially worked as a teacher at the Prague Commercial Academy. In 1924 he founded the ''Finkensteiner Bund'' out of the . From 1925 to 1927 he directed the youth music school Dortmund, from 1930 he taught at the Stuttgart Volkshochschule. Besides he conducted choirs. In 1938 he took the "Anschluss des Sudetenlandes"- the choice of words of the Walther-Hensel-Society in Winnenden, Swabia, as an occasion to return to his homeland. He settled with his second wife Paula in

Teplitz Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The hist ...

. In 1941 the Faculty of Philosophy of the German University in Prague awarded him the . At the same time he received a state commission to research German and Slavic folk songs in the Bohemian-Moravian region. According to the website mentioned above, Hensel's work "under the Hitler regime... was complicated by many restrictions. The battle and stamp songs of the SA and the Hitler Youth are anathema to him, they are the opposite of what he aims for with the inner renewal of the people through the song. The statement that the

Horst-Wessel-Lied The "" ("Horst Wessel Song"; ), also known by its opening words "" ("Raise the Flag", ), was the anthem of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 1930 to 1945. From 1933 to 1945, the Nazis made it the co-national anthem of Germany, along with the first sta ...

is musically worthless bears witness to his courage." From 1946 to 1950 Hensel worked as a scientific advisor at the Municipal Library in Munich. Shortly before his death in Munich at the age of 68, he was honoured with the . Hensel counted among Fritz Jöde and Hans Breuer (editor of the ''Zupfgeigenhansl'') to the leading figures of the youth music movement. He also wrote numerous arrangements or settings of folk songs, including a setting of the poem ''

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 ...

'' by

Paul Gerhardt Paul Gerhardt (12 March 1607 – 27 May 1676) was a German theologian, Lutheran minister and hymnodist. Biography Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. His father died in ...

. Hensel was the first author published by the Bärenreiter-Verlag. In

Göppingen Göppingen (Swabian: ''Geppenge'' or ''Gebbenga'') is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the bi ...

is a primary and secondary school named after Walther Hensel, and in his native town a German-Czech meeting centre bears his name.

Work

* ''Lied und Volk. Eine Streitschrift wider das falsche deutsche Lied''. 1921 * ''Im Zeichen des Volksliedes''. 1922 * ''Wach auf. Festliche Weisen''. 1924 * ''Lobsinget. Geistliche Lieder''. 1926 * ''Finkensteiner Liederbuch''. 1926 * ''Der singende Quell''. 1929 * ''Das aufrecht Fähnlein''. Liederbuch, 1923 * ''Spinnerin Lobunddank''. Märchenliederbuch, 1932 * ''Lönslieder''. 1934 * ''Musikalische Grundlehre. Ein Wegweiser für Laien''. 1936 * ''Auf den Spuren des Volksliedes''.''Auf den Spuren des Volksliedes''
on GoogleBooks 1944

References

External links

* * * Website of th
Walther-Hensel-Gesellschaft
retrieved 10 June 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hensel, Walther German ethnomusicologists German folk-song collectors 1887 births 1956 deaths People from Moravská Třebová Moravian-German people 20th-century German musicologists