Manfred Siebald

Last updated

Manfred Siebald
Birth nameManfred Siebald
Born1948
OriginGermany
GenresPop
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, university professor
Years active1970 –
Website http://www.siebald.org/

Manfred Siebald (born 26 October 1948 at Alheim-Baumbach) is a German singer-songwriter and lecturer in American studies in Mainz.

Contents

Siebald is best known as a Christian singer-songwriter, who writes and speaks on contemporary worship music. His songs of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied (NGL) have gained a firm place in the songbooks of many different Christian denominations and are sung in fellowships and youth groups throughout Germany.

Artistic and musical career

As a child Manfred Siebald learned to play several musical instruments, including the violin, the viola and the piano. Along with his studies at the University of Marburg he took instruction in harmonisation and singing. As early as 1970 he was conducting the Youth for Christ Choir and singing in the Christ Singers. He also brought out his first single – "Meinst du wirklich, es genügt?" – at that time. In 1972 he published his first solo album, entitled Da steh ich nun. Siebald gained an international following with his performances at Eurofest '75, the international youth conference and evangelistic crusade which was organized by the Billy Graham organisation in Brussels. Siebald has often been compared with the singer-songwriter Reinhard Mey for his style, and sometimes with Graham Kendrick for his influence on Christian music in his country.

Over time he has become the most well-known German Christian singer songwriter, and has influenced many others. This is demonstrated, among other things, by the release of the album In deinem Haus – A Tribute to Manfred Siebald in 2003, consisting of reinterpretations of some of Siebald's best-loved songs by other well-known Christian musicians (such as Michael Janz de from the group Beatbetrieb de ). The album was arranged by Florian Sitzmann de and produced by Arne Kopfermann de .

Siebald also translates English songs and writes lyrics for other singers. For example, he wrote all the lyrics for Cae Gauntt's de album Welt von 1000 Wegen. He is frequently asked to write a theme song for special meetings or conferences. This was the case when he wrote "Von deinen Worten können wir leben" (We Can Live Off Your Words) for The Year of the Bible in 1992. To date Siebald has penned about 350 songs, produced 19 albums and published seven poetry books.

Manfred Siebald performs about thirty concerts annually, accompanying himself on various acoustic guitars. For this he travels all over Germany and abroad. For his concerts abroad, including the US, South Africa, and Sri Lanka, he has produced English versions of his songs.

Academic career

In 1967, Siebald graduated from secondary school in Kassel. While on tour in America with the German Youth for Christ Choir, he studied at Manchester College, North Manchester, Indiana, in 1969. He then read German and English philology at Philipps University of Marburg. He trained to be a secondary school teacher of English and German, taking his first state diploma examination in 1972. After his marriage in 1973, he paused his studies for three years, completing his teacher training by taking the second state examination in 1976.

In 1977, he did a PhD in American studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. His dissertation dealt with the topic Auflehnung im Werk Herman MelvillesRebellion in Herman Melville's Novels. In 1983, he was made assistant professor (tenured) for American studies at Johannes Gutenberg University and continued his academic work after completion of his PhD. He interrupted his work at Mainz by taking sabbaticals at Wheaton College (Illinois) (Clyde S. Kilby Professor in 1992) and guest professor at Georgia State University in Atlanta (1996 and 1997). In the first year (1996), Siebald produced the monograph Der verlorene Sohn in der amerikanischen LiteraturThe Prodigal Son in American Literature – which was published in 2003. He was made associate professor in American studies in Mainz in 2002 and has remained there to the present. [1]

Other activities

Manfred Siebald is curator of the Faith and Science Institute of the Studentenmission in Deutschland (SMD), the German equivalent of the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF). In 1979, the nationwide television special "Whether My Songs Are Loud or Soft" was broadcast about his work. The same year, he co-founded the Christian arts group Das Rad (The Wheel) in Wetzlar, together with about 50 other Christians also working in the arts.

He is married to a doctor, Christine Siebald (née Stossberg), and they have a son, Benjamin, born in 1984.

In 2008, President Horst Köhler awarded him and his wife the Federal Cross of Merit for their tireless charity work both at home and abroad. [2]

Music

Discography

Single

  • "Meinst du wirklich, es genügt?" (1970)
    Do you really mean, it's enough?"

Vinyl albums

  • Da steh ich nun (1972)
    Here I stand
  • Ich gehe weiter (1974)
    I'll press on
  • Das ungedüngte Feld (1976)
    A Field of organic food
    see: discussion
  • Zeitpunkte (1978)
    Points in Time
  • Überall hat Gott seine Leute (1983) ("Manfred Siebald and Friends")
    God has his people everywhere
    The title comes from Manfred's translation of Andrae Crouch's song "Through it all".
  • Kreuzschnabel (1985)
    Crossbill
  • Alles auf seine Weise – Liebeslieder (1986)
    Everything in its own way – Love songs

