Herms Niel & Reichsmusikzug des RAD
Re:
As was mentioned earlier, from 27 April to 3 May 1942, Niel was on a (KHW/DRK) concert tour in the Netherlands. He held concerts in Heerlen (27 April), Eindhoven (28 April), Nijmegen (29 April), Utrecht (30 April), Haarlem (1 May), Hague (2 May) and Amsterdam (3 May).
So far we've covered the Heerlen, Haarlem and Amsterdam concerts.
And now, here are some press reports on the concert in Eindhoven, held at the Philips Theatre on 28 April.
One of several concert announcements, from Dagblad van het Zuiden, 27.04.1942, p. 4
A detailed report on the concert, from Dagblad van het Zuiden, 29.04.1942, p. 2
What is particularly interesting there is that Niel, who previously (occasionally) included his "Matrosenlied" notes in his autograph, this time drew to the press the notes of "Die blonde Rie" - his Holland Song, which he performed for the first time on this tour. In Holland steht, aus Klinkerstein, ein u.s.w.
Eindhoven den 28.4.42
Herms Niel
Finally, a photo from the concert, from Dagblad van het Zuiden, 30.04.1942, p. 3
So far we've covered the Heerlen, Haarlem and Amsterdam concerts.
And now, here are some press reports on the concert in Eindhoven, held at the Philips Theatre on 28 April.
One of several concert announcements, from Dagblad van het Zuiden, 27.04.1942, p. 4
A detailed report on the concert, from Dagblad van het Zuiden, 29.04.1942, p. 2
What is particularly interesting there is that Niel, who previously (occasionally) included his "Matrosenlied" notes in his autograph, this time drew to the press the notes of "Die blonde Rie" - his Holland Song, which he performed for the first time on this tour. In Holland steht, aus Klinkerstein, ein u.s.w.
Eindhoven den 28.4.42
Herms Niel
Finally, a photo from the concert, from Dagblad van het Zuiden, 30.04.1942, p. 3
Re:
Several announcements and a detail report on the concert held at the Vereeniging Concert Hall in Nijmegen, 29 April 1942.
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 21.04.1942, p. 3
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 24.04.1942, p. 3
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 28.04.1942, p. 3
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 30.04.1942, p. 3
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 21.04.1942, p. 3
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 24.04.1942, p. 3
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 28.04.1942, p. 3
From Provinciale Geldersche courant, 30.04.1942, p. 3
Re:
A short announcement and a photo from the concert at Tivoli, Utrecht, 30 April 1942.
From Utrechtsche courant, 30.04.1942, p. 2
From Het nationale dagblad, 01.05.1942, p. 3
From Utrechtsche courant, 30.04.1942, p. 2
From Het nationale dagblad, 01.05.1942, p. 3
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The Hague concert, held at the Zoo on 2 May 1942, was part of the Dutch Labour Service Rally.
A concert poster and two press reports (in German and in Dutch) on the Dutch Labour Service Rally (mentioning Niel's concert at the end).
From https://geheugen.delpher.nl/
From Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden, 03.05.1942, p. 1
From Vooruit, 04.05.1942, p. 3
A concert poster and two press reports (in German and in Dutch) on the Dutch Labour Service Rally (mentioning Niel's concert at the end).
From https://geheugen.delpher.nl/
From Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden, 03.05.1942, p. 1
From Vooruit, 04.05.1942, p. 3
Re:
The next Niel's concert tour in the Netherlands (July 1943) was apparently met with much less enthusiasm (it was the fifth year of war and things have really started going downhill for the Axis). It is still unclear how many concerts Niel held during this tour; known so far are the concerts in Haarlem (5 July) and Amsterdam (7 July).
An announcement for the new concert tour (mentioning also the old tour), from Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden, 07.06.1943, p. 4
An announcement for the new concert tour (mentioning also the old tour), from Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden, 07.06.1943, p. 4
Re:
A photo from a concert for RAD troops in Oud-Wassenaar, held most likely during the July 1943 tour.
From Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden, 08.07.1943, p. 4
From Deutsche Zeitung in den Niederlanden, 08.07.1943, p. 4
Im Rosengarten von Sanssouci
And now - from the grim war years - back to the happy beginnings
As was mentioned in the initial post, Niel's biggest source of inspiration was the Sanssouci park in Potsdam.
