Herbert Collum (18 July 1914 − 29 April 1982) was a German

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

harpsichordist A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord. Harpsichordists may play as soloists, as accompanists, as chamber musicians, or as members of an orchestra, or some combination of these roles. Solo harpsichordists may play unaccompanied son ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Life

Born in Leipzig, Collum received high school education between 1921 and 1929. He continued from 1930 to 1934 at the Church Music Institute in Leipzig, where he studied

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

with

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

and

Günther Ramin Günther Werner Hans Ramin (15 October 1898 – 27 February 1956) was an influential German organist, conductor, composer and pedagogue, holding the post of Thomaskantor in Leipzig from 1940 to 1955. Early life Ramin, the son of a pastor, was bo ...

, piano with

Carl Adolf Martienssen Carl Adolf Martienssen (6 December 1881 – 1 March 1955) was a German pianist and music educator. Life Born in Güstrow, Martienssen came from a large farming family, which apparently only immigrated to Mecklenburg in the generation of his fath ...

, choral conducting with Kurt Thomas, and

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

with

Johann Nepomuk David Johann Nepomuk David (30 November 1895 – 22 December 1977) was an Austrian composer. Life and career David was born in Eferding. He was a choirboy in the monastery of Sankt Florian and studied at an episcopal teacher training college in Linz, ...

and

Fritz Reuter Fritz Reuter (7 November 1810 – 12 July 1874; born as ''Heinrich Ludwig Christian Friedrich Reuter'') was a novelist from Northern Germany who was a prominent contributor to Low German literature. Early life Fritz Reuter was born at Stavenhage ...

. Already by 1927 he had become deputy organist at the St. Matthäikirche Leipzig. From 1932 to 1935 he served as assistant to Ramin,

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of Cantor ( ...

at the

Thomaskirche The St. Thomas Church () is a Lutheran church in Leipzig, Germany, located at the western part of the inner city ring road in Leipzig's central district. Martin Luther preached in the church in 1539. It is associated with several well-known ...

. His appointment in 1935 as principal organist at the

Kreuzkirche, Dresden The Dresden Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) is a Lutheran church in Dresden, Germany. It is the main church and seat of the '' Landesbischof'' of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony, and the largest church building in the Free State ...

, signalled the beginning of his creative period; he remained in that post until his death in April 1982 at the age of 67. His successor as organist was

Michael-Christfried Winkler Michael-Christfried Winkler (born 18 March 1946) is a German organist, conductor and academic teacher. Life Born in Zorbau near Weißenfels, Winkler studied Protestant church music with a focus on the organ in Halle, Leipzig and Prague. From ...

. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Collum founded his own choir in 1946, with a dedicated set of concerts. To mark the 200th anniversary of

J S Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the orc ...

's death, he organised 24 concerts between September 1949 and August 1950, featuring the Collum Choir and members of the

Staatskapelle Dresden The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (), or Saxon State Orchestra Dresden, is one of the oldest orchestras in the world, created by order of Maurice, Elector of Saxony in 1548. Under communist East Germany and until 1992 it was called Staatskap ...

. The performances took place at the Martin Luther Church in the Neustadt and the Reformed Church, because the Kreuzkirche had been damaged by fire after bombing in 1945. As organist at the Kreuzkirche, Collum also took on various teaching roles. From 1942 to 1945 and again between 1954 and 1956, he was a lecturer at the

Dresden Conservatory Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, teaching organ there from 1956 to 1958. He also taught organ at the

Spandauer Kirchenmusikschule The (Spandau school of church music) was a music academy in Spandau, Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1929, it was housed in the in Spandau and was closed in 1998. The schools choir appeared and recorded as the Spandauer Kantorei. It was located in ...

from 1949 to 1961, with a professorship in 1960. He began reaching harpsichord at the Musikhochschule Dresden in 1964, the same year as his appointment to the jury of the

International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition () is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1964 to 1996 with five subjects and is now held every two ...

. In 1942 he married the singer and teacher Herta Maria Böhme-Collum. After one year was born: following in the footsteps of his parents, he became an organist and church musician. Collum was buried according to his last wishes in

Reinhardtsgrimma Reinhardtsgrimma is a former municipality in the district of Weißeritzkreis in Saxony in Germany located near Dresden. On 2 January 2008, it merged into the town Glashütte. Its church features an organ by Gottfried Silbermann Gottfried Silber ...

. He frequently gave concerts on the Silbermann organ in the village church and made a recording in the series ''Bach on Silbermann Organs''. The concert tradition founded by him has been continued under the direction of the current Kreuzkirche organist, , resulting in the organ becoming one of the best known in Saxony.

