August Witteborg (Composer)

Born: November 19, 1850 - Soest, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Died: March 27, 1912 - Herdecke, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The German organist, composer and pastor, August Witteborg, was born in Soest as the son of the master weaver Johannes Witteborg and his wife Sophie. He was obviously musically talented and also sought a living in music. He attended the Präparandenanstalt (preparatory institute) in Soest, then the local Lehrerseminar (teachers' seminar). At the end of the training was studying at the Institut für Kirchenmusik in Berlin. After his training years, he began his professional career as a teacher in Hagen.

In 1902, when he was over 50, August Witteborg came to the Evangelische Lehrerseminar in Herdecke. He moved into an apartment on Wetterstraße with his wife Margarete née Ebeling (b 1856) from Franzburg in Pomerania, their daughter Else (b 1887) and their sons Paul (b 1894) and Erich (b 1889). In addition to his work as a music teacher, he also composed church music. During his time in Sagan (Silesia) he created Choralbuch zum Gesangbuch für evangelische Gemeinden Schlesiens für die Orgel oder das Harmonium oder Pianoforte (Cchoral book for the hymn book for Protestant communities in Silesia for the organ or the harmonium or pianoforte), which appeared in several editions. The most famous chorales he composed include the two chorales Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern. Karl Ludwig Ensuleit claims in his book Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern that Witteborg also composed the song Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann und mir liegt’s auch im Blut, although no concrete evidence for this claim can be found .

August Witteborg also organized large music festivals across Germany, which he is said to have prepared in Herdecke. This in turn becomes entirely credible thanks to his commitment to the victims of the Roburit disaster in Witten. He worked at the Herdecker Lehrerseminar for ten years. He died on March 27, 1912 at the age of 61.

Source:
Westfalenpost Website (Nov 8, 2019), English translation by Aryeh Oron (September 2023)
Photo 01: Willi Creutzenberg
Bits & pieces from other sources
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (May 2006, September 2023); Jack Tracey September 2023)

Use of Chorale Melodies in his works

Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, for organ (CM: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland)

Wie Schön Leuchtet Fer Morgenstern, for organ (CM: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern)

Links to other Sites

Auf den Spuren der Familie Witteborg (Westfalenpost) [German]

Bibliography