Karl Meyer-Frenner

Karl Meyer-Frenner was born on 2 December 1891 in Vöslau (Austria). He studied music under Josef Lechthaler and Franz Schmidt at the Wiener Musikakademie. After his studies Karl Meyer-Frenner worked as a private music teacher and tried to make his mark as a composer. He emphasized on choral music, mainly on works for men's choir. At that time Karl Meyer-Frenner was also a member of the choral society "Ghibellinen" under the choir master Franz Pawlikowsky.
The choral works of Karl Meyer-Frenner received wider appreciation in the choral community in the 1920s and early 1930s and were performed not only in Vienna but also in Leipzig or Dresden. On 21 November 1926 a long article about Karl Meyer-Frenner was published in the Deutschösterreichische Tages-Zeitung citing a long paean of praise by Giovanni Maver, professor for Slavic studies in Padua:

"As far as Dr. Karl Meyer-Frenner's choral compositions are concerned, the male choirs in particular represent a very remarkable part of his oeuvre. As a mature artist, he places himself entirely at the service of his people and captures their most sublime ideas, which move each individual equally, in the realm of sound. He transfers the achievements of free harmony, melody, and counterpoint, long since firmly rooted in instrumental music, to the choral setting with sure skill and correct understanding, as far as the poetic content of the poem requires, and yet never loses sight of the essence of the choral sound or of a possible intonation. Through the compelling power of a finely tuned rhythm, his choirs, in particular, acquire a very unique note, and choral technique itself thereby undergoes valuable development."

In November 1927 his "Two Scenes for choir and orchestra" were performed by the Wiener Sinfonie-Orchester (today the Vienna Symphony Orchestra) in the Great Hall of the Wiener Musikverein and programed with a Brahms choral work and a Bruckner symphony.
After the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany Karl Meyer-Frenner became a local officer of the Reich Chamber of Music and wrote a few choral compositions with warlike or nationalistic themes.
Karl Meyer-Frenner died on 13 July 1945 in Mondsee (Austria).

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the composition "Gesang der Wälder" von Karl Meyer-Frenner. The work is scored for 4-part men's choir and sets a text by Alfons Petzold to music. It was composed in 1930. A performance of the work with the Wiener Männergesangverein under Ferdinand Großmann was broadcasted on 17 December 1932 via Radio Wien.

My manuscript was given to Josef Jaksch, an official of the Wiener Männergesangverein, and has a personal inscription by Karl Meyer-Frenner on the title page.

While researching for the biography of Karl Meyer-Frenner I compiled a list of his compositions mentioned in newspaper articles, etc. Due to the fact that there is little information about the composer Karl Meyer-Frenner in general, not to speak of a work catalogue, I would like to present a work list here as well:

Heimweh, for men's choir (1920)
Mutter Natur, for men's choir (1920)
Reiterlied, for men's choir (1920)
Die Königskinder, for soprano, tenor, choir and wind orchestra (1921)
Tot, for tenor, wind orchestra and organ (1923)
Schnitter Tod, , for men's choir (1925)
Die Arbeiter, for men's choir (1926, published by Leuckart)
Auf dem See, for men's choir (1926, published by Leuckart)
Ballade vom Tod, for men's choir (1926, published by Leuckart)
Einsamkeit, for men's choir (1926, published by Leuckart)
Im Wald, im hellen Sonnenschein, for men's choir (1926, published by Leuckart)
Morgengebet, for men's choir and timpani (1926, published by Leuckart)
Die lange Nacht, for men's choir (1926, published by Leuckart)
Zwei Szenen, for voice and orchestra (1927)
Fahnenlied, for men's choir (1928)
Gesang der Wälder, for men's choir (1930)
Schlafen, schlafen, nichts als schlafen, for men's choir (1936)
Die Sonne sinkt, for men's choir (1936)
Lied der Kämpfer, for men's choir, wind orchestra, timpani and side drums (1938)
Uns schreckt ihr nicht, for choir, winds and timpani (1938)
An die Fahne, for choir, winds and timpani (1938)
Deutschland, heiliges Wort, for choir (1939)