The following deals with the most important debate in the German Christian churches: the crisis within the church and the consequences of that crisis to church music today. Such a situation may easily create the impression of that whining attitude of which we Germans are usually suspicious. But the subject is very urgent to us, and we church musicians cannot ignore it by any means. Moreover, the fact that in Germany the whole system of professional church music as a unique cultural domain is put on half-pay, seems to justify the following statements of mine. The Protestant Church of Germany will hold the spotlight throughout my lecture because 1) I am a member of this church, and 2) I am able to show you the problems firsthand I mention here.
The following words are from articles in the Forum Kirchenmusik magazine, all of them chosen at random within the last year. They capture the essence of the problems I shall discuss.
1. Tastenhengst or entertainer--expectations of the parish for the church musician.
2. Stress, conflicts, squabbling--and this in the church?
3. Training in popular church music
4. Professional organization--why?
5. The need to cut costs in the church and the future of the church
6. Declaration about Protestant pedagogical responsibility concerning church music
7. Church music--the professional image in transition
8. Cooperation of church musicians and theologians
9. Declaration concerning the situation of church music positions in the German Protestant Church
10. Declaration of the Central Council of church musicians concerning the evaluation of professional church musicians
11. Changes of the laws for (hiring) and firing
12. Being a church musician in the North German Lutheran Church is like being caught between preaching and at the same time being fired (a German play on words: "Ein Spagat zwischen Kündigung und Verkündigung")
If you now have the impression that we church musicians no longer find any joy or satisfaction in our positions, I have to admit that it may be like that in some cases. For it is undeniable that in many parts of the church we have a climate of insecurity and fear. This concerns all staff members, including theologians.
Protestant and Catholic Churches in Germany: Basic Structures
Protestant church music in Germany was characterized during the last 50 years by great prosperity and a high degree of commitment. But now it would appear that we have reached a situation of a great crisis similar to that of the Amtskirche (official church) itself.
The rich variety in our church music was developed from the new beginning and the efforts to revive it in large Christian churches in Germany after the Second World War. There seems to be no other country with a Christian tradition where church music has such an important place within the church structure--shown, for example, in the distinction between full-time and part-time positions for which one needs adequate diplomas corresponding to the classification of church musician positions. To understand the problems concerning church music in Germany, it is necessary to understand the structure of the big churches.
At the time of the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, the Protestant Church in Germany, with its respective Landeskirchen (regional state churches), and the Catholic Church signed a contract with the state, following the end of the Nazi dictatorship and the end of the "official state-approved churches" dominated by the regime. This contract regulates and establishes the system of coordination between the state and churches. Both Protestant and Catholic churches demand their independence given to them by national law and guaranteed by the federal constitution.
Within the last fifty years we in Germany have developed a system of so-called Amtskirche, whose presence is demonstrated in many spheres of society. This happens by common consent and is often supported by the state in a kind of symbiosis. The institutionalization of the churches in state and society led to an enormous increase of influence of the Amtskirchen, as in the question of religion as a subject in schools, or in being granted the right of running social services like kindergartens or hospitals under church auspices, often in fact with the churches functioning as the sole bearer of financial responsibility. In that sense the expression Volkskirche (people's church) was developed. It both refers to the fact that in Germany most people belong to one of the two large churches and also to the responsibility these churches have for the people. As for the first point, the present decline of membership percentages appears to imply that the Volkskirche is approaching the end of its existence or, at least, that it needs a radically renewed orientation. The state collects a tax from individuals for support of the church--but one may opt out of paying this tax.
The individual Landeskirchen, whose borders usually correspond to those of the German states (Bundesländer), all have their own church constitutions. (The borders of the Catholic dioceses are often different, due to historical tradition.) The Landeskirchen developed into Lutheran, Reformed, or United traditions. Their central organization is the EKD (Evangelische Kirche Deutschlands) with its General Synod. The Catholics have a similar organization in their Conference of German Bishops. Although the constitutions of the individual Landeskirchen may be different, they have the same organization, a parish with its council, the synod (deanery), and central synod (Landeskirche). This closely corresponds with the political structure of community (town, city), county, and state. A major difference between the Protestant and Catholic churches is the different emphasis of the role played by lay people.