Compact discs

  • Gib mir die richtigen Worte (1987) (Sampler)
    Words that are wise and yet simple
    see: discussion
  • Spuren (1988)
    Traces
  • Von Wegen (1991)
    No Way
  • Amasement
    (Instrumentals arranged by Tom Keene)
  • Du bist mein Rabe – Lieder von der Liebe (1993)
    You are my raven – Love songs
  • Worte wie Brot – Lieder für den Gottesdienst (1994) ("Manfred Siebald and friends")
    Words like bread – Worship songs
  • Lass uns Freunde sein (Songs for children)(1996) ("Manfred Siebald and children")
    Let's Be Friends
  • Nicht vergessen (1998)
    Not Forgotten
  • Weltbewegende Winzigkeiten (2000)
    Little Things That Make the World Go Round
  • Was die Engel uns sagen (2000) ("Manfred Siebald and friends") – Songs for Christmas
    What the angels tell us
  • Vielleicht kommst du mit (2001)
    Maybe you'll come along
  • Morgenmantelmorgen (2004)
    Dressing Gown Morning
  • Singen Sie bald mit? (2005) (Sampler) Manfred Siebald's congregational songs
    Will you sing along?
  • Ich lass dich nicht fallen (2006)
    I won't let you fall
  • Aber Sicher (2008) But Surely
  • Das Beste kommt noch (2010) The Best Is Yet to Come
  • Manfred Siebald - Live (2010)
  • Höchste Zeit (2013) High Time
  • Zur Feier des Tages (2017) Celebrating the Day
  • The first four vinyl albums have been re-released on compact disc as a 4-CD pack.

Publications

For an extensive list of the academic publications see

Poetry books

Other books

Articles

Related Research Articles

The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a, was published in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireen Sheer</span> German-English singer

Ireen Sheer is a German-English singer. She had her first major hit in 1970 with Hey Pleasure Man. She had a top five hit on the German singles chart with "Goodbye Mama" in 1973. She went on to finish fourth at the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 representing Luxembourg, sixth at the Eurovision Song Contest 1978 representing Germany, and thirteenth at the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 representing Luxembourg again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clemens Bittlinger</span> German Protestant minister, author and songwriter

Clemens Bittlinger is a German Protestant minister, author of books as well as a song writer of religious-themed songs and children's songs in German.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Was willst du dich betrüben</span>

"Was willst du dich betrüben" is a hymn in seven stanzas by the German Baroque poet, Lutheran minister and hymn-writer Johann Heermann. The chorale was first published in 1630 during the Thirty Years' War. It is focused on trust in God, even when facing adversaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist</span> Christian song by Martin Luther

"Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" is the title of several hymns in German. The first is one of the oldest hymns in the German language: a 13th-century leise. Subsequent versions expanded upon the leise; the original hymn became the new version's first stanza, and it now used melodies derived from its medieval tune. The Protestant reformer Martin Luther expanded the leise in 1524, and different Catholic versions were published between 1537 and 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikolaus Herman</span> German composer and cantor

Nikolaus Herman was a German Lutheran cantor and teacher, creating numerous Protestant hymns. Some of them are contained in hymnals in several languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein</span>

"Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein", or “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice” in English, is a Lutheran hymn, written in 1523 by Martin Luther. It is one of Luther's early hymns and considered by some as one of his finest. It was published as one of eight songs in 1524 in the first Lutheran hymnal, the Achtliederbuch. The Achtliederbuch contained four songs by Luther, three by Speratus, and one by Justus Jonas. It appeared also in 1524 in the Erfurt Enchiridion.

"Herzlich tut mich verlangen" is a German hymn, with lyrics written in 1599 by Christoph Knoll, with a melody adapted from a secular song by Hans Leo Hassler. It is a prayer for a blessed death, beginning "Herzlich tut mich verlangen nach einem sel'gen End". Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 5385a, was later also used for Paul Gerhardt's "Befiehl du deine Wege" and "O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden".

<i>Neues Geistliches Lied</i> Contemporary genre of German music intended for use in churches

Neues Geistliches Lied, abbreviated NGL, is a music genre of songs in German intended for church usage, and based on contemporary lyrics and with music by contemporary composers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugen Eckert</span>

Eugen Eckert is a German social worker, minister, singer-songwriter and academic teacher. He is known for his lyrics for new spiritual songs, and his oratorios and musical plays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georg Thurmair</span> German poet, writer, journalist and author of documentary films

Georg Thurmair was a German poet and hymnwriter who wrote around 300 hymns, a writer, journalist and author of documentary films.

<i>Kirchenlied</i> 1938 German Catholic hymnal

Kirchenlied is a German Catholic hymnal published in 1938. It was a collection of 140 old and new songs, including hymns by Protestant authors. It was the seed for a common Catholic hymnal which was realised decades later, in the Gotteslob (1975).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wahrer Gott, wir glauben dir</span>

""Wahrer Gott, wir glauben dir" is a Catholic hymn. Christoph Bernhard Verspoell (1743–1818), a cleric from Münster, wrote text and melody, and published it in 1810 in his hymnal Orgelbegleitung zu den Gesängen beym Römisch-kathol. Gottesdienste. Herausgegeben von C. B. Verspoell. The song in two stanzas has remained in the repertory of church hymns, used mainly during Eastertide, but also for communion and funerals. It appears in several regional sections of the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob, as GL 770 in Cologne, as GL 780 in Limburg and Münster, and as GL 783 in Speyer, among others.

Friedrich Dörr was a German Catholic priest and professor of theology, who is known as a hymnwriter. He shaped the first common German Catholic hymnal, Gotteslob, published in 1975.

Kathi Stimmer-Salzeder is a German gospel singer-songwriter known for her melody, Gloria, Ehre sei Gott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arne Kopfermann</span> German musician

Arne Kopfermann is a German Christian songwriter, musician, music producer and non-fiction author.

References

  1. "Manfred Siebald - Vita". Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  2. "Bundesverdienstkreuz für Christine und Manfred Siebald". 13 May 2008.