Rudolf Mauersberger (1889 — 1971)
Born on 29 January 1889 in the Erzgebirge/Saxony, Rudolf Mauersberger led the Dresden Kreuzchor from 1930 to 1971 after his appointment as Kreuzkantor and introduced there, among other things, Erzgebirge traditions: Christmas and Easter Masses. In 1944, he wrote the "Christmas Cycle of the Crucians" based on texts by Kurt Arnold Findeisen. Mauersberger dealt with the fate of the musical city of Dresden like no other in the funeral hymn "Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst", in the "Dresdner Requiem", in the "Dresdner Te Deum" and in the "Dresden Cycle". Other compositions are dedicated to the beauty of God's nature "Geistliche Sommermusik", the death of Christ on the cross "Lukaspassion" or the Christmas event "Christvesper". SLUB: Portrait photo Rudolf Mauersberger at the grand piano 1962, Richard Peter jun.
Rudolf Mauersberger Estate in the Music Department
The compositional estate of Rudolf Mauersberger was received by the Saxon State Library Dresden in 1973. Already after Mauersberger's death in 1971, Dr. Wolfgang Reich, head of the music department, and Reinhard Haida, later head of the media library of the SLB, made efforts to acquire the estate. Initially, the Mauersberger autographs were secured in the Kreuzschule: 58 sacred works and 16 folders with secular works. Erna Hedwig Hofmann took further autographs with her. In addition, there was a record collection, the whereabouts of which are unfortunately unknown to this day. In 1972, Reinhard Haida received the power of attorney to take all measures to collect Mauersberger's estate. Parts of the estate were discovered in 1973 in the archive holdings in Mauersberg. In the summer of 1973, the materials were purchased for the Saxon State Library. The audio recordings remained missing. In 1989, additional Mauersberger sheet music was purchased by the Georgen church choir in Eisenach.
The catalogue raisonné of the Rudolf Mauersberger estate at the SLUB was published with valid inventory signatures in the series "Studien und Materialien zur Musikgeschichte Dresdens" (Studies and Materials on the History of Music in Dresden) as issue 3 in 1991, published by the Saxon State Library in conjunction with the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber" Dresden, 2nd completely revised edition, compiled by Matthias Herrmann.
Included in the estate are:
- Autograph vocal works (mainly from 1930 onwards) which were kept in the Kreuzchor's music library.
- Autographs of works that were not part of the Kreuzchor's repertoire and were mostly written between 1912 and 1930.
- Other autographs from his early work and the Kreuzkantor period.
- Copies of autographs that were no longer in Mauersberger's possession.
- Photocopies of score copies and parts from the music collection of the Kreuzchor, Bachchor and Georgenchor in Eisenach
253 autographs, 22 copies, 14 copies of autographs and 125 copies of copies are available at the SLUB. The indexing of the estate took a long time, because there were neither work numbers, nor dating, nor information on the sequence, everything had to be patiently determined first. The Rudolf Mauersberger catalogue of works was created in parallel.
Please search for music manuscripts, transcriptions and copies in the aforementioned catalogue of works. Some of Mauersberger's autograph compositions can be found online in RISM. Some autograph compositions have been completely digitised after consultation with the heirs and are accessible worldwide in the Digital Collections.
For the funeral hymn "Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst" (How lies the city so desolate), RMWV 4/1, Mauersberger took words from the Lamentations of Jeremiah on Dresden's fate: "Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst, die voll Volks war. All the gates stand desolate. How the stones of the sanctuary lie scattered in the streets. He hath sent a fire from on high into my bones, and hath made it work. Is this the city of which it is said that it is the most beautiful of all, of which the whole land rejoices? ... "The first performance took place on 4 August 1945 within the walls of the Kreuzkirche. SLUB: Mus.11302-C-500
The "Dresden Requiem" was begun by Mauersberger in the summer of 1947 and completed in 1948. Further versions followed, the final version in 1961. He wrote it for the Dresden Kreuzkirche. Mauersberger wanted to create a Protestant requiem mass. It is dedicated to the dead of the Second World War. A performance took place on 13 February 1955, the day of the rededication of the Dresden Kreuzkirche. SLUB: Mus.11302-D-505,1
Printed music
You can find all printed music in the SLUB catalogue. The music department owns many scores by Rudolf Mauersberger, including works that were edited until 1945. These include "Musikblätter" from the Thuringian Protestant Church from 1926, 1927 and 1929, the "Vierstimmige deutsche Choralbuch für Orgel oder 4-stimmigen gemischten Chor" (Four-part German chorale book for organ or 4-part mixed choir), published in Leipzig by Merseburger ca. 1930 with a foreword by Rudolf Mauersberger, as well as the "Weisen des Thüringer evangelischen Gesangbuches" (Tunes of the Thuringian Protestant hymnal), published in a new edition in 1935, also in Leipzig by Merseburger. In addition, there are photocopies of copies composed until 1945.
