My new song is from an opera called Der Freischütz, by Carl Maria von Weber, a German composer born in 1786.  Wikipedia reports the opera, first performed in 1821, is widely considered to be the first major German Romantic opera.  The Hunter’s Chorus, my song, is a popular piece to excerpt from the work.  It’s fun and  jaunty and Teacher and I chatted about the music well-conveying the sense of horses and dogs and fine fellows all decked out in their hunting best for an afternoon of jollies.

As I’ve been doing this tiny bit of homework on Weber, I’m struck by the German-ness of my musical explorations to date.  Of course Germany has always had a major role in the history of western symphonic music.  I’ve written on Suzuki and the German-ness of Bruch, on the lovely and talented German virtuosos David Garrett and Arabella Steinbacher, the latter being, to my ear, one of the best on the planet at the moment.  And, of course, my own instrument is a 1926 Roth, manufactured in the great capital of German instrument production, Markneukirchen.

I was tickled to find a men’s chorus on YouTube performing the work.  I’m personally quite impressed by the crew of German males they managed to assemble to sing like this.  I simply can’t imagine it happening quite like this anywhere in my neck of the woods.  As I noted in that linked David Garrett “talent” bit, I’m learning that the Germans love a sing-a-long.  My own at least quarter-German-ness definitely appreciates a sing-a-long too.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan