The origins of the Singakademie are difficult to discern because the group was initially intended as a private gathering of music lovers and only later became a public institution. The Singakademie grew out of a small circle of singers who met regularly in the garden house of the privy councillor Milow. Their weekly meetings seemed to have resembled those of the then popular Singethees.Carl Friedrich Zelter describes them as rather informal meetings: "One gathered in the evening, drank tea, spoke, talked, in short entertained oneself; and the matter itself was only secondary."[1] Singer and songwriter Charlotte Caroline Wilhelmine Bachmann was one of the original founding members.[2]
Until the early nineteenth century, most musical concert and opera performances consisted of the music of living composers. The Akademie was intended by Fasch to revive music of the past as well as to perform that of the present. In fact its first performance was a 16-part Mass by Fasch himself, but it also regularly performed music by J. S. Bach and other earlier masters. Fasch had been a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach's son C. P. E. Bach and instilled the devotion to Bach that has been a continuing feature of the Akademie. By the time of Fasch's death on 3 August 1800 the Akademie had about 100 members, and had received many notable visitors keen to experience its unique sound, including Beethoven who came in June 1796.
After Fasch's death, his pupil Carl Friedrich Zelter became leader of the Akademie, continuing Fasch's ambitions and objectives. In 1807 he began an orchestra to accompany the Akademie, and in 1808 he founded a men's choir ('Liedertafel'), which became a model for similar choirs flourishing in the early nineteenth century and dedicated to German national music.
The members of the Akademie were originally drawn from the wealthy bourgeois of Berlin. From early days they also included members of some of Berlin's wealthiest Jewish families, including the Itzig family and descendants of Moses Mendelssohn. These families were to have a significant influence on the history of the Akademie. Moses Mendelssohn's son, Abraham joined the Akademie in 1793 and Itzig's granddaughter, Lea Salomon, in 1796. They were later to marry and their children Felix and Fanny were leading members of the Akademie in the 1820s.
Library
Itzig's daughter (and hence Felix's great-aunt) Sarah Levy (1761-1854), a fine keyboard player who had been taught by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, played concerti by Bach and others in many Akademie concerts and at Zelter's "Ripienschule" in the period 1806-1815. Her large collection of manuscripts of music of the Bach family, together with many others acquired by Abraham Mendelssohn from the widow of C. P. E. Bach, were left to the Akademie. Zelter also had a fine collection of Bach and Bach family manuscripts which he gave to the Akademie. By these means it acquired one of the finest collections of Bachiana in the world. The collection was looted by the Red Army in 1945 and hidden in the Kyiv Conservatory, but was returned to Germany after its rediscovery in 2000.[3][4] (See link for the story). Today, the collection is temporarily housed in the music section of the Berlin State Library.
The success of the Akademie encouraged the founding of a new and permanent home. This was established in 1827 in Unter den Linden and became a major Berlin concert hall, at which many famous musicians were to give concerts, including Paganini, Schumann, and Brahms. On 11 March 1829, the 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn, who was himself a pupil of Zelter, conducted here his famous revival of Bach's St Matthew Passion, a major milestone in re-establishing its composer's reputation as a founding father of European musical traditions.
In 1832 on the death of Zelter, Mendelssohn had some hopes of succeeding him, but in the event the post went to the older, mediocre, but 'safe pair of hands' of Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen (1778–1851). Subsequent directors of the Akademie were:
After the separation between East and West Berlin, the Berliner Singakademie was founded in 1963 in East Berlin. This other Berliner Singakademie is a leading oratory choir in the united Berlin today.
References
^Carl Friedrich Zelter: Selbstdarstellungen. ed. by Willi Reich, Zurich 1955. p. 64.
^Zelter, Carl Friedrich; Rintel, Wilhelm (1861). Carl Friedrich Zelter: Eine Lebensbeschreibung.
^Michael O'Loghlin. "Frederick the Great and his Musicians: The Viola da Gamba Music of the Berlin School", University of Queensland, Australia, 2008. ISBN9780754658856, p. 60
^Patricia Kennedy Grimsted. "Bach is Back in Berlin: The Return of the Sing-Akademie Archive from Ukraine in the Context of Displaced Cultural Treasures and Restitution Politics", Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, 2003. pp. 24-26
Bibliography
Die Sing-Akademie zu Berlin und ihre Direktoren. ed. Gottfried Eberle and Michael Rautenberg. Berlin, 1998.
Die Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. Festschrift zum 175-jährigen Bestehen. ed. Werner Bollert. Berlin, 1966
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sing-Akademie zu Berlin.
Website of the original (1791) Sing-Akademie (in German) Some of the above information is sourced from this site.