The destruction of Dresden on 13 February 1945 was a drastic event for the city of Dresden and for the Kreuzchor. The city of art and music was wiped out by the bombing. The Kreuzkirche and the Alumnat lay in ruins. For the Kreuzchor there was a new beginning. Mauersberger's composition "Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst" was published in 1949 by Edition Merseburger, licensed by the Soviet Military Administration in Germany. Other important editions followed: "Vierstimmiges deutsches Cholralbuch" 1947, 1948, "Kleiner Dresdner Weihnachtszyklus" 1951, "Neues Thüringer Choralbuch" 1955, "Alumnengesänge des Dresdner Kreuzchores" 1956, "Passionsmusik aus dem Lukasevangelium" 1980 a.o.
After 1990, three important works by Rudolf Mauersberger were edited. The editor is Prof. Matthias Herrmann:
Christvesper RMWV 7, Stuttgart, Carus 2003, study scoreDresdnerRequiem RMWV 10, Stuttgart, Carus 1995, scorePassionsmusiknach demLukasevangelium RMWV 9, 1992.
Contains: Introduction and Passacaglia in A minor, Prelude and Double Fugue in D minor, Introduction, Ciaconna and Chorale with Wind Closure in E minorSLUB: 6.Mus.4.3770
Literature about Rudolf Mauersberger
In the case of the music books on Mauersberger, editions before 1945 are not available at the SLUB. Important publications up to 1989 include:
- Herrmann, Matthias: Werkverzeichnis Rudolf Mauersberger, 1991 edition.
- Grün, Matthias: Rudolf Mauersberger : Studies on life and work, 1986 edition
- Hofmann, Erna Hedwig: Encounters with Rudolf Mauersberger, 1977
- Kreuzkantor Rudolf Mauersberger : Pictures of his last decade 1961-1971, ed. Stephan-Brosch, Christine; Herrmann, Matthias, 1988
- Kunath, Herbert: Kruzianerzeit unter Rudolf Mauersberger, 1985 This contains the following episode: "Soon after the war, he once dismissed a small Crucian from the choir on the spot because he had played the organ stops during the break between two Christmas vespers (on the basis of a bet!) and Cross organist Collum then started with fortissimo instead of pianissimo. (This Crucian later became a well-known organist!)."
Other important editions from 1990 to 2021 are:
- Festschrift Rudolf Mauersberger in Dresdner Hefte, 1990.
- Herrmann, Matthias: Kreuzkantor zu Dresden - Rudolf Mauersberger, Großrückertswalde, Mauersberger Museum, 2004
- Dresdner Kreuzchor and Thomanerchor Leipzig - two cantors and their time, Rudolf and Erhard Mauersberger, ed. Mauersberger, Helga, 2007
- Herrmann, Matthias: Rudolf Mauersberger - from the workshop of a Kreuzkantor - letters, texts, speeches, 2014
- Herrmann, Matthias: Dresdner Kreuzchor und zeitgenössische Chormusik - Ur- und Erstaufführungen zwischen Richter und Kreile, 2017
Search for journal articles via the SLUB catalogue. Please also search in the Saxon Bibliography. The SLUB offers an extensive archive of Saxon daily and weekly newspapers and a Saxon microfilm directory.