Recordings of several songs dedicated to this beautiful park have already been shared:
- In Sanssouci, dort wo die alte Mühle steht (1928)
- Grüß’ mir mein Sanssouci (1931)
- Es war an der alten Mühle, im Park von Sanssouci (1933)
- In Sanssouci, am Mühlenberg (1936)
But his biggest hit dedicated to the park (and his most recorded song) was "Im Rosengarten von Sanssouci", composed together with Hans Ailbout.
As was mentioned in the initial post, Niel's biggest source of inspiration was the Sanssouci park in Potsdam.
Recordings of several songs dedicated to this beautiful park have already been shared:
- In Sanssouci, dort wo die alte Mühle steht (1928)
- Grüß’ mir mein Sanssouci (1931)
- Es war an der alten Mühle, im Park von Sanssouci (1933)
- In Sanssouci, am Mühlenberg (1936)
But his biggest hit dedicated to the park (and his most recorded song) was "Im Rosengarten von Sanssouci", composed together with Hans Ailbout.
Here are some of many (pre-WWII) recordings of this nice old song (pay special attention to the Rolands Lautensänger recording, which is in different tempo than the others):Ivan Ž. wrote:1929
Im Rosengarten von Sanssouci [Reminiszenz]
Composer: Hans Ailbout; Herms Niel
Lyricist: Herms Niel
Publisher: Kawi-Verlag [Karl Wilke], Berlin-Wilmersdorf, 1929
Opening Line: Frühling ist es wieder
Re: Im Rosengarten von Sanssouci
Niel & Ailbout's hit remains popular to this day, after nearly a century.
But nowadays, the old tango song is mostly performed as a march (arragement by Gerald Weinkopf, promoted by Ernst Mosch back in the 1960s).
But nowadays, the old tango song is mostly performed as a march (arragement by Gerald Weinkopf, promoted by Ernst Mosch back in the 1960s).
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Finally found some info about Niel's visit to Warsaw in August/September 1940.GregSingh wrote: ↑08 Sep 2014, 07:19In Dr. Karl Grundmann's article "Deutsches Kulturleben In Warschau" (March 1941) I found this:In the publication Warschau unter deutscher Herrschaft (1942), chapter "Deutsches Kulturleben in Warschau", you can read:...Dem stärkeren Theaterleben ging ein sich immer mehr entfaltendes Musik leben zur Seite. Das große Konzert der Dresdner Philharmoniker füllte bis auf den letzten Platz das 2000 Personen fassende "Roma", das vor dem Kriege Lichtspielhaus, jetzt vorwiegend für politische Veranstaltungen bestimmt, und damit zum "Sportpalast" von Warschau geworden ist. Hier finden die großen Kundgebungen statt, in denen Reichs- und Volksdeutsche sich schon oft zu erhebenden Feierstunden zusammengefunden haben, um nur an die erste Großkundgebung am 28.1.1940 mit dem Gauleiter Frauenfeld oder an das Großkonzert des Arbeitsdienstes mit Herms Niel zu erinnern...Does anyone know when actually that "Großkonzert des Arbeitsdienstes" took place in Warsaw's Roma theatre?...Einer der Höhepunkte war die Feierstunde des Reichsarbeitsdienstes am 31.8.1940, zu der über 20 000 deutsche Menschen aus dem gesamten Distrikt in Warschau zusammengeströmt waren. Die vom Reichsarbeitsdienst wirkungsvoll durchgeführte Feier war für die meisten der hier lebenden Volksdeutschen das erste Erlebnis einer Großkundgebung im nationalsozialistischen Stil. Auch die Umbenennung des größten Platzes der Stadt Warschau in "Adolf-Hitler-Platz" am 1.9.1940...
On Saturday evening (Aug 31st) Niel conducted RAD orchestra at the Army Stadium.
On Sunday evening (Sep 1st) there was a concert in Roma Theatre.
From Warschauer Zeitung, 30.08.1940, p. 6
There was also a RAD concert in Saxon's Palace courtyard on Sunday morning, but it's not clear if Niel himself was conducting...
Re:
Hello, Greg, and thanks for posting. A good find!
Here's a press report on the celebration at the Polish Army Stadium (31 Aug.), mentioning the participation of Niel's band.
From Der Führer, 02.09.1940, p. 2
Before the evening concert on 1 September, Niel took part in the parade at the Piłsudski Square on the occasion of the renaming of the square to "Adolf-Hitler-Platz". He was filmed for a newsreel and introduced as "Herms Niel, der Komponist des England- und des Frankreich-Liedes".
From Die Deutsche Wochenschau 523, 12.09.1940
Cheers,
Ivan
Here's a press report on the celebration at the Polish Army Stadium (31 Aug.), mentioning the participation of Niel's band.
