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Rainer Noll (Choral Conductor, Organ)

Born: January 29, 1949 - Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany

The German choral conductor, organist and church musician, Rainer Noll, had from 1964 to 1968 his first organist position in Wiesbaden-Nordenstadt during his high school years at the Gutenbergschule Wiesbaden; After completing highschool studies in physics and mathematics in Mainz and Hamburg, overlapping music studies in Siena / Tuscany (1967) with Fernando Germani (1906-1998), organist at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, as well as in Hamburg, including harmony, counterpoint, basso continuo and choral conducting with Jürgen Jürgens (1925-1994), Andreas Meyer-Hermann (piano) and composition with Kurt Fiebig (1908-1988), and Frankfurt am Main (A-exam / state examination for church musicians, choral conducting with Helmuth Rilling). In addition master-classes with Daniel Roth, organist at St. Sulpice (Paris), and Edouard Nies-Berger (1903-2002), organist of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and friend and musical collaborator of Albert Schweitzer.

Since 1972, 23 years old Rainer Noll served as full-time Kantor at St. Martinskirche Kelsterbach (since 2003 also at the dean's level, including musical support of the retirement homes and editor of the church music flyer); from 1979 to 1993 funder and director of the Kantorei St. Martin. Since 1974 Lecturer in Organ, Piano and Theory at the Musikschule Kelsterbach; 1976 liturgical work on "The Development of the Eucharistic Prayer"; from 1979 to 1992 first Deputy, then Chairman of the Employee Representative Office of the Deanery Rüsselsheim and founder and board member of the "Historisches Werkstatt Nordenstadt" (Association for Historical Research). 1981-1982 artistic director of the "Airport Chapel Concerts" of Rhein-Main Airport Frankfurt (also active as organist and conductor). Since the 10th year of intensive employment with Albert Schweitzer; 1972-1973, inspired by the organ ideal of Schweitzer, design of the new Steinmeyer organ of the Evangelischen Kirche in Wiesbaden-Bierstadt and explanation of the local concert tradition. From 1987 to 1993 founding member and member of the "Scientific Advisory Board" of the "Scientific Albert Schweitzer Society"; 1990 conductor of the choir of the Oranien-Gedächtnis- and Albert Schweitzer-community in Wiesbaden-Biebrich (graduation: there large choir concert together with the Kantorei St. Martin and the Singkreis der Christuskirche Kelsterbach, which was repeated in the Christuskirche in Kelsterbach); since 1995 project leader of the Idsteiner Vokalisten, which he led to much noticed highlights.

Concerts, recordings and radio recordings, lectures and publications (including on the philosophy, theology and musical perception of Albert Schweitzer) in Germany and abroad (Europe, USA, Japan).

From 1982 to 1989, cataloging of the posthumous sheet music in Schweitzer's house in Gunsbach / Alsace, 1991 and 1992 the same work on the records recorded by Schweitzer.

In 1977, just after his A-Exam in Frankfurt, Rainer Noll started in Kelsterbach the series of concerts to J.S. Bach's death, on or about July 28 (J.S. Bach's death) at St. Martinskirche Kelsterbach. At first, it was purely organ concerts on the "ideal Bach organ in ideal acoustics" built by Förster & Nicolaus (Lich) in 1970 (according to Noll) - the musical host had also invited prominent guest organists from Holland, the Czech Republic, England, Israel, Japan and the USA. Here, Noll iperformed works of all genres of J.S. Bach's organ creation in his own inspired, breathing manner, as he had got to know in his research on Albert Schweitzer. But also compositions by J.S. Bach's h sons, J.S. Bach's students and the other Bach family were on the program, up to world premieres of various arrangements on the BACH motif, by Kurt Fiebig (1908-1988), Harald Heilmann (b 1924) and the French composer Gaëtan Santa Maria (b 1957) had commissioned - in the latter two composers in connection with the A-SCH motif for A. Schweitzer. Christoph Weinhart (b 1958) also wrote a major organ work for Noll on this motif combination, which he premiered in Wiesbaden-Bierstadt on September 8, 2013 for the 40th anniversary of the Steinmeyer organ in a Schweitzer memorial concert. Likewise Lothar Graap (b 1933) and the Dutch composer Dick Troost (b 1949) dedicated to him partitias for organ.

