Celebrating 100 Years of Steiner’s Lectures on the Experience of Tone

Gerhard Beilharz’ report of lyre activity in Manheim, Germany

From April 19 to 23, 2023, about 150 people met at the Freie Akademie für Waldorfpädagogik in Mannheim. The occasion was the 100th anniversary of Rudolf Steiner's lectures "The Experience of Tone in the Human Being," held in Stuttgart on March 7 and 8, 1923, which are so important for musical work. At the conference, various speakers took up aspects of Steiner's lectures, each in their own way. The experience was clear: The great stimulating potential of these lectures held 100 years ago is far from exhausted (ist noch lange nicht ausgeschöpft), even though three generations have already worked with this content in the meantime.

Every day there was music to listen to, in the form of shorter contributions or full-length (abendfüllend) ones, whereby one could immerse oneself in very different worlds of sound and tone. Between Schlesinger scales, traditional Indian and Georgian music, the lyre was also prominently represented.

Once with Monika Mayr-Häcker (vocals) and Christian Giersch (concert lyre): compositions by Christian Giersch, among others after texts by Rose Ausländer and Michael Ende, next to Colin Tanser's Songs of the Seven Planets, which are heard much too rarely, and – somewhat better known in the German-speaking world – Julius Knierim's Auf Bergesspitze stehend.

DUO LIRAVOCE - Gerhard Bielharz, Monika Mayr-Häcker

Another contribution was made by the Bad Boll Lyre Ensemble, led by Martin Tobiassen, with compositions by (performers themselves) Martin Tobiassen, Christian Giersch and Jürgen Knothe, with a part from Pär Ahlbom's Improva, the highly concentrated Moment musical by Peter-Michael Riehm and a joyful finale with Julius Knierim's Dance from Jorinde and Joringel.

Leier Ensemble Bad Boll

Perhaps the most important and forward-looking (zukünftig) aspect of this conference: There was a lot of space (time) for self-made, improvised music. Every day there was parallel work in different instrumental or vocal groups: Strings, wind instruments, lyre players, sound instruments, voice. On the last day, Martin Tobiassen and the entire conference community created a large suite lasting more than half an hour. Movements of the individual groups alternated with interactions between different groups and with tutti parts. Very fresh, lively music, noticeably inspired by the sound and playing styles that entered the world with the newly developed instruments – lyres and sound instruments (Klanginstrumente, Bleffert instruments?)!

Improvisation with Martin Tobiasson