Framingham High School - Philomath Yearbook (Framingham, MA)

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1111110111 FOLKSONGS IVIINNESONGS AND IVIEISTERSONGS OF GERMANY 1 r111a11y 15 the co111tr1 of l 1110 most arnous for l1er fclle songs '1lCX da e back to tl1e earl1est tllllta as l1e first poet1c express10ns cf the people 'l l1e authors are nnlenow ll lllll. the songs are a matter of growth ha11ng been handed dow ll from gCUCI'3llOIl to gelltlcl 1011 IC ff 11 Ll 1 xnan spontaneous1y s1ng a ll1LlOelX to express 11s eellngs 0fl01e, or 1el1U1o 15 f r1or, or a11y other e1110t1o11 then others 1101 ld take It up 11111111111 ellllOll'5 and 1111 Lllltll a perfect 1l16'lOllX had Th1s1s the growtl1 of tl1e pr01e1nents been formed folk song Tl1ese songs were snnfr PX ery 11 here 111 tl1e field 111 the st1eets IU the tu GYI15 or 011 tl1e march Tl1e c0111111o11e t sub e eradle solther s l1fe and de COlll1lI'X . Although not U1l1Cl1f1YOI'Ctl by the scholars of that t1n1e, the l1lClOtlle'w 1 re always fresh, natnr 1l and true 0 IC If r 115 reason 1111 eetnse tl were the true, home bred sense of tl1e people uttered s1n1ply and unpreten t1ously they ha1ene1er been fOlg0lfHIl but haxe lasted to tl1e present day when they are tl1e l1lO5t popular of CJLYHVIII student so11gs I l1e antl1ors of the 1 hureh s011gs borrowed fro111 tl1Q1'11 tl1e1r n1et11eal f0rn1,s1rnpl1e1ty of express10n, Blltl often the 211t'S,VKl11Cl1 accounts fo tl1e1rres1s 1 charm of the German hymns sually tl1e foll1 songs were snnff as me1od1es only parts were added, but tl1e best of them are so flell that the1 need none l l1ese songs were prese11ed 1 rtly ly professlonal nnnstrels, 11 ho were held 111 COIl'i1ClC1'3lJlS lonor under Ch 1rles the Great, but were afterwards lnflllel' lol r1t ed than encouraged by tne lngher C11 l IL XX'llltlellll0' IlllllKllClS of the Age O Lh11alr1 11110 101 ed fro111 court to court were called NI llllfSlIlULl'S The Word XI1nn1e has several l116Hllll1gS but the oldest of lllelll 15 that of lxlllll re111en1 brtnce or the l01e ofa fr1e11d Host of the NI111nes1nffers 11ere of noble faxnlly all t1e 1e1e11111 w11te1s ofthe tlme wrote lyr1cal poetry and It was laborl Ol sly Cl1lllX ated also by many who cl1d not feel equal to the task of prolonged elfnrt llltfle are t11ree epochs to LIIHUC etr1, first allttle after IIDO 1 C poetr1 lJC'S.Zl1lb to free ltself f 0111 CplC, the wrne s E.XlJlL45LLl tl1en1sel1es 111 shorter poems of tl1e1r e111ot1o11s, ldeas and be lllafs no longer Hfltlllg the narratlve 1 ge o l111 1 ry tlllftl, w1th tl1e year 1 ,oo began tl1e deeune of tl1e n11nne songs and the r1se of tl1e 111e1st rqongs en t11 ated by the 1ne1ster S1IlgCI'Q It lb hnd to tell l10w n1nehtl1e 111111116 bl1lgG S were mfluenced by tl1e troubadours, who tl1r01e III tl1e Age of C,h11alr1 also, or to 11l1at extent they drew upon the tra fllllflllb and customs of the1r own land or upon gGUL'llllG e1n0t1ons, but ce1ta1nly the oldest poems tell of t111e e1cper1e1.ces 'I he greatest of tl1e NI11lll6S1IlgCI'b was Walther X on der X offelwelde, wl1o was born 111 the Ty rol betwee11 I163 and 1170 ofa fannly of the lower nob1l1ty After l1e l1ad le trned tl1e art of poetry 111 Aus tr1a, and had composed a few Mxnne songs, l1e became a Wandermg I111I1StI'6l, ffylllg l1lSfOI'tt1IlL III pOlltlC8l songs first or one Slllt. Illtl then forthe other though l1e changed partxes he neyer ceased 111 l11s pra1se of Germany H r11eled tl11 Jllwll France, Q1 rxnany an IInn11ar1, L'1I'l1lIl0'l1lbl1Xl1l5 by blllglllg 1111, ,, +11 III 9 7 V ' Ce . 1 A 1 41 all C ' pe l - 1 g ' 5 ' Q 1 f ' f ' 1 1 1 ' 1 ,1 ' '11 1 ' 1 , t' 1 ' J ' if t 1 1 . A . 1 :K ge J X' 2' 5 1 - t . 1 ' 7 .551 . ' .', x 1 Y 1 . . . 4 I A c . e x ' , X . K . '. ' . ' - ' , 1 1 , 2 , ' I . - Y 1 ' 1 . -1 - f l ' 1.1. 5 5- v ' , t' . Intl llL'hllllllllh pfhapsz . for . l ' It l' g ' - 1 .1 ., , , , , .. . 1 , ' ,. ' , . '- l f ' ' 5 1 ' 'tj 1' e 1 lf 1 5 1 1 1 ' Y ' , . ' D :111 ' ' . . ' ' f . , V., ' 1 1 V J 'Q - L ' ' - . '. 1 1 1 pol ' 1 I ' , yri - . . I 7 ' . ' S r ' . . . 1 . - ,, , v A ' , ' ,... , , . ,.., , . , , ' . . . . g e , ., . ,. . , F, . yy , 2 , .y 1 N. . .y l H r V. Q 'ry 6, , . 'ects were elI'llllilllU, travelinff, dz1nc1n11 noernsg second, the brilliant eriod the rs P3 ISV Y tl1 1 1 ,J 7 ' ', . -votion to X 1- f C Ll 'g 1 1 1. i v , C 1 K s ' - 'I K . C17 ' , ' ,J B, hs' L 1 -I , K 3 N 5 Y ve 1 1 2: 1 1 , . 1 t 1 l A 1 - .. l'f . 'O tl ' f ,L l lm-11: J ley' 1' 1 1 ' ' - . , - if 51 v ' 1 ' 1 - A ' .' C A - ' p X ' v .v, - ' J y, -1 v v A 1 - 4 V , C at 1 1 v - , . V. :Y Y ' ' . L. . ' . 1 A C ' ' S ' , , -. . . A , , . - ' . L. K- vs 0' , -' si Q A .1 1 ' 5-' - Q - o . gs Y ' s r A . L ',1:',v . v vg -1 ble 1 ' . A ' ' . U. .-i. V. ,A A L, 6 S A AL h - .- . 51 V1 vi I L 7 I - 15 5 , 1 -1 11 1:1 1 11 f 1 Q 1 2 ' a . Al- an l 1 1 s v wg A - . V . D , .' J - l t 1. - ' . e 1' t ez- tc'-J '4 ,D l A X: d 1 ' A W - ess. g Q ' O ' 1' 1 ' ' ,

