In the shadow of the cathedral choir. Liturgical choirs of protestant parishes in 19th century Berlin
Final Report Abstract
Tendencies towards secularisation, individualisation and aging are having an impact on current church music work in parishes, particularly on choir work. Remembering the emergence of established structures in the 19th century, which include the active participation of parishioners in the liturgy and the permanent parish choir, may be helpful in understanding the conditions that supported what today seems to be a matter of course. The study examined the situation in the rapidly developing metropolis of Berlin, where persistent and progressive developments existed side by side. While only one exception, namely the former court and cathedral choir (now the Staats- und Domchor), has stuck in cultural memory and overshadowed the other choirs, choir culture was in reality extremely diverse. The church choir as it exists today is to be understood as the result of a state-supported reform movement that combined restorative and contemporary facets in relation to liturgy, music and piety. In the first half of the century, the protagonists were primarily concerned with the acceptance of the liturgical choir as a necessary means of religious internalization and with the transformation of the carol choirs and school choirs, which were in a state of crisis and had their roots in medieval traditions, into parish choirs. In connection with the founding of parishes and the construction of new churches that were necessary due to the rapid growth of the city, the mixed adult choir became the norm in the second half of the century, not least for pragmatic reasons. Children's choirs and boys' choirs (supplemented by male voices) remained exceptions or the domain of strongly tradition-oriented parishes. The relationship between liturgical service and aesthetic demands, between voluntary commitment to the parish and paid service, between representation and financial expenditure was assessed differently from parish to parish and led to different manifestations of choir work. The challenges associated with this have not changed up to this day.