From Der Führer, 02.09.1940, p. 2
Before the evening concert on 1 September, Niel took part in the parade at the Piłsudski Square on the occasion of the renaming of the square to "Adolf-Hitler-Platz". He was filmed for a newsreel and introduced as "Herms Niel, der Komponist des England- und des Frankreich-Liedes".
From Die Deutsche Wochenschau 523, 12.09.1940
Cheers,
Ivan
Re:
The newsreel introductions, the same as press reports/announcements, give us also an idea of which songs were considered Niel's biggest hits in different periods. In September 1940, those were obviously "Matrosenlied" (a.k.a. "Wir fahren gegen Engelland" or "Engellandlied", from October 1939) and "Kamerad, wir marschieren im Westen!" (a.k.a. "Frankreichlied", from May 1940).Ivan Ž. wrote: ↑27 Aug 2020, 17:23He was filmed for a newsreel and introduced as "Herms Niel, der Komponist des England- und des Frankreich-Liedes".
From Die Deutsche Wochenschau 523, 12.09.1940
About a year earlier, Niel and his band were filmed playing in front of the Archbishop Palace in Prague. The narrator introduced them in the following words: "Eine ganz besondere Überraschung erlebten die Deutschen in Prag an ihrem WHW-Sonntag. Herms Niel, der Komponist des Erika- und des Annemarie-Liedes, dirigierte sein neues Marschlied 'Wir fahren gegen Engelland'." As can be seen, his biggest hits at the time were "Erika" (published in Jan. 1939, created in 1938) and "Liebchen, ade!" (a.k.a. "Annemarie", from early 1934; his new Annemarie song, "Die Landpartie" a.k.a. "Wenn die Sonne scheint, Annemarie", from August 1939, was also successful though). The "Matrosenlied", which would become Niel's biggest wartime hit, was still being introduced to the public when the newsreel was released.
From UFA-Tonwoche 479, 08.11.1939
Note: the footage was filmed either on 3 November or on 27 October 1939 (it was filmed on Sunday, and those were the previous two sundays).
Cheers,
Ivan
Re:
It is still unclear if Niel stayed in Prague for over a week or if he visited it a couple of times in a very short period of time. On 10 November, the press announced that he would also be premiering his new song "Es geht um's Vaterland " (also from Oct. 1939, as "Matrosenlied") in this city.
From Der oberschlesische Wanderer, 10.11.1939, p. 2
Notice that the press already listed Niel's new piece "Matrosenlied" (Wir fahren gegen Engelland) as his 2nd biggest hit.
From Der oberschlesische Wanderer, 10.11.1939, p. 2
Notice that the press already listed Niel's new piece "Matrosenlied" (Wir fahren gegen Engelland) as his 2nd biggest hit.
Re:
Note also that this cropped photo of Niel, posted years ago on the Magdeburger Biographisches Lexikon website (where it's mistakenly mirrored), likely originates from the same period (autumn/winter 1939).
Marie, Mara, Maruschkata!
Back to the beginnings again: as was mentioned in the initial post, Niel's first international hit, which was translated into several languages, was the humorous polka "Marie, Mara, Maruschkata". And now, here are some of the foreign covers of the piece:
Denmark
Mari, Mara, Maruschkata [Polka]
Melody: Marie, Mara, Maruschkata! [Polka]/ Composer: Herms Niel
Lyricist: Mogens Dam
Publisher: ?
Opening Line: Mari, Mara, Mari, Maruschkata
France
Marie, Mara, Maruschkata [Polka-fox]
Melody: Marie, Mara, Maruschkata! [Polka]/ Composer: Herms Niel
Lyricist: Robert Perrier
Publisher: ?
Opening Line: Marie, Mara, Marie, Maruschkata
Norway
Mari, Mara, Mari, Maruschkata [Polka]
Melody: Marie, Mara, Maruschkata! [Polka]/ Composer: Herms Niel
Lyricist: T. Larssen
Publisher: ?
Opening Line: Mari, Mara, Mari, Maruschkata
Skip to 12:15Sweden
Mari, Mara, Maruschika [Polka]
Melody: Marie, Mara, Maruschkata! [Polka]/ Composer: Herms Niel
Lyricist: Tor Bergström
Publisher: ?
Opening Line: Mari, Mara, Mari, Maruschika
Re: Marie, Mara, Maruschkata!
It appears that the song was particularly remembered in Denmark, as it was recorded there a couple more times after the war as well.