January 26, 2023
sing, akademie, berlin, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, feb. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Sing Akademie zu Berlin news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Sing Akademie zu Berlin also known as the Berliner Singakademie is a musical originally choral society founded in Berlin in 1791 by Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch harpsichordist to the court of Prussia on the model of the 18th century London Academy of Ancient Music The Singakademie in 1843 Designed by Carl Theodor Ottmer painting by Eduard Gaertner Contents 1 Early history 2 Library 3 Later history 4 References 4 1 Bibliography 5 External linksEarly history EditThe origins of the Singakademie are difficult to discern because the group was initially intended as a private gathering of music lovers and only later became a public institution The Singakademie grew out of a small circle of singers who met regularly in the garden house of the privy councillor Milow Their weekly meetings seemed to have resembled those of the then popular Singethees Carl Friedrich Zelter describes them as rather informal meetings One gathered in the evening drank tea spoke talked in short entertained oneself and the matter itself was only secondary 1 Singer and songwriter Charlotte Caroline Wilhelmine Bachmann was one of the original founding members 2 Until the early nineteenth century most musical concert and opera performances consisted of the music of living composers The Akademie was intended by Fasch to revive music of the past as well as to perform that of the present In fact its first performance was a 16 part Mass by Fasch himself but it also regularly performed music by J S Bach and other earlier masters Fasch had been a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach s son C P E Bach and instilled the devotion to Bach that has been a continuing feature of the Akademie By the time of Fasch s death on 3 August 1800 the Akademie had about 100 members and had received many notable visitors keen to experience its unique sound including Beethoven who came in June 1796 After Fasch s death his pupil Carl Friedrich Zelter became leader of the Akademie continuing Fasch s ambitions and objectives In 1807 he began an orchestra to accompany the Akademie and in 1808 he founded a men s choir Liedertafel which became a model for similar choirs flourishing in the early nineteenth century and dedicated to German national music The members of the Akademie were originally drawn from the wealthy bourgeois of Berlin From early days they also included members of some of Berlin s wealthiest Jewish families including the Itzig family and descendants of Moses Mendelssohn These families were to have a significant influence on the history of the Akademie Moses Mendelssohn s son Abraham joined the Akademie in 1793 and Itzig s granddaughter Lea Salomon in 1796 They were later to marry and their children Felix and Fanny were leading members of the Akademie in the 1820s Library EditItzig s daughter and hence Felix s great aunt Sarah Levy 1761 1854 a fine keyboard player who had been taught by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach played concerti by Bach and others in many Akademie concerts and at Zelter s Ripienschule in the period 1806 1815 Her large collection of manuscripts of music of the Bach family together with many others acquired by Abraham Mendelssohn from the widow of C P E Bach were left to the Akademie Zelter also had a fine collection of Bach and Bach family manuscripts which he gave to the Akademie By these means it acquired one of the finest collections of Bachiana in the world The collection was looted by the Red Army in 1945 and hidden in the Kyiv Conservatory but was returned to Germany after its rediscovery in 2000 3 4 See link for the story Today the collection is temporarily housed in the music section of the Berlin State Library Later history Edit Program book for the concert held in Milan accompanied by Berlin Philharmonic 1913 The success of the Akademie encouraged the founding of a new and permanent home This was established in 1827 in Unter den Linden and became a major Berlin concert hall at which many famous musicians were to give concerts including Paganini Schumann and Brahms On 11 March 1829 the 20 year old Felix Mendelssohn who was himself a pupil of Zelter conducted here his famous revival of Bach s St Matthew Passion a major milestone in re establishing its composer s reputation as a founding father of European musical traditions In 1832 on the death of Zelter Mendelssohn had some hopes of succeeding him but in the event the post went to the older mediocre but safe pair of hands of Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen 1778 1851 Subsequent directors of the Akademie were August Eduard Grell 1853 76 Martin Traugott Blumner 1876 1900 Georg Schumann 1900 50 Mathieu Lange 1950 73 Hans Hilsdorf 1973 99 Joshard Daus 2002 06 Kai Uwe Jirka 2006 present After the separation between East and West Berlin the Berliner Singakademie was founded in 1963 in East Berlin This other Berliner Singakademie is a leading oratory choir in the united Berlin today References Edit Carl Friedrich Zelter Selbstdarstellungen ed by Willi Reich Zurich 1955 p 64 Zelter Carl Friedrich Rintel Wilhelm 1861 Carl Friedrich Zelter Eine Lebensbeschreibung Michael O Loghlin Frederick the Great and his Musicians The Viola da Gamba Music of the Berlin School University of Queensland Australia 2008 ISBN 9780754658856 p 60 Patricia Kennedy Grimsted Bach is Back in Berlin The Return of the Sing Akademie Archive from Ukraine in the Context of Displaced Cultural Treasures and Restitution Politics Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute 2003 pp 24 26 Bibliography Edit Die Sing Akademie zu Berlin und ihre Direktoren ed Gottfried Eberle and Michael Rautenberg Berlin 1998 Die Sing Akademie zu Berlin Festschrift zum 175 jahrigen Bestehen ed Werner Bollert Berlin 1966External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sing Akademie zu Berlin Website of the original 1791 Sing Akademie in German Some of the above information is sourced from this site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sing Akademie zu Berlin amp oldid 983315871, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
