Peter Janssens (17 June 1934 – 24 December 1998) 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 [de]. 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.
From 1962, Janssens composed religious songs of the genre later called Neues Geistliches Lied, beat masses and later musicals.[1] He wrote numerous songs, children's songs such as "Herr Uklatsch", and musicals such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer – ein Leben im Widerstand (Dietrich Bonhoeffer – A Life in Resistance). He set music to texts by authors such as Alois Albrecht [de], Friedrich Karl Barth [de], Ernesto Cardenal, Jürgen Fliege [de], Rolf Krenzer [de] and Wilhelm Willms [de]. He introduced the term "Sacropop [de]" to Germany, when in 1972 he subtitled his Menschensohn (Son of Man) Ein Sacro-Pop-Musical (A sacropop musical).[3] From 1973, Janssens performed with his musical ensemble Gesangsorchester at the Kirchentag, first in Düsseldorf.[2] In 1992, he wrote Passion der Eingeborenen (Passion of the Indigenous), related to 500 years after the European invasion in Latin America.[1] He was a member of the association which is now the Textautoren- und Komponistengruppe (TAKT).
Janssens died in Telgte. His home town named a road after him on 17 June 2004, which would have been his 70th birthday.[4]
Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben (A Requiem for Albert Schweitzer, 1990 (text: Stephan Kiepe-Fahrenholz)
Das Licht einer Kerze, songs for Advent and Christmas, 1991 (texts: Rolf Krenzer [de], Sybille Fritsch, Christine Heuser, Hans-Jürgen Netz, Stephan Kiepe-Fahrenholz)
Mirjams Mose
Gott zieht vor uns her (Mose and Joshua), 1991 (text: Rolf Krenzer) 1991, Musikspiel in four parts (text: Schall-Team)
"Kerzen im Advent" ("Grüner Kranz mit roten Kerzen") (text: Rolf Krenzer)
Neues Kolpinglied, 1991 (text: Hermann Schulze-Berndt)
Passion der Eingeborenen, 1992, Ein Musik-Panorama über die Geschichte Lateinamerikas (1492–1992) (text: Stephan Kiepe-Fahrenholz)
Auf Messers Schneide, old and new Kirchentag songs, 1992 (von Sybille Fritsch, Wilhelm Willms, Alois Albrecht, Peter Janssens and others)
Kippe im Kopf, Müllkantate, 1992 (text: Stephan Kiepe-Fahrenholz)
Kleiner Spatz von Irgendwo – Träum dir doch einen Drachen, 1992, 26 children's songs by Rolf Krenzer and Peter Janssens
Als Gott sein Kind zur Welt geschickt, 1992, ten songs for a nativity play, 1992 (text: Rolf Krenzer)
Bye Bye Jona, 1992 (text: Rolf Krenzer)
Obed, 1993, Kinderkirchentag Munich, songs by Rolf Krenzer and Peter Janssens
Der Turm, 1994 (Text: Rolf Krenzer)
Meine Lieder, 1994, a hit selection of the song book by Peter Janssens
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1995 (text: Priska Beilharz)
Tag für Tag und Jahr für Jahr, 1996, songs by Rolf Krenzer and Peter Janssens for the Werkbuch of the same name, Lahn Verlag
Es ist eine Mutter, Kirchentag in Leipzig 1997 (songs by Sybille Fritsch, Jutta Richter, Michael Blanke, Hans-Jürgen Netz und Peter Janssens)
Die Brücke fließt, Ein Singspiel über das Zusammenleben von drei Religionen, 1998 (text: Priska Beilharz)
Filmographyedit
1981: Tatort: Das Zittern der Tenöre [de] (music and acting), director Hans-Dieter Schwarze [de]
Literatureedit
Barbara Stühlmeyer, Ludger Stühlmeyer: the song Eines Tages kam einer, by Alois Albrecht and Peter Janssens. In: Das Leben singen. Verlag DeBehr, Radeberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-939241-24-9, pp. 87ff.
Referencesedit
^ abcdTrautwein, Dieter (2001). Herbst, Wolfgang (ed.). Wer ist wer im Gesangbuch? (in German). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 166–167. ISBN 9783525503232.
^ abcd"Peter (Piet) Janssens" (in German). Diocese of Cologne. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^Frank, René (2003). Das Neue Geistliche Lied – Neue Impulse für die Kirchenmusik (in German). Marburg: Tectum. p. 61. ISBN 9783828885738. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^"Peter-Janssens-Weg" (in German). Peter Janssens Musik Verlag. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
^"Hersfeld-Preis und Großer Hersfeld-Preis" (in German). Freunde der Stiftsruine. Retrieved 14 December 2016.