Thanks to municipal financial support, a considerable number of J.S. Bach's cantatas and instrumental concertos were later added, performed by well-known soloists, the Idsteiner Vokalisten and various orchestras such as Schwanheimer Kammerorchester, Heidelberger Kantatenorchester, Kammerphilharmonie Rhein-Main, Collegium Piccolo Frankfurt, Junge Kammersinfoniker Hessen, Main-Barockorchester Frankfurt and Mainisches Collegium Musicum in an independent interpretation that sought to unite the best of historical and traditional performance practice. Some personal contacts with J.S. Bach researchers and interpreters such as Ton Koopman, Christoph Wolff, Albert Clement and Schweitzer's friend Erwin R. Jacobi (1909-1979) in Zurich deepened his views. Worth mentioning here are still Noll's profound programs: the 36th and last concert of these J.S. Bach concerts took place on July 28, 2013. There were also some organ concerts on the day of Albert Schweitzer's death (around September 4, Schweitzer's death). In 1979, Noll founded the Good Friday music (last concert of this 35-year series: April 18, 2014), in 1982 the "Abendmusik zum Weihnachtsmarkt" (31st and last concert: December 7, 2013).

The concerts were attended by a numerous audience from a catchment area of ​​about 100 km radius and further. The entire series of these concerts is documented in sound recordings (recorded until about 1990 by Herbert von Hoeßle; then by Eckard Gandela), and it speaks for their level that in a live edition a series of about 100 CD's was created (Rainer Noll himself supervised audio and graphics). The Hamburg professor of music Martin Nitz, who has been a regular recorder and repeat organist / harpsichordist in Noll's concerts since 1979, wrote in the review of the last J.S. Bach concert on the Kantor: "His concerts could have existed in all venues and in all major cities, he raised the rank of this post [St. Martinskirche Kelsterbach] thus far beyond their local significance, his name is known for his performances and publications in Germany and abroad." Rainer Noll himself once wrote that he never led an external career thinking: "That's why I did not make myself comfortable and never listened to the tempting, but from the artistic devilish teasers, for Kelsterbach it's enough 'in terms of the quality of my music practice (until today!), but under extreme, often adverse circumstances, demanded the utmost from my internal standards (for decades!). "

Since 2007, Rainer Noll has been organizing and conducting the very popular organ tours for the deanery Rüsselheim: twice to Alsace, to Kiedrich and Oppenheim, to Schmalkalden and Erfurt, to Miltenberg, Hardheim (organ building workshop Vleugels) and Amorbach, to Lich (organ building workshop Förster & Nicolaus) and Nieder -Moos, and finally to Regensburg and Ebrach in the Steigerwald.

In addition, Rainer Noll designed and restored the award-winning "Erbacher Hof", his residence in Wiesbaden-Nordenstadt with half-timbered house from 1611 (oldest house on the spot), a stately property that once beloto the monastery Eberbach in the Rheingau in the Middle Ages and the headquarters of his Family maternal is (exemplary: solar system and intensive rainwater use for all service water). Here he founded and organized as a pure private initiative the popular "Torhauskonzerte" (1990-2011: 22 concerts in a row with great hospitality!) And the "Musical Wine Tasting" (2000-2013), both of which were almost always sold out. The city of Wiesbaden awarded him the silver medal for the 21st Torhaus concert 2010 for his cultural merit - not only in Nordenstadt.

After almost 42 years of full-time and a total of 46 years of church music activity in retirement in the church service on Easter Sunday, Rainer Noll retired on April 20, 2014, in St. Martinskirche Kelsterbach.




Source: Erbacher-Hof Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (August 2019)
Contributed by
Aryeh Oron (August 2019)

Rainer Noll: Short Biography | Ensembles: Idsteiner Vokalisten
Bach Discography:
Recordings of Vocal Works

Links to other Sites

Erbacher-Hof von Rainer Noll (Official Website) [German]
Rainer Noll Channel on YouTube


Biographies of Performers: Main Page | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Explanation | Acronyms | Missing Biographies | The Sad Corner




 

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Last update: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 07:32