Nationale Musik — Musik im Dienst am Volk. Zu einer Variante sozialistisch-realistischer Musik der frühen DDR: Der Fall Kurt Schwaen
‘Middle music’ and the ‘middle music theory’ of the German Democratic Republic have received little interest, although their products survive until today. Kurt Schwaen is known for his compositions for folk instruments and for his famous children’s songs such as “Wenn Mutti früh zur Arbeit geht” [When mom goes to work early in the morning]. Schwaen was an author of music for the folk, namely for amateur singers, mostly children, or lay instrumentalists, who played in mandolin or accordion orchestras. Schwaen’s compositions may be considered as a variant of socialistic realism in music. They form a modern folk music by both respecting neomodal writing, derived from the 1920s, as well as by including international folk material and promising an authentic and unsuspicious tune which German folk music lacked since the Third Reich.