Die Silwer Harmoniste - Pikanienie Wiegelied (Pickaninny Nursery Rhyme, 1952)
3,617 views · Published 18 December 2011 · 2:41 · Indexed 20 October 2026
Channel: Jan Tak · 2011 · Music
Sometimes one gets lucky twice. First I considered myself fortunate to have rediscovered this tune from my childhood days on YouTube (See http://youtu.be/eMNbepNOP0w). It brought back so many memories because my dad just loved it. In fact he used to sing it to us. kr103 (http://www.youtube.com/user/kr103/videos) has done a remarkable job in dating the song, but he had been unable to obtain more information. Unfortunately both my parents have passed away, and the web was not of much use - so how does one go about finding out more? Eventually out of sheer desperation I started emailing all Silbernagls who seemed to be from South Africa. That is when I got lucky for the second time. My very first email brought a positive response - and from none other than Dr. Silbernagl's oldest son, Peter. The following information and the photos in the video are from him: -------------------------- Yes, I am indeed the oldest son of Dr Silbernagl. The Silwer Harmoniste were led by my father Dr Matthias Silbernagl. He was born near München, Bavaria, Germany in 1914. In 1939 he came to South West Africa, now Namibia, to continue some post doctoral research in breeding of karakul sheep. Soon after he was arrested by the South African authorities and interned near Christiana, South Africa. During the 6 years in the camp he founded the local orchestra. After the war he continued to pursue his first love, music, and founded also, amongst other, the Silwer Harmoniste. The four male voices were Gert Potgieter, Albert Kuhfeldt, Willi Hornisch and Gé Korsten. Albert Kuhfeldt was also interned in the same camp as my father and Will Hörnisch was interned in a separate camp. Gert Potgieter became a well known opera singer, in South Africa and in Europe. Gé Korsten turned to more popular music and did very well from it financially. In the photo: My father, Dr Silbernagl, seated at the piano and behind him Albert Kuhfeldt (bass), then Willi Hörnisch (bass-baritone), Gé Korsten (baritone-tenor) and Gert Potgieter (tenor). The smaller photo is a photo of a photo on a wall taken in 1999 by my mother when she visited my father's family in Germany! Note the date in the photo. The recoding date is probably around 1952. Dr Silbernagl passed away in 1976, but his spouse, my mother, and two of his sisters, both in Germany, are still alive. I hope this provides a richer understanding of the Silwer Harmoniste. Best wishes, Peter More about Gé Korsten: http://saoperasingers.homestead.com/Ge_Korsten_Bio.html More about Gert Potgieter: http://saoperasingers.homestead.com/Gert_Potgieter_Bio.html
