Comedian Harmonists (from left: Robert Biberti, Erich Collin, Erwin Bootz, Roman Cycowski, Harry Frommermann, Ari Leschnikoff)
The Comedian Harmonists were an internationally famous, all-male German close harmony ensemble that performed between 1927 and 1934 as one of the most successful musical groups in Europe before World War II. The group consisted of Harry Frommermann (tenor buffo), Ari Leschnikoff (first tenor), Erich Collin (second tenor), Roman Cycowski (baritone), Robert Biberti (bass), and Erwin Bootz (pianist).
The hallmark of the Comedian Harmonists was its members' ability to blend their voices together so that the individual singers could appear and disappear back into the vocal texture. Its repertoire was wide, ranging from the folk and classical songs arranged by Frommermann to the more appealing and witty popular songs of the day by writers such as Peter Igelhoff, Werner Heymann and Paul Abraham (composer).
History
In 1927, unemployed actor Harry Frommermann was inspired by The Revelers, a United States jazz-influenced popular vocal group, to create a German group of the same format. Frommermann held auditions in his flat on Stubenrauchstraße 47 in Berlin-Friedenau, and, once the group was assembled, it quickly began rehearsals. After some initial failures, the Harmonists soon found success, becoming popular throughout Europe, touring the United States, and appearing in 21 films[1].
The members of the group were:
-
| Ari Leschnikoff |
(1897–1978) |
first tenor |
| Erich A. Collin |
(1899–1961) |
second tenor |
| Harry Frommermann |
(1906–1975) |
Tenor buffo |
| Roman Cycowski |
(1901–1998) |
Baritone |
| Robert Biberti |
(1902–1985) |
Bass |
| Erwin Bootz |
(1907–1982) |
Pianist |
The group's success continued into the early 1930s, but eventually ran into trouble with the Nazi regime: three of the group members - Frommermann, Collin, and Cycowski - were either Jewish or of Jewish descent, and Bootz had married a Jewish woman. The Nazis progressively made the group's professional life more difficult, initially banning pieces by Jewish composers, and finally prohibiting them from performing in public. The group's last concert was in Munich on March 25, 1934.
Frommermann, Cycowski, and Collin subsequently fled Germany and formed a new group, which performed under the names "Comedian Harmonists" and "Comedy Harmonists" with a new pianist, bass, and high tenor. The remaining members in Germany likewise replaced their counterparts in a successor group named "Das Meistersextett" (as the authorities forbade an English-language name). Neither group was able to achieve the original success of the Comedian Harmonists, with the German group stifled by political in-fighting and heavy censorship, as well as the war draft (call-up); the emigrant group was unable to find work in America due to hostility to German entertainers, and they were unable to return to Australia, where they had enjoyed extensive success in the 1930s. By 1941, both groups had broken up. Although all members survived the war, they never re-formed after the group.
The group remained largely forgotten until filmmaker Eberhard Fechner created a four-hour black-and-white television documentary, in which he interviewed the surviving members, who were scattered throughout the world. The documentary aired over two nights in German in 1975 and caused a resurgence of interest in the music of the Comedian Harmonists, with their records being released on vinyl.
They won recognition from the musical entertainment industry in 1998 when they won the Echo Prize from the Deutsche Phonoakademie.
Based on the the life and career of the Comedian Harmonists, Barry Manilow and his songwriting partner Bruce Sussman created the musical Harmony[2], which after a successful off-Broadway premiere is now Broadway-bound.
Discography
- Ah Maria, Mari
- Ali Baba
- An Der Schoenen Blauen Donau ("On The Banks Of The Beautiful Blue Danube")
- Auf Dem Heuboden
- Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear ("See You, My Dear")
- Baby
- Barcarole
- Bin Kein Hauptmann, Bin Kein Grosses Tier ("I'm No Officer, I'm No Hot Shot")
- Blume Von Hawaii ("Flower From Hawaii")
- Creole Love Call by Duke Ellington
- Das Ist Die Liebe Der Matrosen ("That's The Sailors' Love")
- Der Onkel Bumba Aus Kalumba Tanzt Nur Rumba ("Uncle Bumba From Kalumba Only Dances The Rumba")
- Die Dorfmusik ("The Village Music")
- Die Liebe Kommt, Die Liebe Geht("Love Comes, Love Goes")
- Du Bist Nicht Die Erste("You're Not The First One")
- Ein bisschen Leichtsinn kann nicht schaden ("A Little Carelessness Can't Hurt")
- Ein Freund, Ein Guter Freund("A Friend, A Good Friend")
- Ein Lied Geht Um Die Welt("A Song Goes Around The World")
- Ein Neuer Fruehling Wird In Die Heimat Kommen
- Eine Kleine Fuehlingsweise
- Einmal Schafft's Jeder
- Eins, Zwei, Drei Und Vier, Gluecklich Bin Ich Nur Mit Dir("One, Two, Three And Four, I'm Only Happy When I'm With You")
- Es Fuehrt Kein And'rer Weg Zur Seligkeit
- Florestan 1., Prince De Monacco("Florestan The First, Prince Of Monaco")
- Fünf-Uhr-Tee Bei Familie Kraus("Five-O'-Clock-Tea With The Kraus Family")
- Gitarren, Spielt Auf("Guitars, Play")
- Guten Tag, gnaedige Frau
- Hallo, was machst Du heut', Daisy? ("Hello, What Are You Doing Today, Daisy?")
- Ich kuesse Ihre Hand, Madam("I kiss Your Hand Madam")
- In einem kühlen Grunde ("In A Cool Place")
- Irgendwo auf der Welt ("Somewhere In the World")
- Kannst Du pfeifen, Johanna? ("Can you Whistle, Johanna?")
- Mein kleiner grüner Kaktus ("My Little Green Cactus")
- Puppenhochzeit
- Schlafe, mein Prinzchen, schlaf ein("Sleep, My little Prince, Go To Sleep")
- Schöne Isabella von Kastilien ("Beautiful Isabel from Castile")
- Schöne Lisa, süsse Lisa ("Beautiful Lisa, Sweet Lisa")
- Ungarischer Tanz Nr. 5("Hungarian Dance No. 5"
- Veronika, der Lenz ist da ("Veronika, Spring is here")
- Wenn die Sonja russisch tanzt("When Sonja Dances Russian-like")
- Wenn der Wind weht ueber das Meer("When The Wind Blows Over The Sea")
- Wenn ich vergnuegt bin, muss ich singen
- Whispering
- Wochenend und Sonnenschein ("Weekend and Sunshine")
Film Biography
In 1997, a German biopic entitled Comedian Harmonists (The Harmonists in the American version), with the actors synching their lips in the musical performances to the group's original recordings.
Literature and References
- Fechner, Eberhard (1988) (in German). Die Comedian Harmonists. Sechs Lebensläufe. Weinheim: Quadriga. ISBN 3-88679-174-2.
- Etscheit, Ulrich; Metzger, Julian, eds (in German). Comedian Harmonists. Das Original. Kassel: Bosse. (Sheet music)
External links
