Helmut Kahlhöfer (25 July 1914 – 12 April 1988) was a German church musician and academic teacher. He was the founder and for decades the conductor of the choir Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke.

Life and career

Born in

Barmen Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal. Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electric ...

(now part of

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

), Kahlhöfer studied Protestant church music at the

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

, organ with Heinrich Boell and Michael Schneider, piano with Karl Hermann Pillnay, and choral conducting with . Kahlhöfer graduated in 1937 with the A-Examen and the concert exam for organ. He worked as a church musician (''Kantor'') in Cologne from 1937 to the beginning of World War II. He then continued his studies at the Salzburg

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteu ...

, conducting with

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conducting, conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. He founded the Vienna New Year's Concert ...

and piano with Walter Lampe. Kahlhöfer worked in Wuppertal from 1945. In 1946 he became Kantor of the

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

Immanuelskirche in Barmen-Gemarke and founded there in 1946 the choir Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke which he conducted to 1986. He worked also from 1950 to 1960 as a lecturer for organ at the Landeskirchenmusikschule in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, and as a professor for choral conducting at the Folkwang-Hochschule in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

from 1965 to 1978. He conducted the Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke to 1986. He led the choir in liturgical music but also concerts of music from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

to the 20th century. In 1966 he conducted a recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's "Jesu meine Freude" (Motette zu fünf Stimmen BWV 227) and Johannes Brahms's "Fest- und Gedenksprüche" (opus 109, Motette für achtstimmigen Doppelchor) and '' Warum ist das Licht gegeben dem Mühseligen?'' (Op. 74, Nr. 1,

motet In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the preeminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to the Eng ...

for six-part choir). In 1973 he conducted a recording of Max Reger's three motets ''Geistliche Gesänge'', Op. 110. dedicated in 1965 his cantata ''Jerusalem'' to him and the choir: "Für Helmut Kahlhöfer und die Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke“. In 1980 he conducted

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

's ''Apparebit repentina dies'', and in 1982 Stravinsky's

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

and

Symphony of Psalms The ''Symphony of Psalms'' is a choral symphony in three movements composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1930 during his neoclassical period. The work was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orch ...

. Bach was the focus of the choir's repertory. They recorded Bach's motets in 1963 with the Collegium Aureum, and several of his cantatas including ''Schauet doch und sehet, ob irgend ein Schmerz sei'', BWV 46, in 1960 and ''Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland'', BWV 61, in 1966, with the ensemble

Deutsche Bachsolisten Deutsche Bachsolisten (DBS; The German Bach Soloists) is a German Baroque chamber orchestra dedicated to the works of J.S. Bach. It was established by German conductor and oboist, Helmut Winschermann in 1960. ReferencesBachsolisten 1973 photo, on ...

. Kahlhöfer conducted Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'', ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzi ...

'' and Mass in B minor in the years 1983 to 1985, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Bach's birth in 1985. The Mass was also recorded that year with soloists Mitsuko Shirai,

Hildegard Laurich Hildegard Laurich (15 January 1941 – 11 February 2009), was a German classical contralto singer. Professional career Born in Halle, Laurich studied at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold, in Berlin with Hermann Weissenborn, and in private study ...

, and Andreas Schmidt. Kahlhöfer was awarded the title

Kirchenmusikdirektor Kirchenmusikdirektor (KMD, director of church music) is a German title for professional church musicians (' who have responsibility for not only a parish but a larger region, in both Protestant and Catholic church music. The title is also sometimes ...

(director of church music) in 1954. From 1961 to 1986, he also directed the Schönhausen-Chor in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

. Kahlhöfer died in

Awards

* 1976 – of

References

External links

Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke

Schönhausen-Chor
(in German)

Verband Deutscher Konzertchöre The Verband Deutscher KonzertChöre (VDKC, Association of German Concert Choirs) is a national association with seven state organisations. It represents more than 550 member choirs with more than 30,400 singers. It is a non-profit organisation, whic ...

Helmut Kahlhöfer
(in German) Barmen 200 Jahre

(in German) Evangelisch in Wuppertal 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahlhofer, Helmut German choral conductors German male conductors (music) Academic staff of the Folkwang University of the Arts 1914 births 1988 deaths Musicians from Wuppertal 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians Kirchenmusikdirektor