Honours and legacy

In 1973 Collum received the

Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic The Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic (German: ''Kunstpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was an East German state award bestowed on individuals for contributions in various fields of art. History The Art Prize was annually a ...

. In Dresden, the Herbert-Collum-Straße was later named after him. The archives of Herbert Collum are kept in the

Saxon State and University Library Dresden The Saxon State and University Library Dresden (full name in ), abbreviated SLUB Dresden, is located in Dresden, Germany. It is both the regional library () for the Federal Republic of Germany, German State of Saxony as well as the academic libr ...

Compositions

Orchestral music

* Symphony No. 1, 1939 * Symphony No. 2, 1940 * Concerto for flute and chamber orchestra, 1944 * Concerto in C major for orchestra, first performance on July 1, 1953 by the

Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the '' Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche and the Frauenkirche Dresden. It receive ...

, conducted by

Franz Jung Franz Josef Johannes Konrad Jung (26 November 1888 – 21 January 1963) was a writer, economist and political activist in Germany. He also wrote under the names Franz Larsz and Frank Ryberg. He grew up in Neisse (now Nysa) and was a childhood frie ...

* Concerto in E for String Orchestra, premiere on 28 May 1955 by the

, conducted by

Franz Konwitschny Franz Konwitschny (14 August 1901, Fulnek, Moravia – 28 July 1962, Belgrade) was a German conductor and violist of Moravian descent. Biography Konwitschny came from a family of musicians. From 1920 to 1923 he took violin lessons at the Academ ...

* Concertante music no. 1, 1961 * Concertante music no. 2, 1964 * Moritzburg Concerto No. 1, 1965 * Moritzburg Concerto No. 2, 1968 * 5 concertos for harpsichord and chamber orchestra * Sinfonietta for chamber orchestra, 1974

Organ works

* Totentanz – Variations on an old folk song: "", 1944 * Organ book of the Dresden Kreuzkirche, 1950 * Suite, 1952 * Organ Suite, 1962 * Toccata, 1964 * Leksand Suite, 1966 * Fantasia, 1969 * Siljan Suite, 1970 * Metamorphosis, 1970 * Fantasy about Bells of the Cross Church (EGAHD), 1973 * Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, 1975 – premiere April 10–12, 1975 by the Dresden Philharmonic, conductor:

Hartmut Haenchen Hartmut Haenchen (born 21 March 1943) is a German conductor, known as a specialist for the music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and for conducting operas in the leading opera houses of the world. Career Born in Dresden, Haenchen began his music ...

* Fantasy – Triptych, 1975 * 2 concertos for organ and vibraphone, 1978 * "Media in vita" for vibraphone and organ – premiere on 11 June 1979 at the

Chamber music

* Suite for piano, 1945 * Sonata for flute and piano, 1954 * New piano pieces (223 movements), 1960–1962

Vocal music

* 3 Christmas carols, 1943 * St. John Passion, 1953 * Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst, 1956 * Denn wir haben hier keine bleibende Stadt, 1959 * Te Deum, 1959 * Great Psalter, 1961 * German Magnificat, 1962 * Fantasy on B–A–C–H, 1964 * Spiritual

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 ...

s and chants

Theatre music

* '' The Prince of Homburg'' (

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (; 18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''The Prince of Homburg'', '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' ...

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

conducted by Fritz Wendel,

Staatsschauspiel Dresden The Staatsschauspiel Dresden (State Playhouse Dresden) is a theatre in Dresden. It is maintained by the Free State of Saxony, hence its name. It consists of a main auditorium, the ' (play house), and a studio theatre, the '. It was created in 19 ...

, 1955

Recordings

* ''Metamorphose für Orgel'' (1970) * ''Kleine Messe für Positiv'' * ''Totentanz: Variationen über ein altes Volkslied für Orgel "Es ist ein Schnitter, heißt der Tod"'' (1979) * ''Christum wir sollen loben'', Christmas Motet; small choral partita for mixed choir a cappella * Bach: '' Französische Suiten (1–6)'' * Bach: ''Das Orgelwerk auf Silbermann-Orgeln'' * List of 71 compositions by Collum in the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; ) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to collect, permanently archive, comprehens ...

.List of 71 Compositions by Collum
in the

References

External links

* *
Archives of Herbert Collum

Dieter Härtwig Dieter Härtwig (18 July 1934 – 30 December 2022) was a German dramaturge, musicologist and author of numerous writings on Dresden's music history and its personalities. Biography Dieter Härtwig was born in Dresden on 18 July 1934. After gai ...

Collum, Herbert
In Institut für Sächsische Geschichte und Volkskunde (ed.): Sächsische Biografie. {{DEFAULTSORT:Collum, Herbert 1914 births 1982 deaths Musicians from Leipzig German classical organists German harpsichordists 20th-century German classical composers Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany