Friedrich Blume: Difference between revisions

'''Friedrich Blume''' (5 January 1893, in [[Schlüchtern]], [[Hesse-Nassau]] – 22 November 1975, in [[Schlüchtern]]) was professor of [[Musicology]] in [[University of Kiel|Kiel University]] from 1938-19581938–1958. He was a student in [[Munich]], [[Berlin]] and [[Leipzig]], and taught in the last two of these for some years before being called to the chair in Kiel. His early studies were on Lutheran church music, including several books on [[J.S. Bach]], but broadened his interests considerably later. Among his prominent works were chief editor of the collected [[Michael Praetorius|Praetorious]] edition, and he also edited the important [[Ernst Eulenburg (musical editions)|Eulenburg]] scores of the major [[Mozart Piano Concertos]]. From 1949 he was involved in the planning and writing of ''[[Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart|Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart]]''. Coincidentally he died within a few weeks of another prominent Mozart musicologist, [[Cuthbert Girdlestone]], and was thus almost his exact contemporary.

Nevertheless, he regarded his "probable" involvement as an active national socialist, but Blume favored a much lower sum of scholarship than the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, Prof. [[Ferdinand Weinhandl|Weinhandl]]. At the beginning of 1939, Blume was appointed full professor. In 1941, at the Berlin Nazi lecturer's office, Blume appealed to the university there -– despite the vote of the commission of professors of the Faculty of Philosophy, who clearly favored Blume. The American musicologist Pamela Potter writes: "The objections raised by the lecturer's office came originally either from [[Amt Rosenberg]] or the Propagandaministerium (Ministry of Propaganda)." <ref>Pamela Potter, ''Die deutscheste der Künste'', Stuttgart 2000, p; Burkhard Meischein: ''Der erste musikwissenschaftliche Lehrstuhl Deutschlands'' (The first musicology chair in Germany), in: Rüdiger vom Bruch (ed.): ''The Berlin University in the Nazi era. Volume II'', Wiesbaden 2005, pp. 166 ff.</ref>

For example, the National Socialist music experts [[Albrecht Dümling]], Gisela Probst-Effah (University of Cologne), [[Eva Weissweiler]], the French composer [[Amaury du Closel]] or the British musicologists [[Ernest Newman]] and Richard Freymann.<ref>See Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933-19451933–1945'' (Handbook on German Musicians) a CD-ROM Lexicon, Kiel 2004, p.509; Albrecht Dümling: ''Das verdächtige Saxophon – „Entartete Musik im NS-Staat“ (The suspicious saxophone -– Degenerate music in the Nazi State), Berlin 2007, p.273; Gisela Probst-Effah: ''Der Einfluß der nationalsozialistischen Rassenideologie auf die deutsche Volksliedforschung'' (The Influence of National Socialist Rassenideology on German Popular Research), in Günter Noll's: ''Musikalische Volkskultur und die politische Macht'' (Musical Folk Culture and Political Power), Essen 1994, pp.161 f.; Eva Weissenweiler: ''Ausgemerzt – Das Lexikon der Juden in der Musik und seine mörderischen Folgen'' (Eliminated -– The Lexicon of the Jews in Music and its Murderous Effects), Dittrich-Verlag, 1999, p.27; Amaury du Closel: ''Erstickte Stimmen – „Entartete Musik im Dritten Reich“'' (Choked voices -– Degenerate music in the Third Reich), Böhlau Verlag, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2010, p.233 f .; To Newman and Freymann, see Pamela Potter: ''Die deutscheste der Künste'' (The most German of the Arts), Stuttgart 2000, pp.314 and pp.393 f.</ref>

The musicologist [[Michael Custodis]], on the other hand, thinks that Blume's writing (''Das Rasseproblem in der Musik'') (The Racial Problem in Music) can itself be regarded as "Nazi propaganda" with few glances [...] <ref>Michael Custodis, in: ''Traditionen – Koalitionen – Visionen: Wolfgang Steinecke und die Internationalen Ferienkurse in Darmstadt" (Traditions -– coalitions -– visions: Wolfgang Steinecke and the International Vacation Courses in Darmstadt), Saarbrücken 2010, p.59</ref> Pamela Potter speaks of Blume's "masterly lavishing on this question [music and race]", which on the one hand had given him praise from the ranks of the national socialist critics, but on the other hand "Did not force them to suppress the speech or their extended version in the monograph after 1945".<ref>Pamela Potter: ''Die deutscheste der Künste'' (The most German of the Arts), Saarbrücken 2000, p.232 f.</ref>

In the 2004 collection ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933-19451933–1945'' (Handbook to German Musicians), Fred K. Prieberg published the following Blume-quote from a preface to the Feast of the Choirs of Schleswig-Holstein in April 1939 "The men and women who come together to the feast of the Choirs of Schleswig-Holstein in Flensburg with the German choirs from the ceded territories, do not only want to demonstrate their artistic aspiration and ability, but rather to pay homage to the overarching and binding thoughts of the German People's Community and the German state as a whole. They want to make a faithful confession to leaders and empire, to the unity of blood and culture, and they want to dress it in the form of the highest state-forming art power that we know: in the form of music".<ref>Ferd K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933-19451933–1945'', CD-ROM Kiel 2004, p.505, with reference Priebergs reprinting of Blume's introductory words in the ''Zeitschrift für Musik'', CV/6 June 1938. p.651</ref> Prieberg, however, only interprets these sentences as a lip service and explains a few pages further in his ''Handbook'' explicitly that he does not consider Blume a "Nazi".<ref>Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch deutsche Musiker 1933–1945'', CD-ROM 2004, p.509</ref>

In 1942 Blume took up the suggestion of [[Karl Vötterle]], the founder of the [[Bärenreiter-Verlag]], to become their editor for the preparation of the encyclopaedia ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'' (The Music in History and Present). This lexicon appeared as 14 volumes between 1949 and 1968 under Blume's leadership (the supplementary volumes and an index book where later published by his daughter Ruth Blume 1973-861973–86). From 1947 to 1962, he was also a major figure in the reconstruction of German musicology as president of the Society for Music Research.

* ''Renaissance and Baroque Music -– A Comprehensive Survey'' {{ISBN|978-0-393-09710-8}} Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company 1967

* ''Classic and Romantic Music -– A Comprehensive Survey'' {{ISBN|978-0-393-09868-6}} Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company 1970

* ''Syntagma Musicologicum II Gesammelte Reden Und Schriften'' 1962-19721962–1972 {{ISBN|978-3-7618-0327-1}} Publisher: Barenreiter Kassel 1973

* ''Protestant Church Music -– A History'' {{ISBN|978-0-393-02176-9}}; Publisher: W. W. Norton 1974

* Isolde von Foerster, Christoph Hust, [[Christoph-Hellmut Mahling]] (Hrsg.): ''Musikforschung. Faschismus. Nationalsozialismus. Referate der Tagung Schloss Engers (8-118–11 March 2000).'' Mainz: Are Musik Verlag 2001. {{ISBN|3924522065}}