Alfred Koerppen (16 December 1926 – 5 July 2022) was a German organist, music pedagogue, composer and academic teacher. He taught composition and music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover from 1948 to 1991. His compositions focus on choral music with and without accompaniment, but he also wrote symphonies, chamber music and stage works.
Koerppen was born in Wiesbaden on 16 December 1926.[1][2] His father, August Koerppen, was a conductor, so he became familiar with music early. He received his first music lessons at the age of six. While still at school, he wrote his own compositions. He attended the Musisches Gymnasium Frankfurt for especially musically gifted children from all over Germany, from 1939 to 1945; he was trained in composition and music theory by Kurt Thomas.[1][2] He studied at the same time as Heinz Hennig, Paul Kuhn, Clytus Gottwald and Siegfried Strohbach.[3]
After World War II, Koerppen initially worked as an organist and music teacher at the Musisches Gymnasium.[4][2] In 1946, his first works were published and he received commissions for compositions. In 1948, Koerppen became a lecturer at the Landesmusikschule Hannover,[2] (later the Hochschule für Musik und Theater).[1] When the opera house was reopened after restoration, his oratorioDer Turmbau zu Babel was premiered.[3]
Koerppen's opera Virgilius, der Magier von Rom to a libretto by the composer after Virgil was premiered in Frankfurt in 1951, and published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1953.[5] In 1960, he was granted a one-year scholarship at the Villa Massimo in Rome.[2] In 1967, he was appointed professor of composition and music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover.[2] Since 1970, he has also been active internationally, teaching for example as a visiting professor at the Shanghai Academy of Music.[2] In 1983, Koerppen received the Lower Saxony State Prize for culture.[2] He retired from teaching in 1991, having educated many students who became notable composers, conductors, church musicians and pedagogues.[1] Koerppen wrote his last work, a cantataIn Paradisum (To paradise) to the text from the Requiem, in 2021 at age 94.[4] It was premiered in the Stadthaus Burgdorf in September 2021.[3]
In 1960, Koerppen married the violinist Barbara Koerppen, née Boehr.[3] They lived in Burgdorf.[3][6] Together, they founded in 2002 the Alfred Koerppen Stiftung, a foundation towards the creation, publication and performance of new classical music.[7]
Koerppen's works are published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Möseler Verlag [de], Bärenreiter, Ferrimontana and ADU-Verlag (later Merseburger Verlag [de]).[2] He wrote chamber music for strings and piano, among others, organ works, Lieder, numerous choral works a cappella and with accompaniment.[1][10][11][12]
Concertino for marimba and string orchestra (2002)[15]
Choral musicedit
Das Hohe Lied Salomons for 6-part mixed choir (1945)
Der Turmbau zu Babel, Scenic oratorio for 4 solos, male choir and large orchestra (1951)
Fünf Chorlieder for male choir with piano accompaniment after poems by Joseph von Eichendorff (1959)
Joseph und seine Brüder, Choral narrative for women's choir and speaking groups (1967). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1969
Invocationen nach Gesängen des Wienhäuser Liederbuches for schola, mixed choir, flute, oboe, violin, cello, double bass and organ (1968). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1968
Parabel vom Dornbusch for mixed choir and orchestra (1969). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1969
Das Stadtwappen. Scene for soloists (tenor, baritone, bass), mixed choir and large orchestra after a text by Franz Kafka (1973)
Four Italian Madrigals after poems by Giuseppe Ungaretti for solo quartet and mixed choir (1976). Möseler, 1978
Enchanted Forest for women's choir (1982). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1983
Echo for soloists and mixed choir (1985). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1985
Auf einem Baum ein Kuckuck saß. Volkslied variations for women's choir (1987). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1989
Exemplary Stories for women's choir (1989). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1994
16 European Christmas carols for mixed choir a cappella ad lib. with wind septet and organ (1991)
Elia. Choral narrative for mixed choir and organ (1991). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2004
Four Latin choral songs for mixed choir a cappella (1991)
Jonah. Choral narrative for soli, mixed choir a. organ (1995). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 1999
Creator Spirit. Cantata in seven parts for speaker, soloists, mixed choir and 13 winds (1998).
