Musical director:
Bandmaster Hubert Bratl
In 1950, thanks to Johann Dornhofer, a music band was formed at Rabenwald. Thanks to the support of the miners’ association and the Rabenwald talcum mining company, it was possible in the same year to equip the Musikverein with the mountain coat again. For the first time, the now traditional Barbara celebration was held together with the Rabenwald miners’ association.
In 1961, the miners’ band, which had previously been integrated into the miners’ association, was founded as an independent association under the name “Bergkapelle Rabenwald”.
The 90s were difficult times for the band. The Musikverein shrank to 30 members, so that the idea of continuing the Musikverein as an Egerländer ensemble was already being considered. The reason for this was that on March 17, 1989, the final conversion from underground mining to surface mining took place at Rabenwald and more and more machines were used, causing many miners to be laid off and migrate.
In 1999, there was finally a renewed upswing under chairman Gerhard Derler, who succeeded in integrating young musicians into the Bergkapelle through his dedicated work in the area of recorder lessons and through increased cooperation with the Anger music school.
Hubert Bratl, former music teacher at the Weiz music school and honorary district bandmaster of the Birkfeld music district, has been bandmaster of the Bergkapelle Rabenwald since 2002.
Today, the Bergkapelle Rabenwald comprises 65 musicians. The greatest successes in recent years include participation in concert ratings, the awarding of 8 Styrian Panthers to date and the awarding of a total of 3 Robert Stolz medals (2009, 2012, 2018).
Church music has a fixed place in the calendar of the Bergkapelle Rabenwald. Processions in particular are an integral part of church life in the region. These include the Palm Sunday, Corpus Christi and St. Bartholomew’s Day processions, which have been framed since 1952.
The traditional St. Barbara’s Mass is held every year as part of the St. Barbara’s celebration in the parish church of Anger. The Rabenwald mountain band gathers together with the Rabenwald miners’ association, workers and employees of the company. Imerys Talc Austria and numerous guests of honor usually at the end of November / beginning of December.
The first Barbara celebration was held in 1951 together with the miners’ association in the Grünbründl Chapel and thus has a long tradition.