In the Protestant Church, apart from their functions in services, theologians and laymen are considered equal. This may consequently lead to regional differences in parish life. On the synod level, for example in the Nordelbische Kirche (church in the north Elbe River area), there is financial independence. Other examples are the supervision of theologians and church workers, or the extensive autocracy of the local parish in my own Nordelbische Kirche. In contrast to that, the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church of Germany is similar to those in many other countries. But the Catholic Church has nearly the same basic structure in church music organization as the Protestant churches.
The Crisis of the Amtskirchen
Secularization, individualism, the loss of values, moral and spiritual disorientation, self-complacency and sluggishness of the Amtskirchen are the keywords in the crisis of the church. Without any doubt, the system of the Amtskirche finds itself in a major crisis. The number of people who have left the church in the large cities is a simple demonstration of this fact. Hamburg is an extreme example of that, as only about 34% of the population are still members of the church and pay church taxes. An apparent contradiction to this, though, is the rich and blooming church music offered in the Hauptkirchen, the main churches such as St. Michaelis, St. Jacobi, St. Petri, or St. Katherinen.
The subject of highest priority in all areas of community life has been, for a number of years, the so-called Struktur- debatten (debate on administrative strucures within the church), or "How can a church still fulfill its varied tasks with less and less money," or if I may put it more bluntly, "Where shall the church start saving money?" What makes things even more difficult is my observation that there is a lack of self-critique and innovative thinking on the side of those who are responsible--namely the church's governing body.
The Special Situation of the Churches of East Germany
Since the reunification of Germany in 1989, the churches of East Germany have undergone a great change in many ways. Fewer and fewer people find their way to the church, since the church is no longer a center of resistance against the communist regime, a regime that had restricted all spiritual life over a long period of time. The number of people belonging to the church has dramatically diminished, even more than in the west of Germany. For that reason the financial problems are even greater than in the west. One example may suffice: despite its rich cultural and musical tradition, the city of Dresden offers only one Protestant A position, in the famous Kreuzkirche. And the choir of that church, the well-known Kreuzchor, is partly financed by the city of Dresden.
Church music training in the (formerly East) German Democratic Republic, by the way, had been different. A B musician got his training not only in church music but also as a deacon; s/he did not have the same qualifications as his/her counterpart in West Germany. This has now been assimilated to what we have in West Germany. In times of less money, one talks again about the match of training and positions. There are even sometimes advertisements showing that for a church musician they expect not only musical qualifications but also the background to do the work of a deacon or sexton.
Protestant and Catholic Church Music
Church music has its firm place in the Protestant Church, as even the church constitution gives it the official role co-equal to that of preaching the word. There are great differences between the individual Landeskirchen concerning the institutional endorsement of church music. Especially the Lutheran Nordelbische Kirche, with its rich tradition of highly-esteemed church music, remains passive in the face of new negative developments in this area. I shall later refer to the current problems in this particular Landeskirche.
About Training and Positions
One can earn a German church music degree (A or B) at any Staatliche Musikhochschule or at one of the Kirchenmusikschulen, which are either Protestant or Catholic. Other possibilities include studying church music at private conservatories, which offer only the B program.
Kirchenmusikschulen, as well as other organizations of the Landeskirchen, offer courses of two semesters for a non-professional degree; we call it C. Basically it is the same program, but on a lower level. Holding this C degree gives less-trained musicians a simple practical advantage: their income is slightly improved over unschooled musicians, and they are not depending so much on arbitrary payments.
