Mani Matter

Hans Peter, " Mani " Matter ( * August 4, 1936 in Herzogenbuchsee, † November 24, 1972 at Kilchberg ZH; homeland justified in Basel and Kölliken ) was a Swiss dialect - songwriter and lawyer.

Life

Mani Matter was born on August 4, 1936 at the Hospital of Herzogenbuchsee. His father Erwin Matter was an advocate, his mother, Wilhelmina, Dutch- Matter- de Haan ( † 1953), Secretary, his paternal grandfather upper operating head of SBB. Mani had a two year older sister, Helen.

From his mother, Hans Peter Jan was called ( Dutch for Hans). From jan was his sister Helen Nani in the mouth. Mani was slightly changed then to his scouts name. Within the family was exclusively spoken French.

His childhood and youth were spent in Bern. He attended primary school Enge ( 1943-47 ), the Progymnasium the capitol city, ( 1947-51 ) and the Church School field, where in 1955 he was the Matura examination. In his high school years he wrote his first song, Dr Rägewurm, to the tune of Ballade des dames du temps jadis by Georges Brassens.

Since he had suffered two convulsive disorders after the death of his mother, he was declared unfit for service and was able to directly to the University of Bern. He first studied one semester German, but later switched to law. In 1963 he acquired - including after an internship at the District Court Interlaken - Bernese advocate the patent.

In 1963 he became an assistant at the State Law Professor Richard Bäumlin, 1965, he obtained his PhD under Hans Huber with the top grade "summa cum laude". 1967/68 he spent with his family - his wife Joy and their three children ( Ueli, Sibyl and Meret Matter ) - one year at the University of Cambridge and worked on his habilitation thesis, which he completed up to the footnotes, but never submitted. In 1969 he joined the newly created position of Legal Counsel of the City of Bern; from 1970 he was next of the University of Bern - meanwhile as senior assistant - a lecturer of Constitutional and Administrative Law.

Matter was heard in his bern German chansons first time in 1960 on the radio. Public performances he gave in 1967, initially always together with the Berner Troubadours. His first solo program, he started only - urged by Emil Steinberger - in the fall of 1971 with an appearance in the small theater, Lucerne. In 1965, the first three lyrics were published by him in the anthology ballad Lumpeliedli, chansons à la Bernoise the Bernese Benteli -Verlag. In 1966 his first record with studio recordings; his fifth and last he himself has still compiled from live recordings. We know some of his songs only from later recordings of his friends Jacob Stickelberger and Fritz Widmer, published them under the title Dr Columbus, as well as the 1972 third composed for the planned new program Kriminalgschicht.

On Friday evening, November 24, 1972, he collided on the way to a concert in Rapperswil on the highway with a truck and died on the spot. He was 36 years old. His grave is located in the Bernese Bremgarten cemetery. His legacy is preserved in the Swiss Literary Archives in Bern.

Songs

Mani Matter himself wrote the lyrics of his songs, the melodies composed and performed the songs, inspired by the French singer-songwriter and auteurs - Compositeurs - interprètes such as Georges Brassens. The melodies are kept folk-song, in his later songs, the emphasis shifted to minor keys.

His lyrics often go out of everyday situations that are philosophically questioned or pulled into the absurd. Starting from the question What ish it Sändwitsch ohni meat? S isch nüt bread as he comes in, " Betrachtige about nes Sändwitsch " to speak to the dialectic of the sandwich. In the song, Bim Coiffeur bini gsässe the narrator grabs when looking in the mirror, showing another mirror, a " metaphysical shudder ." I it han Zündhölzli azündt describes starting from the ignition of a match, which accidentally falls on the carpet, the possible destruction of the world, which is withdrawn in the last verse. Absurd stories can be found for example in Nüünitram or in Us Emene lääre Gygechaschte ( " From an empty violin case ").

Aftereffect

Matters songs belong to today to popular songs in German-speaking Switzerland. Numerous Swiss musicians have been inspired by him and gecovert his songs, such as Stephan Eicher, Polo Hofer, Dodo Hug or Zürich West. A collection of cover versions of various artists was released in 1992 on the album Matter skirt. Ueli Schmezers Cover Band " Live Matter " exclusively deals with the reinterpretation of Matters songs. Stephan Eicher made ​​the song Hemmige so well known that sing at his concerts even French-speaking audience the bern German text by heart. Dr Sidi Abdel Assar vo El Hama, an oriental ballad in the form of limericks, 1994 edited by Oskar Weiss as a picture book and 2011 re-interpreted by Guillermo Sorya video.

Reinhard Prenn and Gerhard Ruiss transferred in the 1990s some of Matter songs from Viennese and they released two CDs: Goering (1994) and Öha (1997).

2002 Friedrich Kappeler portrayed in his documentary Mani Matter - Why you syt so truurig? the life of Mani Matter and drew upon the influence of his chansons.

Works

• The legitimacy of the community to constitutional complaint. Diss iur. Stämpfli, Bern 1965
• Us Emene lääre Gygechaschte. Bern German chansons. Candelabra, Bern, 1969; Clock Tower, Oberhofen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7296-0828-3
• Why you syt so truurig? Bern German chansons. Edited by Joy Matter. Benziger, Zurich 1973; Clock Tower, Oberhofen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7296-0826-9
• Mani Matter Sudelhefte. Benziger, Zurich 1973
• Rumpel book. Edited by Joy Matter et al., With a " buddy word " by Peter Lehner. Benziger, Zurich 1976
• Histoire du Soldat - The Soldier's Tale. Ins German transferred from Mani Matter. Edition Lesabéndio, Bern, 1991; Clock Tower, Oberhofen 2012, ISBN 978-3-7296-0844-3
• Sudelhefte - Rumpel book ( in a band ). Ex Libris, Zurich, 1978; Clock Tower, Oberhofen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7296-0829-0
• Einisch after emne large Gwitter. Bern German chansons. Edited by Joy Matter. Benziger, Zurich, 1992; Clock Tower, Oberhofen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7296-0827-6
• Dr Sidi Abdel Assar vo El Hama. Images ( of Oskar Weiss ), text and score. Clock Tower, Gümligen 1995, ISBN 3-7296-0497- X
• The Cambridge notebook. Diary 1968. With an essay by Urs Frauchiger. Clock Tower, Oberhofen 2011, ISBN 978-3-7296-0830-6
• The pluralist theory of the state or the consensus of disagreement (1967 /68). Edited by Benjamin Schindler. Clock Tower, Oberhofen 2012, ISBN 978-3-7296-0852-8

Records

• I erfunde han s clock. Bernese songs by and with Mani Matter (EP), Clock Tower ( cyt 1 ), Bern 1966
• Universe where I chunnt id finger ( EP), Clock Tower ( cyt 4 ), Bern 1967
• Hemmige (EP), Clock Tower ( cyt 12), Bern 1970
• Betrachtige about nes Sändwitsch (EP), Clock Tower ( cyt 20 ), Bern 1972
• Ir Ysebahn (LP), live from the Théâtre armchair in Basel, Clock Tower ( cyt 21), Bern 1973, with the songs on Bernhard Matter and Karl Tellenbach
• I it han Zündhölzli azündt (double LP with the chansons of the first four plates), Clock Tower ( cyt 24), Bern 1973
• Mani Matter and The Beginnings of the Bernese chansons. Radio broadcast of 27 February 1970 ( CD), Clock Tower ( cyt 4324 ), Oberhofen 2011