Henri Berger
Henry Berger Heinrich Berger | |
---|---|
Henry Berger c. 1917 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Heinrich August Wilhelm Berger |
Also known as | Henri Berger |
Born | (1844-08-04)August 4, 1844 Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia |
Died | October 14, 1929(1929-10-14) (aged 85) Territory of Hawaii, US |
Genres | Hawaiian, March |
Occupation(s) | Bandmaster |
Years active | 1872-1915 |
Henry or Henri Berger (August 4, 1844 – October 14, 1929) was a Prussian Kapellmeister, composer and royal bandmaster of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1872 to 1915.
Biography
Berger was born Heinrich August Wilhelm Berger in Berlin, and became a member of Germany's imperial army band. He worked under the composer and royal bandmaster of Germany, Johann Strauss, Jr. Originally, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany loaned Berger from his Potsdam station to King Kamehameha V to conduct the king's band.[1] He arrived in Honolulu in June 1872, fresh from service in the Franco-Prussian War.[2] In 1877, King Kalākaua appointed Berger to full leadership of the Royal Hawaiian Band. In 1879, he became a naturalized citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Berger befriended the future Queen Liliʻuokalani, a composer in her own right. Berger arranged the songs she wrote, performed by the brass band. On August 4, 1881, while traveling the world, King Kalākaua reported in a letter from Berlin[3] to Regent Liliʻuokalani, that he had met the mother and sister of Berger and announced the sending of a program whose pieces Berger was to play with the Royal Hawaiian Band upon his return. The queen named Berger the "Father of Hawaiian Music". From 1893 to 1903, the bandmaster worked with the Kamehameha Schools to develop its music program. He also built what is today the Honolulu Symphony.
He led the government band at thousands of public events. Among these were "steamer day," when a ship left the Honolulu docks. The band serenaded the departees with "Auld Lang Syne," or "The Girl I Left Behind Me."[4]
Later in his tenure as royal bandmaster, Berger took it upon himself to record traditional Hawaiian hymns, chants and other Hawaiian music in print to ensure their survival, a task never done before. Berger at the same time composed the classics: "The Hula March", "Hilo March", "Kohala March", “Huki March”, “Ka Mo’i March” and "Sweet Lei Lehua." His arrangement of "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī", with text by Kalākaua in honor of Kamehameha became the national anthem.[5] Today, the song serves as the state anthem.
Berger combined German, Austrian and Hawaiian traditions in his unique compositions and performed with the Royal Hawaiian Band thousands of times, making Hawaiian music known and popular in many countries. Berger started the RHB 'Aloha" welcome and farewell greetings at the harbors.
He died in Honolulu. His resting-place is the Kawaiahaʻo Church Cemetery.[6]
Robert Louis Stevenson mentioned Berger in his novel The Bottle Imp.[7]
Berger's legacy continues today, celebrated worldwide especially in Hawaii and Germany, as the father of the Royal Hawaiian Band, the oldest municipal band in the United States.
References
- ^ "Bandmasters of the Royal Hawaiian Band". Royal Hawaiian Band official web site. City and County of Honolulu. March 28, 2008. Archived from the original on May 29, 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- ^ "Half a Century of Life." Hawaiian Gazette, August 7, 1894. A major profile of Berger commemorating his fiftieth birthday.
- ^ Greer, Richard A. (1971). "Royal Tourist: Kalākaua's Letters Home from Tokio to London". Hawaiian Journal of History. 5: 75–109. hdl:10524/186. Retrieved 2021-08-04. p. 104
- ^ "Half a Century of Life." Hawaiian Gazette, August 7, 1894.
- ^ Rayson, Ann (2004). Modern History Of Hawaii. Bess Press. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-57306-209-1.
- ^ Mission Houses Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, Grave memorial of Henri Berger
- ^ cf. The Bottle Imp: "Thither he went, because he feared to be alone; and there, among happy faces, walked to and fro, and heard the tunes go up and down, and saw Berger beat the measure, and all the while he heard the flames crackle, and saw the red fire burning in the bottomless pit."
