Topic 5

Research the German music scene.

           

          When it comes to music, Germany is home to some of the best-renowned performers, composers, and producers in the world. Germany boasts of being the3^rd largest music market in the world and the main music marketplace in Europe. Worldwide, German classical music is the most renowned and commonly performed. The beginning of German music could be tracked back to the early 12^th century compositions; these were highlighted by Hided of Bingen who composed a variety of hymns. After religious music, mainly in Latin, dominated for centuries, the minnesingers also known as love poets spread across Germany. They were later replaced by Meistersingers two centuries later, their music was more rule based and formalized compared to the Minnesingers. During the 15^th century, German, traditional music was transformed by Oswald Von Wolkenstein, he travelled across the continent and brought back some styles and techniques to his homeland. These styles and techniques brought about new forms of music in the 16^th century, such as the chorale, opera, baroque music, and romantic music.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Thomas Linley in the family unit of Gavard des Pivets in Florence 1770

In the 20^th century, German music evolved further and it was the period which saw the birth of the German folk music. The German folk music includes Swabia, Sorbs, Bavaria, and Oom-pah. Between World War 1 and World War 2, German music became more independent and liberal in styles (Heisler,354). These included the kabarett and swing movement styles of music. The post war period saw a lot of influence from the USA and Great Britain on German music. This was the period in which pop music and rock music became famous in Germany. Different forms of music arose as a result of this influence, they included Ostrok, Neue Deutsche Welle, synthpop and eurodance, reggae, dancehall, ska, funk, soul, R&B, Hiphop, punk, Jazz, Electronic music, techno, and Metal(Kater,79)

     Scorpions were the foremost German intense metal band to be very successful abroad, ultimately selling  above 100 million folders worldwide.

Works Cited

Monod, David. Settling Scores: German Music, Denazification, and the Americans, 1945-1953. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. Internet resource.

Heisler, Wayne. "Karen Painter. Symphonic Aspirations: German Music and Politics, 1900–1945. Cambridge, Ma: Harvard University Press, 2007. Pp. 354." Austrian History Yearbook.41 (2010). Print.

Kater, Michael H. The Twisted Muse: Musicians and Their Music in the Third Reich. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.