page_title: Johannes Weyrauch
section_title: Turning to church music
hierarchical_section_title: Johannes Weyrauch / Life / Turning to church music
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Heilandskirche im Leipziger Stadtteil Plagwitz Fotograph: André Loh-Kliesch, August 2003 Hinweis: vom Autor (=Fotograph) auch in [1] benutzt
context_page_description: Johannes Weyrauch was a German composer and cantor.
context_section_description: In October 1946 Weyrauch was appointed as a lecturer in composition and music theory at the rebuilt Leipzig Academy of Music, which was renamed the Mendelssohn Academy. Among his students were Volker Bräutigam, Diethard Hellmann, Lorenz Stolzenbach and Siegfried Thiele. Dwindling membership in the churches due to the anti-church attitude of the time prompted Weyrauch to compose simpler works which took into account the reduced size of church choirs. Sometimes he composed only 2- or 3-voice movements or even one-voice vocal works with organ accompaniment.
  In 1951 Weyrauch again took up the position of cantor at the Heilandskirche in Leipzig-Plagwitz and held this position until his voluntary retirement in 1961. He made his position as cantor at the Heilandskirche available to enable his student Volker Bräutigam to start his professional life immediately. While it was still easy to give up this office, the following year the emeritus weighed far more heavily. Weyrauch was to continue teaching composition and theory for another five years at the Leipzig Academy of Music. After his dismissal as professor, he resigned from the composition association of the GDR, as he had not received any respect or support. 1962 was also the year in which Weyrauch became a member of The Christian Community without leaving the Evangelical Church. In Weyrauch's opinion, the act of consecration of man to the Christian Community is [the] only service in the 20th century that he could accept.
caption: Heilandskirche in Leipzig-Plagwitz
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