Fidula publishing house – a short portrayal

Easy but sophisticated

Singing, dancing, making music – this is what FIDULA was founded for.

The publishing house is a family business, lead by the managing director Georg Holzmeister. It is located in the beautiful small town of Boppard, Germany, which lies in the center of the World Heritage Site “Mittelrhein” (middle Rhine), not far from the famous “Loreley” which is highly celebrated in song and verse (*at the bottom you find the first two stanzas of the poem written by Heinrich Heine after an ancient legend).

The programme of Fidula focuses mainly on books and CDs with children’s songs, musicals for schools, dances for people of all ages, choral scores, scores for making music in the classroom and books on music education.

FIDULA is the latin word for fiddle, which is related to the violin and can be built and played easily. So it is clear that the choice of this name referred – and still refers – to a specific idea.
Johannes Holzmeister, the father of the publisher now in charge, founded the publishing house in 1948, right after World War 2. At that time people in Germany were hungry not only physically but also spiritually and mentally for new songs. And such songs – often with a good sense of humour – appeared at the publishing house right at the time when it was founded. The songs were about joy of life and understanding between (in those days: the European) nations. In 1961 FIDULA also started to produce records. Mostly they consisted of dances for adults, adolescents and children. Since 1989 CDs are being published which contain most of the music of the former records and, of course, also a lot of new music. In 2007 appeared the first Fidula-DVD (“JUBA – The World of Bodypercussion”).

Thanks to the internet it is possible for everybody to get information on our books and CDs at www.fidula.eu.

A regular part of the year are the annual Fidula-courses, which exist since 1951. They offer a possibility for teachers of all kinds to gain experience in a cheerful and serene atmosphere. In courses and lectures, as well as in sociable choral and dancing activities, expert speakers, musicians and dancing masters provide the participants with practical ideas lasting much longer than the one-week-duration of the event.

*
1. I cannot determine the meaning
Of sorrow that fills my breast:
A fable of old, through it streaming,
Allows my mind no rest.
The air is cool in the gloaming
And gently flows the Rhine.
The crest of the mountain is gleaming
In fading rays of sunshine.

2. The loveliest maiden is sitting
Up there, so wondrously fair;
Her golden jewelry is glist'ning;
She combs her golden hair.
She combs with a gilded comb, preening,
And sings a song, passing time.
It has a most wondrous, appealing
And pow'rful melodic rhyme.