Both programs--Catholic and Protestant--are nearly identical; however, all staff members are obliged to belong to their respective denomination. Even at the Staatliche Musikhochschulen there are always two departments of church music. And at every test, whether organ playing or hymnology, there will be a representative present of the respective church; otherwise the test is not regarded as legal.
The basis of training and positions is the B degree, which one usually earns after 6 to 8 semesters. It includes a complete variety of church music, in theory and in practice. In recent years attempts to improve the musician's knowledge in the field of popular music and children's choirs has occurred, although these attempts do not find common approval. At least the level of the B degree has gained a higher reputation within the last twenty years.
A student with an above-average diploma usually gains admittance to further studies of four semesters, ending with the A degree. At this level of studies, the focus is placed on artistic abilities, especially organ playing and choral and orchestral conducting. More and more A program students volunteer to do special studies. These students work primarily on the topics of organ playing or conducting, namely during studies abroad that often include practical experience in establishing performances of historical performance practice.
We already face budgetary deficits because of the financial problems of the Landeskirchen running the Kirchenmusikschulen. The well-known Johannisstift in Berlin was closed recently. Other Kirchenmusikschulen try to survive by cooperating with other schools. Even the Staatliche Musikhochschulen, though disposing of contracts with the churches, think about cooperation or cutting down their educational programs.
In Germany we have eighteen Staatliche Musikhochschulen and more than twenty Kirchenmusikschulen, or conservatories. It must be said quite clearly that there are too many of them, if you look at the opportunity of positions for graduates. For there is one perceptible tendency: not enough positions for all students. Often A musicians apply for B positions, and many of those are part-time positions!
It is not hard to explain the typical profile of a B position. It contains everything that can be done by a church musician--playing the organ, making music with vocal and instrumental groups and the community, and performing concerts, as the case may be. This may even include the performance of oratorios, depending on the local situation. I know of a B church where they perform Verdi's Requiem or similar repertory, on a remarkably high level. But this is not very common.
B positions are usually found in places with some favorable conditions allowing professional work. Here are the principles of our Central Council, as they are instrumental for having a B position in a parish:
First, the local conditions: a church with enough space for making music and an audience, appropriate rehearsal rooms and music scores for professional work
Second, the organ: it should have at least two manuals and pedal
Third, the choir: it must be possible to do qualified singing (which is not clearly defined)
Fourth, financial resources: there must be money enough for the various tasks of professional church music including performances with orchestra and soloists (in many places this is no longer possible!)
The A position does not fundamentally differ from a B position. Typical A churches are the larger churches, situated in the center of big cities, but may also be found in important towns in rural surroundings with sufficient resources. There have to be specific artistic achievements in organ playing and/or choral performance. The size of the church should be suitable for big events. The organ should have three manuals and allow the playing of pretentious organ literature. An accomplished choir (especially for a cappella repertory) is a decisive condition; the same is true as for regular performances of oratorios.
Many A positions, and some B too, have to take care of overseeing regional tasks: helping other colleagues in the district, teaching, shaping expert opinions, activities in the field of professional organizations, and so on. In most Landeskirchen these colleagues do this position in a combination of 75% parish and 25% district work; for example, the work being paid for by both parish and the synod. In the synods of my own Nordelbian Landeskirche, however, we have a different system: the respective colleagues do all the parish work and the deanery (synod) position for free, receiving money only for related expenses.
Within the last years the difference between A and B has become smaller-- last, but not least, because the standards of the B degree have risen. Therefore, we are now in dialogue to determine whether we should have only one professional church music degree.
All other parishes, in small villages or suburbs, have non-professional church musicians or none at all. The tendency is that it is more and more difficult to get people to do these tasks. The reasons for that may be different: there is certainly a connection to the changing situation of the professional church musician; additionally, many potential volunteer musicians have changed how they spend their leisure time, especially on weekends.
