The Zelter-Plakette (Zelter Plaque) is a German national award for choirs, founded in 1956 by President

Theodor Heuss Theodor Heuss (; 31 January 1884 – 12 December 1963) was a German liberal politician who served as the first president of West Germany from 1949 to 1959. His cordial nature – something of a contrast to the stern character of chancellor Ko ...

History

The plaque was designed by the Cologne sculptor

Heribert Calleen Heribert Calleen (born Herbert Calleen, 6 March 1924 - 24 November 2017) was a German sculptor and medalist. His oeuvre includes medals and plaques, statues and sculptures, fountains, monuments, memorials, monuments and works of art for the sacred ...

. The opening words of the decree of 7 August 1956 translate to: "In recognition of choral societies that have acquired many years of work in special services to the care of choral music and German folk song and therefore the promotion of cultural life, I found the Zelter-Plakette." The

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

plaque is oval, 16 cm heigh and 14 cm wide. It shows on its face the portrait of

Carl Friedrich Zelter Carl Friedrich Zelter (11 December 1758 15 May 1832)Grove/Fuller-Datei:Carl-Friedrich-Zelter.jpegMaitland, 1910. The Zelter entry takes up parts of pages 593-595 of Volume V. was a German composer, conductor and teacher of music. Working in his ...

, the director of the first choral society

Sing-Akademie zu Berlin The Sing-Akademie zu Berlin, also known as the Berliner Singakademie, is a musical (originally choral) society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, harpsichordist to the court of Prussia, on the model of the 18th-century ...

, and on the back of the German eagle with the inscription "Für Verdienste um Chorgesang und Volkslied" (For merits in choral singing and folk song). The Zelter-Plakette is awarded by the President on the occasion of a choir's 100th anniversary, but only on request. Condition for the award is care of choral singing in serious and successful musical work and artistic and educational achievements within the local conditions. In particular, a choir's activities during the last five years will be acknowledged. The plaque is traditionally awarded on

Laetare Sunday Laetare Sunday (Church Latin: ; Classical Latin: ; English: , , , , ) is the fourth Sunday in the season of Lent, in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration, within the austere period ...

, three weeks before Easter in a national ceremony. The President or his representative (State Minister of Culture) awards the medal together with a certificate to one choir, representative of all choirs of that year. Ceremonies in the German states follow. According to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Chorverbände, 9.755 plaques were awarded from 1957 to 2002, 60 of them to foreign choirs. In 2009, the plaque was awarded to 133 choirs. The office of the President counts 10,955 choirs awarded until 2010, and 114 additional ones in 2011. A similar award for instrumental groups is the Pro-Musica-Plakette, founded in 1968.

Selected recipients

Chor von St. Bonifatius The Chor von St. Bonifatius (Choir of St. Boniface) is a German mixed choir, the church choir of the parish St. Bonifatius, Wiesbaden. It was founded in 1862 as a male choir and was a mixed choir from 1887. From 1981 to 2018, it was conducted by ...

(1972) *

(1970) *

Tanunda Liedertafel The Tanunda Liedertafel is a 45-member male choir in Tanunda, South Australia. Drawing its four-part (TTBB) singing material from traditional popular German culture. The group's origins date back to 1850, based on an entry in ''The South Australia ...

(1980)
Madison Männerchor
- Madison, WI USA (1969) * Fort Wayne Maennerchor - Fort Wayne, IN USA (1969)

References

External links

Zelter- und PRO MUSICA-Plakette
Bundesverwaltungsamt {{in lang, de German music awards