Johannes Gelbke
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Johannes Woldemar Gelbke (19 July 1846 – 1 March 1903) was a German composer, choir lieder, conductor and singer He became known especially in Germany for his song ''Horch! Die alten Eichen rauschen...'' ("Heimkehr"). He also worked as a composer, conductor, choirmaster and singer in the US, where he lived and worked from 1882.


Life

Gelbke was born in
Radeberg Radeberg is a small town in the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen, Saxony, Germany. It is located approximately 20 kilometres north-east of Dresden. The town has an Evangelical and a Roman Catholic church, and an old castle. History Rade ...
. Father Ernst Ludwig Gelbke (1812 Radeberg - unknown) was "veterinarian and company blacksmith in the local Königl. Sächs. Brigade Reiter Artillerie" in the Radeberg garrison. On the recommendation of his teachers, Johannes was admitted to the after attending the Radeberg primary school. (
Kreuzschule The ''Kreuzschule'' (German for "School of the Cross") in Dresden (also known by its Latin name, ''schola crucis'') is the oldest surviving school in Dresden and one of the oldest in Germany. As early as 1300, a schoolmaster (''Cunradus puerorum re ...
) as boarding school pupil and because of his excellent soprano voice he was accepted into the alumnae choir (
Dresdner Kreuzchor The Dresdner Kreuzchor is the boys' choir of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, Germany. It has a seven-century history and a world-wide reputation. Today, the choir has about 150 members between the ages of 9 and 19, from Dresden and the surroundin ...
). The cantor of the Kreuzchor at the time and composer quickly recognised the boy's musical abilities, introduced him to the ecclesiastical Tonkunst and gave him lessons in
music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...
. Already here, the young Gelbke composed songs and
church choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
. No specific information is available about his numerous compositions from 1882 onwards in Buffalo. On 30 April 1866, the eve of the consecration of the new building of the Kreuzschule on Dresden's Georgplatz, the "Dramatische Kleinigkeit: Dornröschen" (Little Drama: Sleeping Beauty) was premiered in the hall of the famous
Lincke’sches Bad The Lincke'sche Bad was an excursion restaurant with a garden restaurant, summer theatre and concert hall in Dresden. At the same time, it was one of the first open-air baths. The Dresden Court Theatre and famous artists such as Joseph Seconda, ...
, a
Singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...
written by Kreuzschule pupil Hermann Unbescheid (later Studienrat and Prof. Dr.) and set to music by Gelbke. On the evening of the consecration day, 1 May 1866, the performance was repeated in the presence of the
King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
and the Saxon princes. This success was the motive for Gelbke, a pupil at the Kreuzschule, to devote himself entirely to music after taking his
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
in 1868. Gelbke went to
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
in 1868 and attended the Königliche Konservatorium der Musik in composition, theory and piano. He took his exams with
Ignaz Moscheles Isaac Ignaz Moscheles (; 23 May 179410 March 1870) was a Bohemian piano virtuoso and composer. He was based initially in London and later at Leipzig, where he joined his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as professor of piano in the Co ...
. His teachers in theory and composition included Thomaskantor Prof. Friedrich Richter and Oscar Paul. At the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
Gelbke was a guest lecturer in historical
musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...
and
acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
. With this solid education, he became a music teacher (singing and piano) in Leipzig and worked as a singing association conductor. From 1869 onwards, he also directed several choral societies in
Wurzen Wurzen () is a town in the district Leipzig (district), Leipzig Land (voting) and Muldental (number plates), in Saxony, Germany. It is situated next to the river Mulde, here crossed by two bridges, 25 km east of Leipzig, by rail N.E. of Leipzig L ...
. In 1882 Gelbke received an offer from
Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...
to take over the conducting position of the renowned "Orpheus" singing society in the new "Music Hall Buffalo". Buffalo was a centre of ethnic German emigrants in the US, who continued to intensively cultivate their German traditions here, including German song. He left Germany on 22 November 1882 and began his conducting career in Buffalo on 14 December 1882. The home of Gelbke's choral society "Orpheus", the "New Music Hall Buffalo", burned down in March 1885, whereupon Gelbke handed over the direction of the choir to Carl Adam in November 1885. Gelbke was the conductor of the Buffalo Sängerbund for several years and also conducted the Central Sängerbund, which was made up of 12 regional choral societies, the Mendelssohn Club, the Beethoven Club, the choral section of the Buffalo Turnverein and many other choirs and choral societies. From 1884 to 1894 he was conductor of the "Niagara Falls Orpheus". At the "23rd North American Music Festival" in Buffalo in 1883, in which 72 choirs with 2,100 singers participated, Gelbke conducted the choir of the Sängerbund with 600 singers with great success. He also worked for the "Liedertafel" Buffalo. As director of the renowned singing society "Harugari Frohsinn" he led it artistically to high blossom. Gelbke earned his income as a private music teacher. On 27 December 1887, he married Mathilde ''née'' Hütter, born in Buffalo in 1856, the daughter of a family of German lawyers. Gelbke died on 1 March 1903 in Buffalo of a myocardial infarction at age 56. The German-language newspaper ''Buffalo Freie Presse'' honoured him already on 2 March 1903 with a detailed obituary.