Popular Church Music
For several years, it has become possible at some schools to study "popular church music." For example, at the Fachakademie für evangelische Kirchenmusik at Bayreuth you can take popular church music courses for one year in an A or B program. The reason for this is "that there is, established in the church for many years now, a popular church music scene with bands, youth choirs, concerts and festivals, and publishers and editors' labels. In view of these numerous activities, church musicians should have appropriate competence to justify the importance of popular church music in spiritual context" (quoting from the Fachakademie's literature). In a weekly two-hour program the contents of theory, hands-on practical knowledge (performance in a band, or bandleader), and computer/music electronics (arranging, composition, printing with computer software) are taught in close connection with each other. The subject of harmony includes analysis of the standards of jazz, pop, and rock, chord symbols, reharmonization, and scales. While listening to sound tracks of different music styles one tries to connect practical music making with typical patterns of the band. The students gain basic knowledge of playing band instruments as the basis for creating their own arrangements. Of what use is the best arrangement if it can only be played by a professional musician? Most students develop the right feeling that a funk can really "groove!"
The students are taught one hour a week in groups. They learn harmonization of tunes, voicings, accompaniment patterns in various styles, solo improvisation (for example, blues), and so on. The intention to train professional pop musicians in one year would be wrong. The real aim is to sensitize and interest the students in order to channel enthusiasm for this music with which many people identify nowadays.
The echo to this development has been--as could not be expected differently--by no means unanimous. Most Musikhochschulen and most Kirchenmusikschulen look at these new tendencies with great skepticism, but also with some sense of powerlessness.
About Training of Ministers
A few remarks on the situation of theological training are necessary only because we are concerned with it. Classes offered during one's theological training on hymnology and liturgy have decayed; therefore, we often needlessly face problems concerning the competence of both church musicians and ministers. On one hand, the minister may decide freely, according to his conscience and taste, how the service shall unfold. On the other hand, the church musician is just as responsible for shaping the service. As expressed in the Nordelbisches Kirchenmusikergesetz (Church Musician's Handbook), one can read that in case of doubt, solve the problem on your own!
This is a dilemma because the qualifications of the two sides are very often different. Sometimes there are complaints about non-professional handling of the sermon and the proper use of language. Rhetoric knowledge and simple rules of technically good speaking are rare. In seminary training, there was no opportunity afforded the seminarians to experience the liturgy and hymns as they are to be sung. Perhaps a knowledge of appropriate liturgical music would have kept theology students from being reported to the police for disturbing the peace (as once did the young Martin Luther) by singing in quiet streets at night. Nonetheless, most young theologians are very interested in teamwork with church musicians.
Almost everything I have said about Protestant church music is transferable to the Catholic church. Small differences may be found in the hierarchical system. A difference may be the interpretation of everyone's role: the Catholic church musician usually works independently, while Protestant colleagues are more or less obliged to partnership or teamwork.
The Situation in the Nordelbische lutherische Kirche
I love music, and I do not like the "enthusiasts" who condemn it. I love music, firstly, because it is a gift of God and not of men; secondly, it makes peoples' souls happy; thirdly, it drives off the devil; fourthly, it creates innocent joy, thereby outbreaks of anger, desires, and pride disappear. I say that music is in the first rank after theology . . . ; fifthly, because it reigns at times of peace. So, bear it, but this art will be better off with those who live after us, because they will live in peace. . . .
To some of my musical colleagues within the Nordelbische Kirche this famous quote from Martin Luther, dated 1530, may sound like a scornful description of the present day situation of our church music.
In this context I would like to call your attention to the Nordelbische Kirche again. It is the area of Schleswig-Holstein, including Hamburg and Lübeck, and is the newest of all German Protestant Landeskirchen. Although it did not exist before 1978, it has attracted the attention of the public much more than any other church. There may be several reasons for this; perhaps no other German church follows such varied theological and political tendencies, which constantly fight violently against each other. Or think of the fact that only recently the first German female bishop's seat was established in Hamburg. Or think of the dissents and intrigues about the successor of the Hamburg St. Michaeliskantor, of which you could read in all important German newspapers, and even in the magazine Der Spiegel. In many ways the Nordelbische Kirche reflects the essential aspects of clerical reality.