Literature
- Patrick D. Hennessey: Henry Berger: From Prussian Army Musician to "Father of Hawaiian Music". The Life and Legacy of Hawai'i's Bandmaster, Tutzing: Schneider, 2013, ISBN 978-3-86296-056-9
External links
- Free scores by Henri Berger at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- v
- t
- e
- Albert "Sonny" Cunha
- Sol Hoʻopiʻi
- Alvin Kaleolani Isaacs
- Haunani Kahalewai
- Mekia Kealakaʻi
- John Kameaaloha Almeida
- Irmgard Farden Aluli
- Robert Alexander Anderson
- Bina Mossman
- David Nape
- Songs honored: Hawaii Aloha, Ua Like No A Like, Kaulana Na Pua, Makalapua and Na Ali`i
- Maddy Lam
- Hawaiian Chanters: Keaulumoku, Ka`opulupulu, Kapoukahi, Kapihe and Hewahewa
- Songs honored: Alika, Kalama'ula, Wehiwehi 'Oe
- Alfred Alohikea
- Kahauanu Lake Trio
- Bill Ali'iloa Lincoln
- Henry W. Waia`u
- Mahi Beamer
- The Brothers Cazimero
- Charles K.L. Davis
- Linda Dela Cruz
- Nina Keali`iwahamana
- Emma Veary
- Bill Ka'iwa
- Jesse Kalima
- Eddie Kamae
- Donald McDiarmid Sr.
- Peter Moon
- Marlene Sai
- John Pi'ilani Watkins
- Joseph Ae'a
- Elizabeth "Lizzie" Kahau Kauanui Alohikea
- Anuhea Audrey Brown
- Thomas Kihei Desha Brown
- Alice Angeline Johnson
- John Keola Lake
- Albert Po'ai Nahale-a Sr.
- Leo Nahenahe Singers
- Palani Vaughan
- James Kaʻupena Wong
- Hui Ohana
- Thomas Sylvester Kalama
- Dennis Kamakahi
- Ma'iki Aiu Lake
- Kui Lee
- Pat Namaka Bacon
- Andy Cummings
- Ernest Kaʻai
- Richard Kauhi Quartet
- Keali'i Reichel
- Joseph Ilalaole
- Benny Kalama
- Sam Li'a Kalainaina
- Akoni Mika
- Alice Namakelua
- Olomana
- James Pihanui Kuluwaimaka Palea
- Ka Leo Hawai‘i
- George Kainapau
- Makaha Sons of Ni'ihau
- George Na'ope
- Harry Owens
- Song honored: Hawaii Ponoi
- Kamaka Hawaii, Inc. (ukulele maker)
- Matthew H. Kane
- Iolani Luahine
- Napua Stevens
- Don Ho
- Lokalia Montgomery
- Lei Collins
- Halekulani Girls (Alice Fredlund, Sybil Bright Andrews, Linda Dela Cruz)
- Jerry Byrd
- Darrell Lupenui
- Thaddius Wilson
- O'Brian Eselu
- Johnny Noble
- Jean “Kini” Sullivan
- John Kaimikaua
- Mamo Howell
- Danny Kaleikini
- Richard “Babe” Bell
- The Isaacs ‘Ohana
- The Kanaka’ole ‘Ohana
- Krash Kealoha
- Jacqueline "Skylark" Rossetti
- Kimo Kahoano
- Karen Keawehawai’i
- Melveen Leed
- Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
- Beamer ‘Ohana (Nona, Keola, Kapono)
- Bray ‘Ohana (Daddy and Lydia Bray)
- Ho‘opi‘i Brothers (Richard and Solomon)
- Kahananui ‘Ohana (Dorothy Kahananui and Dorothy Gillett)
- Saichi Kawahara
- Literary award: He Mele Aloha: A Hawaiian Songbook (Vicky Hollinger, Kimo Hussey, Puakea Nogelmeier, Carol Wilcox), The Queen’s Songbook (Dorothy Kahananui Gillett, Barbara Smith and Hui Hanai)
- Pua Haʻaheo
- Marta Hohu
- Leila Hohu Kiaha
- David “Feet” Rogers
- Harry B. Soria Jr.
- Kauʻi Zuttermeister
- Hawaiian Room musicians from the Lexington Hotel, NYC
- Paused due to the global pandemic
- Jules Ah See
- Kihei de Silva
- Mapuana de Silva
- Kawaikapuokalani Hewitt
- David Kalama
- Makua Laiana
- Lorenzo Lyons
- Mary P. Robins