Konrad Ameln (6 July 1899 – 1 September 1994) was a German
hymnologist and
musicologist
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, f ...
, who wrote standard works about Protestant church music.
Life
Childhood, youth and academic years
Born in
Neuss
Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...
,
Ameln grew up in
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
and attended the humanistic Wilhelms-Gymnasium there. He took part in the First World War as a volunteer and was captured, then released in 1919. After his return he received 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 ...
without an examination and began studying musicology with
Friedrich Ludwig at the
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...
in 1920. In 1921 he changed to
Wilibald Gurlitt at the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...
. There he achieved the
doctorate
A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in 1924 with a
dissertation on ''Geschichte der Melodien "
Innsbruck, ich muss dich lassen" and "
Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein"''.
Activities
Since his youth Ameln was active in the
Wandervogel
''Wandervogel'' (plural: ''Wandervögel''; English: "Wandering Bird") is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 to 1933, who protested against industrialization by going to hike in the country and commune with na ...
movement and the . He published from 1925 to 1933 in the magazine ''Die Singgemeinde'' (The singing community) of the . After further studies and activity as adult education lecturer and director of various choirs in
Rendsburg
Rendsburg (, also ''Rensborg'', , also ''Rensborg'') is a town on the Eider (river), River Eider and the Kiel Canal in the central part of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the capital of the ''Kreis'' (district) of Rendsburg-Eckernfoerde, Rends ...
and
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
, Ameln worked from 1926 to 1928 as a specialist for music at the municipal library,
and for the German central office for public libraries in
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 1928, he became director of the Singwochen of the Finkensteiner Bund.
From 1930 to 1939 Ameln was, with interruptions, a private lecturer for Protestant church music at the
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in
Münster
Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
.
From 1931 he taught first at the in
Elbing, later at the Pädagogische Akademie in
Dortmund
Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...
. Since he refused to exclude his communist and social democratic students from the final examinations in 1933, he was briefly imprisoned, as were some of his colleagues. He was then first put into temporary retirement in 1934, and moved with his family to
Lüdenscheid. Ameln joined the
SS on 1 November 1933 and worked there as SS-Scharführer and training officer of the Race and Settlement Office. In 1934, his songs for male choir "Wir wollen ein starkes einiges Reich sein" and "Das Lied vom neuen Reich" on texts by were published. On an application from 15 June 1937, Ameln became a member of the
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
(Party number 4.261.371).
At the beginning of the Second World War, Ameln volunteered for the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
. He was first assigned to the Landesschützen-Ersatz-Bataillon VI. In April 1940 he was promoted to lieutenant in the 393rd Infantry Division. Ameln was then active for the Wehrmacht defense. In January 1945 he was a captain in the Grenadier Regiment 1001 and fell into American captivity near Enns on the Danube. He was released on May 24, 1946.
In 1946 Ameln tried to regain his former activity as a lecturer at the
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität in
Münster
Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...
. However, the Protestant faculty and the State church rejected this attempt. In the post-war period Ameln was again active as a lecturer, first at the Landesmusikschule in Hannover. From 1949 to 1957 he taught hymnology and history of Protestant church music at the . There he edited the ''Handbuch der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenmusik'', which has been published in numerous editions. In 1959 he founded the , which he led until 1967.
Ameln became known as the editor of
Bach's motets, and works by
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
and
Leonhard Lechner, which were published by
Bärenreiter-Verlag. On behalf of the he published the first volume of the new
Hallische Händel-Ausgabe
The ''Hallische Händel-Ausgabe'' ("Halle Handel Edition") is a multi-volume collection of the works of George Frideric Handel. It was first published in the 1950s: initially as an adjunct to the Händel-Gesellschaft, HG edition, but by 1958 as ...
with ''
Alexander's Feast'',
HWV 75. For the ''
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
'' of the same edition he provided a new German version.
In 1980 he was awarded the title Professor by the state of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
.
Ameln died in
Lüdenscheid at age 95.
Lüdenscheider Musikvereinigung
In 1935, Ameln founded, together with the physician Wilhelm Boecker, the Lüdenscheider Musikvereinigung (Lüdenscheid music association) in
Lüdenscheid. He was its musical director until 1973. They organised annual music festivals where
early music
Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...
could be heard on period instruments, played by professionals such as and
August Wenzinger, but also contemporary music. With the beginning of the Second World War, Ameln's activities were severely restricted. After his return from American captivity in 1946, he resumed work on the music festivals.
[Documents on the Lüdenscheid music association in the Ameln estate, Lüdenscheid town archive]
Literature
* Helmut Pahl: ''Lüdenscheider Köpfe des Kulturellen Lebens von A–Z''. Lüdenscheid 2003.
* Gerhard Schuhmacher (ed.): ''Traditionen und Reformen in der Kirchenmusik: Festschrift für Konrad Ameln zum 75. Geburtstag am 6. Juli 1974''. Kassel among others:
Bärenreiter
Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...
, 1974; .
*
Alexander Völker, Ada Kadelbach,
Andreas Marti: ''In memoriam Konrad Ameln''. In:
Jahrbuch für Liturgik und Hymnologie 34 (1992/93), S. VII–X;
References
Sources
* Nachlass Ameln a
Sängermuseum Feuchtwangen* Nachlass Ameln a
Archiv der Jugendmusikbewegung* Nachlass Ameln a
Universitätsarchiv Augsburg* Hymnologische Sammlung Amelns in de
Universitätsbibliothek Augsburg
* Privater Nachlass Konrad Ameln a
Stadtarchiv Lüdenscheid(previously uncharted)
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ameln, Konrad
1899 births
1994 deaths
People from Neuss
20th-century German musicologists
Academic staff of the University of Münster
Nazi Party members
SS non-commissioned officers
German Army officers of World War II