The Lutheran tradition of a singing and music-making church has always been extremely rich in this area. Since their foundation, Hanseatic cities such as Hamburg, Lübeck, or Lüneburg were able to afford outstanding church music. The heritage of that time can still be noticed, for example, in the wonderful historic organs, most of them beautifully restored. Names like Scheidemann, Weckmann, Tunder, Lübeck, or Buxtehude are widely known. Beginning in this century, in the 1950s, a dense network of professional church music centers has been woven, especially in the Hamburg and Lübeck areas--more than in any other part of Germany.
Against the background of this musical tradition it is even more unpleasant than anywhere else to see our whole profession disintegrate or disappear. There are no concepts up to this moment to prevent this tendency. The Landeskirchenmusikdirektor, the head of church music in the Nordelbische Kirche, sometimes sarcastically refers to himself as the "grave-digger of Nordelbische church music."
This drastic definition is certainly not always helpful, because the representative of church music should not speak like this in public, but there is an essential point in it, which you can verify easily by statistics. For that purpose I want to give you some actual figures, which you can find in two texts edited in two memoirs (Denkschriften) by Landeskirchenmusikdirektor Dieter Frahm in 1995 and 1998. Behind the crude numbers lie explosives for many church musicians. Around 1980 we in the Nordelbische Kirche had almost no professional part-time positions. By 1995 there were 55 A positions and 254 B positions, 90 of which were already part-time positions. Only three years later, in 1998, this changed to 51 A and 213 B positions, 81 of which are now part-time positions. In the large city of Hamburg, in a period of 8 to 9 years, more than 30% of church musicians lost their full-time B positions; in Lübeck more than 20%. It is not an exaggeration to speak about a dramatic development. Frahm wrote "If the basis of having professional positions shakes and crumbles--and this is the case now--the whole tradition of church music and culture will die."
The shining medal granted by the privilege of extensive authority within the local parishes now shows its darker side: every parish can practically do what it wants. And unfortunately it is true that any church council, when it feels the necessity of saving money, first of all kills the music. And no piece of advice from higher clerical authorities has to be feared because the ways of decision in financial and other matters are usually organized on the lower level of the parishes, which forms a remarkable difference to other Landeskirchen in Germany. There is no strict supervision; there are spongy laws that may be interpreted in different ways, and therefore often produce arbitrariness of church councils.
The problem of part-time positions is serious also in another respect: the contracts are often obscure or problematic. A person is offered a half-time position, which also means half the wage, but it is expected that the work exceeds fifty percent by far. And if some critic, not long ago, could rightly have teased us church musicians with the malicious remark that the abundance of "nordelbian" church music is now shrinking down to a normal standard, we could respond with the same tone that there are now some areas where you do not find any professional church musicians at all. Certainly the large Hamburg Hauptkirchen like St. Michaelis or St. Petri or St. Jakobi will always want and will have outstanding church music. But in middle-sized and smaller cities the shortages have already caused painful gaps.
In this context, we are aware of increasing demands from the side of our theologians that we should increase our commitment of personal time as an addition to our "contract" time, an attempt that ignores the already high level of that private commitment most of us currently exert. It is indeed a subtle pressure that is often exerted on the staff. Even "squabbling" is no longer a foreign word in parish life.
There are not many places in the Nordelbian area anymore where you can observe the will and the readiness to look for solutions on the basis of real solidarity--a term which is still an essential principle that should not be dispensed with. And the people in charge sometimes disregard the fact that church music often is an important activity in a parish and sometimes it is the sole activity that remains, as it continues to be attractive to people of all age groups.