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0 TRACK TEAM S H '31 'S Q S-. NN s 'T' 'W X. 1- N K Nl. S N- -s. F... ,199

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YHE PIIIIKJMATH untll he had won great fame in this art In all his travels none of the princes xx ho patroniled hun ever Vaxe him a home but finally the Lmperor gave him a small fief near W'ur7burg, where he spent the rest of his life in seclusion He was of a more manly and independent character than most of the other MlllllCSlllg6TS When he believed l1e tx as right he poke as freely against the emperor and princes as he did about the pope and the priests No groups of xx riters shoxxed a deeper understanding of sadness than the great est of the Minnesingers 'l hey had '1 certain knowledge of the brexity of human pleasure and a feeling that corruption lurked behind the gayest forms and the brighest colors They moxtd in a xxorll of imagination, shunnmg the real xxorld yet not losing touch VVltl1 ll Frequently there are hints of arch humor 1n their for the vices of the time The art of Mmne poetry was txxder than that of the poets of the present day because the Mlnnesingers not only vxrote the text but also composed the music for the songs as all thur 131 cs were intend ed to be sung to the accompaniment of the vlol or the harp There v as onlx one class of poetry which had no accompani ment, and to this belong the Spruche or sayings ' which xx ere recited The Mmnesingers wrote mostly 1u the Swa bran dialect of the Middle High German whlch xx as due to the encouragement re cerved from the Hohenstaufer I mperors VVh n the men of kulghtly blrth began to neglect the xvrltxng of ly rlcpoetry and Mlnnesmgers were no longer honored, the art xx as cultix ated by the burghers and craftsmen of the cures Societles were formed by these burghers and craftsmen for the cultixation of art1st1c poetry apart from the folk song At that time, in the thirteenth century there xx as a decline of literature The princes and the emperor paid no attention to it The masses alone cultlx ated poetry by the folk songs 1 he poetical inheritance of the fourteenth century whtch had belonged to the knights passed to the middle class From the 'Vlmnesong came the Melstersong '1 he societies of Nieistersingers had regular schools for the study of poetry At the h ad of the school vsas a ' Meister a poet who had stuoled the art Candi dates for th school were oblxged to pass an examination vxtthout breaking any of the rules placed by the society upon the art of xxrittng Success in the 'VIe1ster song depended entirely upon the con formxty xxith these rules After a pupil ln the school had written an original song wlthout infringing upon these rules he became a NICl5lCI'blllgC!' formally at inns PIIZCS xvere awarded those who sang vxell but those who did not were fined The prrzes were some 1111165 money sometimes a crowd O caslonally a singer hung up a wreath as '1 challenge and a reward of vlctorv I mally it became a tustom for Meister singers to vxear rich and gorgeous cos tumes The Meister song xx as always wery mechanical and artificial not free and spontaneous However It must not be judged only by what was accomphshed in the schools for many disregarded the estabhshed rules and forms, and wrote some of the1r best works 'lh best feature of the art 15 that it was cultivated among the humble people It spread the loxe ofartlstlc music among those vxho needed a sense of form refined the people and aroused in them a Splflt o patrlotlsm Its influence 15 felt to this day for the people stlll haxe the love of I0 J ' an 7 ' r ' - ' , , , K . Y Q ,, . . . ' r ' ' ' C . . V is . ' S , X . . A .A Q. . ' ' . . ,, . , 4 ' . 77 . . . e , ' . E.. K 1 S 1 . ' V . . , . . . . sq. Y K Y 1 . . V . . I 5 h . A .Q H i r Y I' i - ' I . ' H i . ' L ' ' ' , . poemsg sometimes indignation and scorn Frequently the Meistersingers met in- D ,i 4 , . ' , K, - .1 3 9 ' ' , . c- . fs, 5 . V i J V - . ' 4. V s ' , V r' ' . '. - '.. s Us -I 1 ' . - , , H . A , . Y . . . . 1 f y si - si I v y . ' 7 ' .' 1 3 . 't ' , e ' ' I ' ' . Y . y S '. 7 N . Y i 1 Y . . . 1 vs' I . 5 v 1 s , -f ' 1 ' v ' , ' 1