German St. Matthew Passion before the collapse of Marburg sounded during [!] air-raid warning on March 11, 1945; with it, I bid farewell to the office I had become fond of" (from the curriculum vitae 1945). Stephani's lasting significance lies above all in his treatment of Georg Friedrich Händel's oratorios. In doing so, he tried to change their Jewish Old Testament character without any outside pressure. For Judas Maccabeus, first edited in 1904 under the title "Judas Makkabäus. Oratorio in three acts by G. F. Handel" (published Leipzig: Kistner & Siegel; 150 performances until 1933, including in the United States); edited a second time in 1939 under the title "Der Feldherr. Freiheits-Oratorio by G. F. Händel" (published Leipzig: Kistner & Siegel). Also for Jephthah, first edited in 1911 under the title "Jephta. Oratorio v. G. F. Händel" (published: Leipzig: Leuckart; until 1941 a total of 150 performances); edited a second time in 1941 under the title "Das Opfer. Oratorio by G. F. Händel" (published Leipzig: Leuckart). Publications Das Erhabene insonderheit in der Tonkunst und das Problem der Form im Musikalisch-Schönen und Erhabenen, Privatdruck 1903. Händels Judas Makkabäus. In Die Musik 8 (1908), S. 2–7. Der Charakter der Tonarten, Regensburg: Gustav Bosse Verlag 1923. Grundfragen des Musikhörens, Leipzig 1926 Zur Psychologie des musikalischen Hörens. Gustav Bosse, 1956 Further reading Sabine Henze-Döhring: "Er lebte nur seiner Musik …" – Hermann Stephani als Gründer des Marburger Musikwissenschaftlichen Seminars und Collegium musicum; in Germanistik und Kunstwissenschaften im "Dritten Reich". Marburger Entwicklungen 1920-1950, edited by Kai Köhler, Burghard Dedner and Waltraud Strickhausen. Munich: K. G. Saur Verlag 2005 (Academia Marburgensis, vol. 10), . References External links German musicologists Academic staff of the University of Marburg Förderndes Mitglied der SS Nazi Party members 20th-century classical composers 1877 births 1960 deaths People from Grimma