There are some hopeful attempts to solve these problems, which in part have already been put into reality, and they are usually summed up under the term of "cooperation." This works pretty well in big cities, especially when the parishes are within neighboring districts. And, in addition, single synods try to develop regional employment schemes and to put the burden on positions of church musicians under their influence, which is to say that the synods, quoting the idea of solidarity, ask certain favors from the single parishes that they, for moral--not legal--reasons cannot possibly deny. The goal is to guarantee a kind of minimum employment within the area, as we have had for a long time in south German churches. The motto is: Better one full-time position than two part-time positions!
I myself work in a group of theologians and church musicians who all try to develop a system of safe positions in our area. Ten years ago in my deanery (synod) with its 22 parishes, we had one A position, 8 full-time B positions, one part-time position, and the rest were non-professional ones. Now we still have the A position, three full-time B positions, and six part-time positions.
Current Tendencies
Here are some recent advertisements from magazines concerning church music positions. These advertisements cast a spotlight on the actual situation and emotional sensitivity on the side of both employers and employees:
Landshut (100% A). This represents in a good sense the typical A position, an offer which is now becoming something like a fossil: favorable opportunities, rich endowment, support by a fundraising organization, real commitment to high level church music, well-organized choir groups.
Düsseldorf (80% A). This advertisement refers to the position of Oskar Gottlieb Blarr, a widely-known colleague, who had exerted his position with unique profile and style. Now the same standard is requested, but at only 80% of his former salary.
Göttingen (90% A). Once more, a well-known A position in Germany, and again the same amount and quality of work is expected from the side of the future position holder, this time at 90% salary.
Eppendorf (formerly an A position). This time, the A position is in one of the well-known and wealthy neighborhoods of Hamburg, yet it is only a small church. It is the parish in which the Nordelbische Landeskirchenmusikdirektor formerly worked, and payments are now reduced to the ones of a B position. Of course, the traditional standard of work has to be preserved.
Quickborn (temporary). It is really unnerving to read this ad because it symptomatically reveals the present-day problems: the offer is for a three-year time period at 100% payments of a B position, then going down to 75%, and then, who knows?
Bielefeld (B 60%). This time the offer is just 60% of a full-time position.
Herchen (B 50%). Another variation of the same melody: a 50% position, an ad that one will find very often. An interesting item is the note that the parish could also do with a non-professional church musician. It is interesting, because the parish officials are bold enough to trespass the borders of legal rights in mixing up two levels of professional qualifications.
Ottensen (B 50-100%). This last example demonstrates something like autocratic behavior of certain parishes. Here, the important message is that they can put a person on the position at payments varying from 50 to 100%, as the case may be. At any rate, the parish, as usual, wants the complete spectrum of church music. Note the sarcasm at the end of the advertisement, where it says:
We do not consider a church musician
-who regards the parish as his monopoly
-who believes that he can do best if he is left alone high up on the organ
-who would be unwilling to play on the organ the famous tune of Pippi Longstocking [a character in Astrid Lindgren's children's movies].
Conclusion
Every profession undergoes certain changes over time, and, of course, church music is not an exception. Nevertheless, it is surprising how often and how easily valuable traditions and successful work in a famous field of German culture are regarded as questionable and dispensable. Many people say that within the next generation the position of the church musician in its traditional form and structure that has grown for decades will cease to exist. This will not surprise those who anyway speculate that the Amtskirche with its obsolete peculiarities will not be able to survive. Some prophets predict that churches in Germany will move in a direction like the ones in North America and, as a matter of fact, there are certain symptoms of such a development. At any rate, quite a number of my colleagues are convinced that, within a few years, our profession of church music will not exist anymore.
I myself do not feel as our "grave-digger," since work, itself, with people, still offers great joy. There are not many professions in which the meaning of "profession" and "vocation" are so close together--in my language we have the play of words Beruf and Berufung. In this sense I am sure to speak for most of my colleagues who really love their profession. Often it is solely church music that opens the church door for many people who otherwise are very critical of the Amtskirche as an institution. Herein lies a great opportunity for the church of securing itself, an opportunity that should be appreciated more and squandered less.