Zu Weihnachten in Deutschland for speaker, soloists, mixed choir and 14 instruments (2000)
6 Christmas songs for women's choir (2003)
Stephanus. Choral narrative for speaker, soli, mixed choir and organ (revised 2004). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2004
Missa brevis (2005). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2005
Choral songs on words by Goethe, Claudius and Koerppen for mixed choir (2008). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2008
Prayers from the Ark for soloists, women's choir and instruments (revised 2008). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2008
The Most Beautiful. Ode for women's choir (2009). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2009
German Mass for mixed choir (revised 2010). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2010
Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich. Choral cantata for congregation (1 part choir), mixed choir and instruments (2010). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2010
Der Tod des Johannes. Choral narrative for mixed choir, clarinet a. organ (2010). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2011
Witz und Aberwitz. Nine pieces for mixed choir on words by Erich Kästner, Hugo Ball and Fred Endrikat. Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2012
Twelve choral songs for mixed choir. Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2013
Kaddish for mixed choir and piano/organ. Möseler, Wolfenbüttel 2014
Virgilius, der Magier von Rom (text A. Koerppen), grand magic opera for baritone, speaking part, boys' choir and piano or orchestra (Frankfurt, 1951).[5][17]
Der verlorene Sohn (The Prodigal Son) (text André Gide), incidental music (1953)
On ne badine pas avec l'amour (text Alfred de Musset), incidental music (1965)
Arachne, ballet (1968)
Die Wettermacher (text after Johann Peter Hebel), Singspiel for three boys' voices, male choir, piano, electronic organ and percussion (1972; 1973 Puebla, Mexico)
Ein Abenteuer auf dem Friedhof (An Adventure in the Cemetery) (text after Guy de Maupassant), chamber opera, prelude and 4 scenes (Hanover, 1980). Möseler, Wolfenbüttel o.J.[18]
Recordingsedit
Several of his works were recorded, such as his string quartets by the Nomos Quartet.[19] A melodrama "Das verschleierte Bild von Sais", setting a poem by Friedrich Schiller on the occasion of his celebration in 2005, was premiered and recorded by duo pianoworte, together with other new melodramas under the title Schiller beflügelt.[20]
^ abcdefghij"Prof. Alfred Koerppen : duo pianoworte". duo pianoworte. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^ abcde"Scena gratuliert Alfred Koerppen zum 95". scena-burgdorf.de (in German). 16 December 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
^ abArndt, Stefan (8 June 2021). "Alfred Koerppen hat sein letztes Stück geschrieben" (PDF). Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 July 2022.
^ abRoss Griffel, Margaret (2007). Virgilius, der Magier von Rom. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 512. ISBN 978-1-4422-4797-0. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^"Koerppen, Alfred". Merseburger (in German). 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Alfred Koerppen Stiftung". musikland-niedersachsen.de (in German). 24 August 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
^"Alfred Koerppen" (in German). Schott Music. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
^Broeker, Tobias (2016). "Koerppen, Alfred (1926 –)". The 20th century violin concertante: A repertoire catalogue.
^"Tuba-Konzert für Tuba und Klavier". Merseburger (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Concertino für Marimbaphon und Streichorchester". Merseburger (in German). 24 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Alfred Koerppen". Musikalische Bühnenwerke, Sprichwörter, Altgriechisch (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Koerppen: Virgilius, der Magier von Rom". Homepage · Breitkopf & Härtel (in German). 23 August 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^Griffel, M.R. (2018). Operas in German: A Dictionary. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-4422-4797-0. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^"Neue CD". nomos-quartett.de (in German). Retrieved 9 July 2022.
^Baucke, Ludolf (13 November 2009). "Schiller beflügelt: Vier neue Melodramen mit dem duo pianoworte in Hannover". Neue Musikzeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 July 2022.
^"Stipendien". Villa Massimo (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2021.
^ ab"Nds. Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur". Ordensaushändigung (in German). 19 June 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
Further readingedit
"Fundamentalist der klassischen Musik". NP – Neue Presse (in German). 3 December 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
Koerppen Alfred in Wilfried W. Bruchhäuser: Komponisten der Gegenwart im Deutschen Komponisten-Interessenverband. Ein Handbuch. 4th edition, Deutscher Komponisten-Interessenverband, Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-555-61410-X, p. 692.
Stefan Arndt: Der Einfallsreiche / Alfred Koerppen hat das hannoversche Musikleben geprägt wie kein anderer Komponist – morgen wird er 90 Jahre alt, in the Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung from 15 December 2016, p. 23
Erb, Patrick (30 August 2022). "Von der Lust, sich sehr verschieden auszudrücken – ein Nachruf auf den Komponisten Alfred Koerppen – neue musikzeitung". nmz (in German). Retrieved 3 September 2022.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alfred Koerppen.
Official website
Complete catalogue raisonné of Alfred Koerppen (PDF; 411 kB)