About Erna Woll
Lived 1917 – 2005 (aged 88). Erna Woll was a German composer and music educator.
Erna Woll (23 March 1917 – 7 April 2005) was a German composer, church musician and author.
Life Erna Woll was born in St. Ingbert in the Saar. She studied music from 1936 to 1938 at the Evangelisches Kirchenmusikalisches Institut Heidelberg with Wolfgang Fortner and studied composition from 1940 to 1944 with Joseph Haas and Gustav Geierhaas at the Munich Academy of Music. During this time she converted to Catholicism, and from 1946 to 1948 she studied Catholic church music at the Cologne Music Academy with Heinrich Lemacher, Theodor Bernhard Rehmann and Hermann Schroeder.
From 1950 to 1962, Woll worked as an organist in Cologne Bayenthal and a music teacher and choral director at the Church Music Institute in Speyer. From 1962 to 1969 she was a lecturer, and from 1969 to 1972 she was Honorary Professor at the College of Education at Augsburg. In 1972 she retired from working due to a serious illness, but after recovering she continued to compose. Woll died 7 April 2005 in Augsburg.
Erna Woll was a member of professional organizations including the Werkgemeinschaft Musik, the Ecumenical Lyricists and Composers working group, and the AG Musik in der Evangelischen Jugend.
Honors 1963 and 1967: Valentin-Becker-Prize of the City Brückenau 1972: first prize of the contest "New hymn Kiel" 1976: Awards of the German Federal Government and the singer generally Swabian Sängerbund 1993: papal honor Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for services to the Catholic Church Music 1997: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Works Erna Woll composed over 200 works including solo songs, choruses, motets, cantatas and choral pieces. She was especially interested in the music genre of New Sacred Song (Neues Geistliches Lied). Selected works include:
Love songs for medium voice and piano, Schott (1944/55) Sweet lyre. Triptych for mixed chorus and tenor solo, Schott (1960/65) Choralis Missa for mixed or equal voices, congregation and organ. Schwann (1958/60) We believe. Ordinary for mixed or equal voices, congregation and organ, Fidula (1965) Spiritus domini. Proprium to Pentecost Sunday for choir and orchestra (1963) Seven lives I should like to have. Cycle for solo voice, mixed choir and instruments, Helbling (1966) Requiem for the living. for mixed choir and instruments on texts by *Marie Luise Kaschnitz Others Möseler (1975) Four motets. based on texts by Gertrude von le Fort (1975–76), South German music publisher Search - Hearing - praise. Orgeltriptychon, Strube, 1985 Augsburg Organ Issue. Strube, 1987 Sola gratia. Strube, 1988 Invocations. Strube, 1988 Christmas Gospel according to Luke. Strube, 1988 Children ask for Maria. Strube, 1988 Through the pain barrier V. 1989 Women around Jesus. Strube, 1990 Songs to God, othodoxen service for equal voices, 1990 dedicated to the Segiuschor Weingarten How to sing and say. Strube, 1991 The well-beloved, the Niegeliebten. Strube, 1991 Mirjam born. Five Meditations for Organ, Pro Organo, 1991 Now the dark night is over. Strube, 1991 ... and Mary. Strube, 1992 Sound tracks on the organ. Boehm, 1992 Meditate on flute and organ. Boehm, 1992 Transient response. Mosaic for organ, Schott 1993 Where are you, God. Strube, 1995 Magic wishes. Furore, 1995 The 80th Psalm. Strube, 1995 Ave Maria tender. Strube, 1997 It is the Lord of glory. Strube, 1997 From sky high. Möseler 2002
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Erna Woll's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Erna Woll's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Erna Woll?
composer (1917–2005)
When was Erna Woll born?
Erna Woll was born on 23 March 1917 in Sankt Ingbert.
When did Erna Woll die?
Erna Woll died on 7 April 2005 in Augsburg.
What was Erna Woll's occupation?
Erna Woll was a composer and music educator.
What nationality was Erna Woll?
Erna Woll was German.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Erna Woll. https://biography.guide/erna-woll/
MLA: "Erna Woll." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/erna-woll/.
Chicago: "Erna Woll." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/erna-woll/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:04 UTC