Work

His best-known work in Germany is probably the setting of the poem Heimkehr by Emil Schimpke, which is still mainly sung today by male choirs and quartets under the song title "Horch, die alten Eichen rauschen". Contrary to other sources and traditions, according to which Gelbke is said to have created this composition on the occasion of a later visit to his hometown of Radeberg, he had already set this poem to music before his departure from Germany in November 1882, as evidenced by a sheet of music signed and dated by Gelbke. Disc recordings of this song were already released around 1910 by many German
manufacturers Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
.


Lied Heimkehr bzw. 'Horch, die alten Eichen rauschen'

Listen to this Lied:Audio file
dismarc-audio.org

Text: ''(Orthography and typesetting according to original by Emil Schimpke in '') :Horch! Die alten Eichen rauschen :Immer noch dasselbe Lied; :Sonst ist alles anders worden, :seit ich aus der Heimat schied. ::Mit Geleit zog ich von hinnen, ::Fremd und einsam zieh ich her, ::Herz, wie bist du voll von Sehnen! ::Heimat, ach, wie bist du leer! :Nur die alten Kirchenglocken :Singen ihren frommen Sang, :Sonst hat Willkomm' mir geboten :Keiner lieben Stimme Klang, ::Und kein glänzend Auge wünschte ::Freundlich mir zur Heimkehr Glück. ::Herz! Die Heimat ward zur Fremde, ::Warum kehrtest du zurück? :Nur der Wald hat dir erhalten :Hinterm beerenreichen Haag :Wohlbekanntes Grünen, Blühen :Und den alten Finkenschlag; ::Leises Flüstern, Jugendträume, ::Heimisch Wehen, Herzensfried'; ::Und die alten Eichen rauschen ::Immer noch dasselbe Lied!


Other works

after * Dornröschen, Dramatische Kleinigkeit, after texts by Hermann Unbescheid * 11 Vertonungen für Männerchöre (mit Bearbeitungen für Singstimmen und Piano), darunter neben „Heimkehr“ weitere 6 Gedichte von Emil Schimpke: ** Auf hohem Berg Op. 6 Nr. 1 ** Scheidelied Op. 6 Nr. 2 ** Elfenreigen Op. 13 ** Sternennacht Op. 15 ** Heimkehr Op. 16 Nr. 1 ** Morgenlied Op. 20 ** Nachtgedanken, ohne Nr * Gruss an die Nacht Op. 7, text by H. Waldow * Heldenfeier Op. 16 Nr. 1, text by Julius Sturm * Ade Op. 18 Nr. 1, text by P. Schönfeld * Fahnenlied Op. 18 Nr. 2 text by Scholl * ''Jubilate Amen'' Op. 8, Hymn for soprano solo, male choir and orchestra with the text by the Irish national poet
Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852), was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist who was widely regarded as Ireland's "National poet, national bard" during the late Georgian era. The acclaim rested primarily on the popularity of his ''I ...
, among others already set to music by
Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...
(Opus 3) in 1856. * the 100th Psalm "Jauchzet dem Herrn" Op. 17 for mixed choir, winds, timpani / organ * Wedding Song for mixed choir Op. 12 after words from the Bible,
Ruth I Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...
* div. LIeder for 4 and 5 male voices, soli and choir, Op. 9 - 11 and 19, after texts among others by
Joseph von Eichendorff Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
. No specific information is available about his numerous compositions from 1882 onwards in Buffalo.


Acknowledgements


Sächsischer Elbgau-Sänger-Bund

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the "Radeberg Group" in the , a bronze commemorative plaque was dedicated at his birthplace in Radeberg on 7 September 1930, which is still there today.


Gelbkehain

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, a park in his honour was renamed in his native town of Radeberg on 19 July 1946. The park is located in the city centre, directly on the course of the Große Röder. A memorial stone, also erected in 1946, commemorates Gelbke here..


Further reading

* Klaus Schönfuß: ''Johannes Gelbke (1846-1903), ein Radeberger Komponist geht nach Amerika''; in ''Radeberger Blätter zur Stadtgeschichte'', vol. 12, 2014; ed.: Große Kreisstadt Radeberg in Zusammenarbeit mit der AG Stadtgeschichte


References

Verzeichniss des Musikalien-Verlags von Fr. Kistner in Leipzig 1894 Abtheilung I; SLUB Dresden Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig; Objekt z0077600. Chronik des Männerchors Ottendorf-Okrilla


External links

*
The History of the Germans in Buffalo and Erie County
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelbke, Johannes German Romantic composers American Romantic composers 1846 births 1903 deaths People from Radeberg People educated at the Kreuzschule