One of Germany's Romantic composers, best known for his ballads, established a special connection to a Winnipeg church through a sacred oratorio which has been performed here for over 70 years.
Dr. Carl Loewe (1796-1869)
Theologian, composer, organist, conductor, and singer (tenor).
For 46 years, Carl Loewe was organist in the St. Jakobskirche in Stettin, Germany, a city which is now part of Poland. He was also the Stadtmusikdirector for the city, i.e. he was conductor of the city's equivalent of what is called a philharmonic choir in Canada.
He spent the last three years of his life as organist at the St. Nikolaikirche in Kiel where his remains are buried except for his heart. It lies beside his organ in Stettin.
Stettin's beautiful monument of Carl Loewe was destroyed by bombs in the second World War.
Operas and Oratorios
Loewe composed five operas. The most successful one, "Die drei Wünsche (The Three Wishes)" was performed in Berlin in 1836. He also composed five sacred oratorios:
- Die Zerstörung Jerusalems (The Destruction of Jerusalem)
- Hiob (Job)
- Die Auferweckung des Lazarus (The Resurrection of Lazarus)
- Das Sühnopfer des neuen Bundes (The Atonement of the New Covenant>
- Klagelieder Jeremias (The Lamentations of Jeremia)
Ballads
Loewe, however, became best known for his 360 ballads. The popularity of ballads had been declining, and it was Loewe who changed this trend by selecting quality poems by major German poets like Schiller and Goethe. More recently, well-known artists such as Hans Hotter of the Metropolitan Opera and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau of Deutsche Grammophon-Gesellschaft have successfully recorded many of Loewe's ballads.
Das Sühnopfer des neuen Bundes
(The Atonement of the New Covenant)
It was the beloved late John Konrad who introduced Loewe to Canada. In 1036, he conducted the choir of the First Mennonite Church of Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the world premiere performance of the Sühnopfer in a Good Friday performance. This moving oratorio has been performed in this church on Good Fridays for many decades. It was directed by many different conductors, including the author of this article.
It will again be heard at 7 p.m. on March 29, 2002, Good Friday as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of the First Mennonite Church. The present choir director, Henri Enns, brother of the writer, is conducting.
© 2002 Ernest Enns & Traute Klein
