Paul Dessau - Der anachronistische Zug (Bertolt Brecht)

Paul Dessau was a german composer born in Hamburg 1894, best known for collaborations with Bertolt Brecht such as "Mother Courage".

Banned by the Nazis he fled to Paris and eventually Hollywood. He returned to the DDR in 1948 and became very successful, composing a new National Antherm for the country and winning the National Award three times. Paul Dessau was one of East Germany’s most prominent composers. He composed several operas based on Brecht’s writings, including "Puntila", in 1956. Wrote many pieces for children, which were preformed frequently in schools. He died in 1979 and is buried next to Brecht and Eisler in Berlin.

"Der anachronistische Zug" is a ballad for singer, piano and percussion composed by Dessau in 1956, based on Bertolt Brecht´s poem "Der anachronistische Zug oder Freiheit und Democracy"("The Anachronic Train, or Freedom and Democracy"). The Brecht poem is a protest song against old Nazi Party in prosperous post-war Germany.

This 7” single came with the commemorative book "Paul Dessau - Aus Gesprächen", published by Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig, East Germany, 1974, written for Paul Dessau’s 80th birthday by Dieter Boeck, Fritz Hennenberg, Evelyn Richter et al.

On "Der Anachronistische Zug", Dessau, aged 80, sings in a charming voice along an unusual accompanyment of piano and drums.

Paul Dessau - Der anachronistische Zug (Brecht)

(256 kbps, cover art included)

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Thanks a lot to the original uploader of these tracks at continuo.