Diethard Hellmann (28 December 1928 – 14 October 1999) was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich.

Professional career

Born in

Grimma Grimma ( hsb, Grima) is a town in Saxony, Central Germany, on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district. Location The town is in northern Saxony, southeast of Leipzig and south of ...

, Dietmann Hellmann was a member of 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 sc ...

. He studied church music in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

with Günther Ramin. Hellmann was the organist for early recordings of

Bach cantata The cantatas composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, known as Bach cantatas ( German: ), are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. As far as known, Bach's earliest ca ...

s by Ramin. He was Kantor at the Friedenskirche in Leipzig from 1948 to 1955. At the same time, he was a teacher for organ at the

Musikhochschule Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

, conducting the choir of the Hochschule, and until 1951, a teacher at the Fürstenschule in Grimma. In 1950, he won a prize for organ at the first International Bach Competition. He started teaching choral conducting in 1952 and was appointed vice director of the department for church music in 1954. In 1955, he became Kantor of the Christuskirche in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

, where he conducted the Kantorei, which in 1965, was named the Bachchor . In November 1955, he performed a concert of Bach cantatas. In 1958, he was awarded a prize by German broadcaster Südwestfunk (SWF) for his composition ''Musik auf Christi Himmelfahrt'' (''Music for Ascension''). Hellmann was a teacher for Protestant church music at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory of Mainz, and from 1963, at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz as well. He published sheet music, including reconstructions of Bach's '' Ärgre dich, o Seele, nicht, BWV 186a'' for the Third Sunday in Advent, ''

Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BWV 190 (Sing a new song to the Lord), , is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He wrote it in Leipzig for the New Year's Day and first performed it on 1 January 1724 as part of his first cantata cycle. He adapted it in 1730 to , for the celebrati ...

'' and the '' St Mark Passion''. Hellmann took the Bachchor on concert tours to France, Poland and Israel. He collaborated with singers such as

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducte ...

, Aldo Baldin, Ria Bollen, Ursula Buckel, Eva Csapó, Agnes Giebel, Julia Hamari,

Ernst Haefliger Ernst Haefliger (6 July 191917 March 2007) was a Swiss tenor. Biography Haefliger was born in Davos, Switzerland, on 6 July 1919 and studied at the Wettinger Seminary and the Zürich Conservatory. Later he became a pupil of Fernando Carpi in G ...

, Philippe Huttenlocher, Georg Jelden, Helena Jungwirth, Siegfried Lorenz,

Adalbert Kraus Adalbert Kraus (born 27 April 1937 in Aschaffenburg) is a German tenor in opera and concert, known for singing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Career Adalbert Kraus first graduated in German studies, theology, and philosophy and in 1967, ...

Horst Laubenthal Horst Laubenthal (born 8 March 1939), real name Horst Neumaier, is a German operatic tenor and academic voice teacher. He is known internationally, both as an opera singer especially in Mozart roles such as Belmonte, Don Ottavio and Tamino, an ...

, Karl Markus, Barbara Martig-Tüller, Friedreich Melzer,

Klaus Mertens Klaus Mertens (born 25 March 1949, in Kleve) is a German bass and bass-baritone singer who is known especially for his interpretation of the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach for bass voice. Career Klaus Mertens took singing lessons wh ...

, Siegmund Nimsgern, Ernst Gerold Schramm, Verena Schweizer,

Jakob Stämpfli Jakob Stämpfli (23 February 1820 – 15 May 1879) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1854–1863). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 6 December 1854, and handed over office on 31 December 1863 ...

, Ortrun Wenkel,

Kurt Widmer Kurt Widmer (28 December 1940 – 31 May 2023) was a Swiss baritone and voice teacher, who appeared and recorded internationally. He focused on concert singing, especially of oratorios from the Romantic period. His recordings cover a repertoire ...

and Edith Wiens. They recorded more than 100 Bach cantatas, broadcast by SWF once a week. Hellmann conducted the Requiem of Jean Gilles, Haydn's '' Harmoniemesse'', the '' Oratorio de Noël'' of Saint-Saëns, Beethoven's ''

Missa Solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In Frenc ...

'', the four ''Choralkantaten'' of

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Leipzig University Church, as a professor a ...

, and Frank Martin's ''

Golgotha Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

''. In 1974, he was appointed professor at the Musikhochschule München, where he was the director from 1981 to 1988. Among his students were Gabriel Dessauer and Pierre Even. Hellmann died in 1999 in Deisenhofen. In a memorial service in the Christuskirche, the Bachchor performed Bach's ''Es erhub sich ein Streit'', BWV 19, because Hellmann had loved the tenor aria ''Bleibt, ihr Engel, bleibt bei mir!'' (''Stay, ye angels, stay with me'').

Selected recordings

* Bach / Pergolesi: Psalm 51 (Kurrende 1966) * Camille Saint-Saëns: '' Oratorio de Noël'' (recorded by SWF in 1976) * Bruckner: motets, Kodály: ''

Laudes organi Laudes Organi is a piece of music for organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, ...

'',

Hedwig Bilgram Hedwig Bilgram (born 31 March 1933) is a German musician and educator. She was born in Memmingen. She studied piano from an early age and went on to study organ with Karl Richter and piano with Friedrich Wührer. In 1959, she won first prize at t ...

, organ (1979) * Mozart: ''Vesperae de Dominica'' (1980) * Reger: ''Choralkantaten'' (1980, later CD) * Chorales and Choruses from Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'' (1980) * Haydn: '' Harmoniemesse'' (LP 1981) * Bach: '' St Mark Passion'' (1983)

References

External links

Diethard Hellmann (Conductor, Organ)
bach-cantatas.com

bach-cantatas.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellmann, Diethard 1928 births 1999 deaths 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century organists 20th-century German male musicians German choral conductors German male conductors (music) German classical organists German male organists Academic staff of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Male classical organists