Mauersberger in the manuscript collection
The estate acquired by the Saxon State Library in 1973 did not include any text manuscripts (only printed music, manuscripts of music and copies of manuscripts of music). The materials in the manuscript collection have a different provenance. A partial estate of Hans Böhm contains documents and letters by Rudolf Mauersberger. The contents of this partial estate can be found in the SLUB catalogue under Special catalogue on the written partial estate. Archived is an obituary for Kreuzkantor Rudolf Mauersberger signed by former Crucians Theo Adam and Peter Schreier. In addition, Helga Mauersberger, Rudolf Mauersberger's niece, gave the SLUB a batch of letters from Rudolf Mauersberger to Ruth Fink and from Ruth Fink. Mrs Fink was a founding member of the Eisenach Bach Choir together with her father Julius Fink. The correspondence with Mrs. Fink continued until Rudolf Mauersberger's death.Research Rudolf Mauersberger in the manuscript catalogues.
Mauersberger and his Kreuzchor in pictures
The picture archive of the Deutsche Fotothek of the SLUB contains a large number of photographs of Rudolf Mauersberger. The following pictures are a small selection. Most of the photos are by Erich Höhne and Erich Pohl, some shots are by Richard Peter jun.
SLUB: Village model Mauersberg in winterPhoto: Rudolf Mauersberger, 1920-1971From his earliest school days, it was a matter of course for Rudolf Mauersberger to build a Christmas mountain in the corner of the living room. Due to an involuntarily extended summer holiday, Mauersberger began to build his own Christmas mountain. At first, he recreated the house, school, garden, church and neighbouring houses. Later, the Christmas village was extended even further. In 1944, Mauersberger secured his Christmas mountain outside Dresden. After some interim accommodation after the war, the "wandering" Christmas Mountain was housed in Rudolf Mauersberger's house in Dresden Loschwitz in 1959.
SLUB: Dresden Weixdorf, village church, Christmas concert with the Kreuzchor 1945Photo: Höhne, Erich; Pohl, ErichFor many people, music is the only comfort. The demand for performances by the Kreuzchor is increasing. "The need is great. But you don't notice it because of all the work. Every day you see the large audiences and the boys, who are always happy. ... It is always full, even overcrowded. The audience is obsessed with the choir. We simply have to repeat some concerts." Rudolf Mauersberger
SLUB: Dresden Kreuzchor, departure for tourPhoto: Höhne, Erich; Pohl, Erich
The Kreuzchor had been on tour again since 1947.
Sound documents from the Kreuzchor under Mauersberger
"How well my predecessors in office had it, they knew neither radio nor records". Rudolf Mauersberger "The almost defensive attitude that Rudolf Mauersberger took towards sound-recording media even at the end of his tenure is characteristic of a generation that regarded the preservation of music as something aberrant. What mattered was what was created in the moment and not what one tried to capture for later with the help of an elaborate and gruelling procedure. The sonic results were disappointing anyway, at least in the early days. And even when the microgroove record began to assert itself from 1955 onwards, Mauersberger saw himself confirmed in his opinion. The overtone-rich boys' choir sound cultivated by him could not at first be conquered by shellac or polyvinyl chloride, and it took a long time (almost until the mid-1960s) before technical progress had a positive effect on the sound of the Kreuzchor's recordings as well." Klaus Menschel: "In the 1930s, it was part of the reputation of an ensemble to be represented by a recording company. The Dresdner Kreuzchor also succeeded in this. The Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, based in Berlin Neukölln, recorded some compositions with the Kreuzchor on 29 October 1934. These are presumably the first Kreuzchor recordings ever made. The Mediathek owns the following shellac records of them:
In 1935 the Kruzians were signed by the Electrola company. There are also some recordings from this time in the SLUB:
In addition, the SLUB also has recordings from 1935 by the record companies "Die Kantorei", "His Master`s Voice" and "Telefunken", where you can listen to excerpts online.After 1945, the first recordings were made by ETERNA, later almost all recordings were made by VEB Deutsche Schallplatten Berlin.As a post-war production, two shellac records with Kreuzchor recordings, which are available in the SLUB, were released by ETERNA in 1950: