Rudolf Mauersberger (29 January 1889 – 22 February 1971) was a German
choral conductor and composer. His younger brother
Erhard was also a conductor and composer.
Career
After positions in
Aachen and
Eisenach, he became director of the renowned
Dresdner Kreuzchor in 1930, a position he held until his death. In May 1933, Mauersberger became a member of the
Nazi Party;[1] there are strong indications though that he tried to minimize the influence of the NS-Ideology and in particular of the
Hitler-Jugend onto the choir. He refused to stage NS-songs with the choir,[2] and continued to perform the works of banned composers such as
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and
Günter Raphael, at least as late as 1938.
Probably his most famous work is the
motetWie liegt die Stadt so wüst (How desolate lies the city), written after the
destruction of Dresden in February 1945. The text is taken from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, verses 1,1.4.9.13; 2,15; 5,17.20–21. The work is often seen as a bemoaning of the destroyed city, but given the biblical context, it can also apply to the whole of Germany and her people, the destruction of the country being punishment for its iniquities. Mauersberger's Dresden Requiem [
de] also reflects the destruction. He wrote a
Passion music after
St Luke, Passionsmusik nach dem Lukasevangelium, and the Dresdner Te Deum.
Selected works
Choral cycles for soloists and mixed choir a capella
Tag und Ewigkeit, 1943
Weihnachtszyklus der Kruzianer (Christmas Cycle of the Kreuzchor), 1944–1946, including "Kleiner Dresdner Weihnachtszyklus" (excerpts), 1951 (
de)