from Barbara Dennerlein

Culture documentation: 50th. SWR NEWJazz Meeting

The SWR NEWJazz Meeting is an artistic research station since 1966 in terms of improvised music. Completely different musicians, who have never played together before, prepare at SWR a corporate programme in a process lasting several days, that they perform afterwards in concerts in the SWR transmission area. Andreas Ammer shows in his filmic collage "All the Jazz - 50th. SWR NEWJazz Meeting" in 50 multifaceted chapters the story of jazz that is also the story of the SWR NEWJazz Meetings. Pioneer musicians like Manfred Schoof, Clara Bley, Barbara Dennerlein, Jasper van't Hof and Eberhard Weber remember their appearances - and reflect what has happened in jazz within five decades. Intimate insight into rehearsals from then and now and rare recordings from the SWR archive are shown. 

Broadcast will be on Sunday, January 14, 9.15 AM (CET) on occasion of the culture matinee on SWR TV. The film is after it's broadcast available in the SWR mediathek: www.swrmediathek.de

https://www.presseportal.de/pm/7169/3807240

German organ construction craft and organ music now UNESCO Cultural Heritage

In December, German organ construction craft and organ music have been awarded UNESCO Cultural Heritage. The admission as immaterial World Heritage is very important for German organ art, says organ expert Karl-Heinz Göttert from Cologne, because the organ is threatened with a musical niche existence: "Hard times for the organ". Conny Crumbach from WDR Radio interviewed the expert on occasion of the award.

German organ construction craft and organ music are UNESCO Cultural Heritage since today. How important is this award for organ art?

The award is very important. The times for the organ are hard in the current concert and music business. In other fields classical music is being much more recognized - not to speak about Rock, Pop, Jazz. The organ is actually threatened with a musical niche existence. Any support is helpful.

Which traditions have organ construction and organ music in Germany - is it mostly clerical influenced?

Yes. The organ, as we know it today, has been developed in the Late Middle Ages and raised in the context of churches. For a simple reason: the church looked for an instrument as addition and companion to the singing. An orchestra would have been much too unhandy and also too expensive. And the organ is an one man orchestra. This was very practical and pushed the organ very much.

The skills of innovation and development in a tradition are two important things for the acknowledgement as cultural heritage. Where do you see the ability of the organ to develop?

I am a bit reserved regarding this. The organ has passed a long time of tremendous development. There were several high times in the past, e.g. in the Baroque or the Romanticism and is nowadays a more or less perfected instrument. Presently, developments are made in terms of electronics - I'm not sure if this is so healthy for the organ, because it leads somewhat away from the original music.

But isn't the music the main innovation field for the organ?

Sure, you can play everything on the organ. There are very good musicians like Barbara Dennerlein, who plays great jazz music on the organ, or Wayne Marshall, whose play is being influenced by jazz rhythms. There is also pop music on the organ. But for me the organ is also a classical instrument. You may ask Lang Lang or other similar musicians, if they would like to deviate from their classical repertoire. They would tell you that they won't do so - and that there is an audience that wants to hear these classical traditions. 

https://www1.wdr.de/kultur/orgel-weltkulturerbe-interview-100.html