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Volkslied (literally: folk song) is a genre of popular songs in German which are traditionally sung. While many of them were first passed orally, several collections were published from the late 18th century. Later, some popular songs were also included in this classification. [1]
The earliest songs in German appeared in the 12th century. Art songs were created by minstrels and meistersinger while cantastoria (Bänkelsänger) sang songs in public that were orally transmitted. Song collections were written from the late 15th century, such as Lochamer-Liederbuch and Glogauer Liederbuch . Georg Forster's Frische teutsche Liedlein was first printed in 1536.
In the period of Sturm und Drang, poets and authors became interested in that which they saw as simple, close to nature, original, and unspoiled (nach dem Einfachen, Naturnahen, Ursprünglichen und Unverfälschten). Johann Gottfried Herder coined the term 'Volkslied' in the late 18th century, and published Von deutscher Art und Kunst (On German ways and artistry) in 1771. In 1778/79, a collection Volkslieder was published, promoted by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, which mentioned neither an editor nor authors, in an attempt to suggest the songs as an expression of the soul of the people (Äußerungen der Volksseele). Friedrich Silcher (1789–1860) composed a great number of Lieder, many of which became Volkslieder, and he edited collections of Volkslieder.
In the middle of the 18th century, the Berliner Liederschule promoted songs with simple melodies im Volkston (i.e. in the Volkslied style). Songs written following the concept include "Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust" and "O Täler weit, o Höhen".
In the early 20th century, the repertoire was broadened by workers' songs and students' songs. In 1914, John Meier founded the Deutsches Volksliedarchiv, a research and archive of Volkslied. The Wandervogel movement turned to singing while wandering, with the collection Der Zupfgeigenhansl published in 1909, and reprinted until 1933.
"Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen" is a traditional Swiss star boys' singers Christmas carol from the Canton of Lucerne. Lyrically, there are some regional variations. The text below offers the original lyrics.
The Lochamer-Liederbuch is an extensive collection of German songs at the transition from the late Middle Ages to the Renaissance. It dates from the mid-15th century and is regarded as one of the most important surviving collections of music from fifteenth-century Germany. Other names are Locheimer and Lochheimer Liederbuch.
Roderich Mojsisovics von Mojsvár was an Austrian composer based in Graz, head of the Schule des Musikvereins für Steiermark there.
"Kein schöner Land in dieser Zeit" is a popular Volkslied in German. It goes back to a song by Anton Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio, first published in 1840 in a folk song collection. It gained popularity in the 1910s in the Wandervogel movement, and is now part of most song books in German. It has been set to choral music and modern songs. The beginning of the first line has been used as the title of books, a play and television series.
Rolf Schweizer was a German composer, choirmaster and church music director, who was based primarily at Pforzheim. Schweizer was part of the movement Neues Geistliches Lied, and his compositions, several of which appear in the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG), were heavily influenced by contemporary secular music, especially jazz.
Helmut Alfons Schlegel is a German Franciscan, Catholic priest, meditation instructor, author, librettist and songwriter. He is known for writing new spiritual songs, set to music by various composers.
Peter Janssens was a German musician and composer who wrote and performed incidental music for several theatres, and songs and musicals of the genre Neues Geistliches Lied, a pioneer of Sacropop. He worked at a German theatre in Buenos Aires, set several works by Ernesto Cardenal to music and composed in 1992 a passion music, in memory of 500 years after the European invasion in Latin America.
"Der Mond ist aufgegangen" is a German lullaby and evening song by Matthias Claudius, one of the most popular in German literature. Also known under the name Abendlied it was first released in Musen-Almanach in 1779, published by Johann Heinrich Voß. In 1783, Claudius published the poem with a modification to verse six in Asmus omnia sua secum portans oder Sämmtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen IV. Theil.
Johannes Leisentritt, also Johann Leisentrit was a Catholic priest, dean of St. Peter in Bautzen and administrator of the Diocese of Meißen, responsible for Lusatia. He is known for publishing a 1567 hymnal.
Friedrich Wilhelm Arnold was a German musician, music seller, publisher and folk-song collector.
Ernst Klusen was a German musicologist, educator and Volkslied composer.
Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen is a German christmas carol. The original version comes from Hedwig Haberkern (1837–1901), who published the song in her first book in 1869.
"Süßer die Glocken nie klingen" is a popular German Christmas carol with text by Friedrich Wilhelm Kritzinger to a traditional Volkslied melody, first printed in 1860. It has remained popular and is part of many song books and Christmas recordings, evoking the sound of bells as a symbol of peace and joy.
Walther Hensel was a German musicologist, music educator, who dedicated himself above all to the research and cultivation of folk songs.
The Deutsche Volksliedarchiv, a research institute for Volkslied in German, was founded in 1914 and was integrated into the University of Freiburg in 2014, now called Zentrum für Populäre Kultur und Musik. It has extensive collections of traditional and popular songs, maintained and expanded in the new centre, and accessible to the public without restriction. Before 2014, it was independent scientific research institute of the state Baden-Württemberg, based in Freiburg im Breisgau.
"Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust" is the first line of a poem by Wilhelm Müller, written in 1821 with the title "Wanderschaft" as part of a collection, Die schöne Müllerin. While wandern is defined as "hiking" today, it referred to the required journeyman years of craftsmen when written, in this case of a miller.
Wolfgang Suppan was an Austrian musicologist. He is the father of the wind musician and composer Armin Suppan.
"Kommt ein Vogel geflogen" is a German-language Volkslied and love song from Lower Austria. While it was passed down orally, probably in dialect, some text first appeared in print in 1807. Six stanzas appeared in a Posse mit Gesang by Karl von Holtei in Berlin in 1824 and made the song popular. In arrangements, it also became a children's song. Siegfried Ochs treated the melody humorously to variations for piano, imitating different styles of classical composers.
Franz Johann Karl Andreas Kretzschmer was a German lawyer, secret war councilor, composer, musicologist and folk song researcher. His main folkloristic work, the Volkslied collection of 1838/40, he published under the name "A. Kretzschmer"; In a modern reprint from 1969, this name form is wrongly transformed to "August Kretzschmer".
The dictionary definition of Volkslied at Wiktionary
German Wikisource has original text related to this article: Volkslieder