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The German German prelate, church musician and choral conductor, Rudolf Pohl, graduated from the Kaiser-Karls-Gymnasium in Aachen, followed by military service (training as a pilot together with the future professor of education in Hagen Friedrich Wilhelm Kröger) and his release from American captivity in Cherbourg, France. He then studied theology and philosophy the universities of Paderborn, Frankfurt am Main and Bonn as well as the seminary Aachen. On July 2, 1951, he was ordained a priest and was subsequently taken over as chaplain in Krefeld. After that he graduated from musicology studies at the University of Bonn (1954-1959).
In 1954, Rudolf Pohl followed a call of the acting Domkapellmeister Theodor Bernhard Rehmann to Aachen; He had already become aware of him in earlier years when Pohl was Domsingknabe (boy singer in the catherdal choir) in Aachen between 1933 and 1942. From him he received the order to rebuild the boys choir and the Aachen Domsingschule. It is Pohl's merit that this traditional choir, whose history goes back to the choral school of Charlemagne, was able to gain in importance again after the war years. Likewise, it is thanks to him that the affiliated Domsingschule in 1960 under the sponsorship of the cathedral chapter initially as a school experiment with two entry classes officially rebuilt and expanded from 1969 to 1971 single insignificant elementary school and then managed as a private Catholic primary replacement school for boys.
In the meantime Rudolf Pohl graduated in 1959 as Dr. phil. at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Universität in Bonn, Rigorosum with Josef Ratzinger, Professor of Fundamental Theology. The dissertation was a musicological work on the choral works of the also active in Aachen penitentiary conductor Johannes Mangon (1525-1578), with whom he continued to engage in the practice until today, reissued, edited, commented on and brought Performance. Subsequently, followed from 1960 to 1961, a study at the Pedagogical Academy in Aachen, which he completed with the 1st teacher examination. Pohl also counted in 1957 together with Theodor Bernhard Rehmann, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Wilhelm Pitz and others to the festival director of the 111th Niederrheinischen Musikfestes (Lower Rhine Music Festival) in Aachen. After the sudden death of Rehmann in 1963, the reigning Bishop of Aachen, Johannes Pohlschneider, entrusted him with the overall direction of the Aachener Domchor (Aachen Cathedral Choir) and appointed him cathedral conductor. In the following years, Pohl built the Aachener Domchor to the classical liturgical occupation including the boy's upper parts from the affiliated Domsingschule and led to this noteworthy national and international recognition. In addition to the usual missions in the context of the liturgical events at Aachener Dom (Aachen Cathedral) followed numerous concert tours in the main cities of Germany and the Benelux, Ireland, France, Italy, Poland, then Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Austria, England, Spain and Israel. Here Rudolf Pohl performed a demanding program with the great church music works, masses, oratorios and passions. In addition, numerous recordings, radio and television broadcasts of concerts and church services were among his highlights with the Aachener Domchor.
In 1985, Rudolf Pohl became the President of the 8th International Congress of Sacred Music in Rome in recognition of his services to the realization of the relevant demands of the Second Vatican Council and the preservation of the Thesaurus Musicae Sacrae as successor to the prelate Johannes Overath of the Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae (CIMS), the only church music association established by the Apostolic See. He held this honorary post for many years. One year later, in 1986, he resigned as Domkapellmeister and was replaced by the organist and choirmaster Hans-Josef Roth. As early as 1977, Bishop Klaus Hemmerle had appointed Rudolf Pohl honorary lord at the Hohen Dom in Aachen.
On his initiative, the Rudolf-Pohl-Stiftung was founded, whose endowment funds are intended to support and promote the training of active Domsingknaben in artistically valuable classical instruments through performance-related grants. On January 12, 2002 Rudolf Pohl was honored in Aachen for his life's work by the former Lord Mayor Jürgen Linden with the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class. On July 30, 2010 his book Enchiridion Musicae Sacrae Handbuch der Kirchenmusik was published. It is about church music in the testimonies of faith and the church. On the occasion of the general audience on October 13, 2010 Pohl presented his book to Pope Benedict XVI. |
