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Hugo Distler (1908-1942)

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Hugo Distler (1908-1942) HUGO DISTLER (1908-1942): RECONTEXTUALIZING DISTLER’S MUSIC FOR PERFORMANCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY by Brad Pierson A dissertation Submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts University of Washington 2014 Reading Committee: Geoffrey P. Boers, Chair Giselle Wyers Steven Morrison Program Authorized to Offer Degree: School of Music © Copyright 2014 Brad Pierson ii Acknowledgements It has been an absolute joy to study the life and music of Hugo Distler, and I owe a debt of gratitude to many people who have supported me in making this document possible. Thank you to Dr. Geoffrey Boers and Dr. Giselle Wyers, who have served as my primary mentors at the University of Washington. Your constant support and your excellence have challenged me to grow as a musician and as a person. Thank you to Dr. Steven Morrison and Dr. Steven Demorest for always having questions and forcing me to search for better answers. Joseph Schubert, thank you for your willingness to always read my writing and provide feedback even as you worked to complete your own dissertation. Thank you to Arndt Schnoor at the Hugo Distler Archive and to the many scholars whom I contacted to discuss research. Your thoughts and insights have been invaluable. Thank you to Jacob Finkle for working with me in the editing process and for your patience with my predilection for commas. Thank you to my colleagues at the University of Washington. Your friendship and support have gotten me through this degree. Finally, thank you to my family. You have always supported me in everything I do, and this journey would not have been possible without you. iii University of Washington Abstract HUGO DISTLER (1908-1942): RECONTEXTUALIZING DISTLER’S MUSIC FOR PERFORMANCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Brad Pierson Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Geoffrey Boers, Director of Choral Activities School of Music Hugo Distler has been recognized as a forerunner of the New German Church Music, an important musical movement which developed in the 1930s. Beyond his role in developing music for the worship service, Distler wrote many secular choral compositions which represent some of the most innovative and important contributions to German choral music of the twentieth century. While he achieved great popularity during his lifetime and is widely regarded as a high-quality and important composer, his music has gone in and out of popularity in the United States. While there have been various scholarly contributions, primarily initiated by Larry Palmer’s book of 1967, focusing on his life and works, a need for new research on Distler remains. iv The aforementioned text by Larry Palmer and an earlier document by Charles R. Anders provide extensive biographical information about Distler. However, details of his family history and early childhood are largely disregarded. A new German-language biography which provides much greater detail in this area was written by Distler’s daughter, Barbara Distler-Harth, in 2008. The details of his family and early childhood help to provide great insight into Distler’s developing psyche and are thus provided in the current document for the first time to an English- speaking audience. Beyond biographical information, editions of previously unreleased Distler works have been prepared in the last twenty years, and these works have not been previously addressed in any academic research. It is the intention of this document to advocate for the study and performance of Hugo Distler’s music by providing context for his music in both musical and ideological frameworks. The identification of specific stylistic characteristics is intended to breakdown the challenges of Distler’s music, which will make it more accessible to choral conductors and singers. Whereas previous research has primarily focused on larger works such as the Choralpassion and Eine deutsche Choralmesse or the challenging motets of his Geistliche Chormusik, this document will provide information on several smaller works, including pieces from Der Jahrkreis, Mörike- Chorliederbuch, and others. It is my belief that in order for Distler’s work to gain in popularity, church and school choirs must give it increased performance, rather than professional choirs giving increased performance of his most challenging works. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................................. iv List of Musical Examples .................................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 2. BIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 4 Nürnberg .................................................................................................................... 4 Family History ............................................................................................... 5 Helene’s Marriage and Hugo’s Birth ............................................................. 6 Hugo’s Childhood .......................................................................................... 8 The Young Musician...................................................................................... 9 Leipzig ....................................................................................................................... 10 Education ....................................................................................................... 11 City Life ......................................................................................................... 11 Works ............................................................................................................. 12 Leaving Leipzig ............................................................................................. 13 Lübeck........................................................................................................................ 14 St. Jakobikirche .............................................................................................. 14 Bruno Grusnick and the Lübeck Sing- und Spielkreis ................................... 15 Axel Werner Kühl .......................................................................................... 16 Choirs and Other Employment ...................................................................... 17 NSDAP .......................................................................................................... 17 Personal Life .................................................................................................. 19 Works ............................................................................................................. 22 vi Leaving Lübeck ............................................................................................. 22 Stuttgart ...................................................................................................................... 23 Work in Stuttgart............................................................................................ 23 Reichmuskkammer ........................................................................................ 24 Other Employment in Stuttgart ...................................................................... 26 War Summons ................................................................................................ 27 Works ............................................................................................................. 27 People and Events .......................................................................................... 28 Berlin.......................................................................................................................... 30 Employment in Berlin .................................................................................... 31 Personal Life .................................................................................................. 31 Works ............................................................................................................. 32 Death .............................................................................................................. 34 3. INFLUENCES: GERMAN CULTURE AND EDUCATION .............................................. 37 German History and Culture ...................................................................................... 37 Musical Culture in the 1800s ......................................................................... 37 Otto von Bismark (1815-1898) ...................................................................... 39 Wilhelm II (1859-1941) ................................................................................. 40 The Third Reich ............................................................................................. 41 Other Cultural Movements ............................................................................ 44 Distler’s World............................................................................................... 46 Teachers and Education ............................................................................................
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