Legend of the Gregorian choral: Godehard Joppich has died
Legend of the Gregorian choral: Godehard Joppich has died
Godehard Joppich, an important theologian and church musician, died on December 19, 2024, a few days after his 92nd birthday, in Rodenbach near Hanau. He was the bearer of the price of European church music and was recognized for his significant contributions to the practice and teaching of the Gregorian choral.
born in Breslau in 1932, spent Joppich in Bavaria and joined the Benedictine monastery in Münsterschwarzach. After studying theology and ordination, he continued his training in church music in Rome. There he met the French Benedictine Father Eugène Cardine, who founded the semiology of the Gregorian choral. Joppich became Cardine's most distinguished student and noticed his passion for the chorale, which he regarded as an expression of deep spirituality.
professional career and awards
from 1973 to 1980 Joppich taught in Munich and from 1980 to 1993 was the first full -time professor of Gregorianik and Liturgik at the Folkwang University in Essen. He was known for the organization of the international Essen summer courses that attracted numerous participants. A master course that Joppich held in Schwäbisch Gmünd in 2004 was also highly valued.
Joppich received numerous awards for his merits. In 2002, the general Cecilia Association of Germany honored him with the Orlando-Di-Lasso medal. In 2007 he was awarded the honorary doctorate in musicology by the Folkwang University. In 2018 he received the price of European church music, which he could not personally receive due to an illness.
Joppich was also a Benedictine in the Münsterschwarzach Abbey until 1990 and served there for many years. He dealt intensively with the performance practice of the Gregorian choral and its use in liturgy, and published numerous theoretical and practical work on Gregorianik, which are still used in many churches and religious communities.
his important work includes, among other things, the antiphonale to the hourly prayer, which inspires numerous musicians
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