d 'Hammerbachtaler blouses

Freudenberg is located approx. 12 km east of Amberg, at the foot of the Johannisberg.
Together with the directly adjacent Wutschdorf, the place currently has around 1,100 inhabitants.
The majority of our musicians come from the large community of Freudenberg, which has 4,200 inhabitants.
"Hammerbach", which flows through Freudenberg, was the inspiration behind the name.
The formation of the brass band goes back to 1956. At that time, the main teachers Karl Männer and Franz Luber sen. the idea of founding a band. Fortunately, a Bohemian wind musician by the name of Mladek was able to be found as an instructor.
For two years, the then 15 musicians limited themselves to rehearsing the mostly handwritten sheet music.

In 1958 the time had come. Some local festivities such as the flag consecration of the voluntary fire brigade, carnival balls and church festivals were accompanied by music.
The Jakobifest, which still takes place every year today on the occasion of the patronage of St. Jacobus, which is always celebrated on the penultimate weekend in July, was brought into being around 40 years ago by the Hammerbachtaler.
In the early days, the Hammerbachtaler were mainly supported by older military musicians from Amberg.
Fortunately, this musical connection between Freudenberg and Amberg has never been broken.
Even today, some of the Hammerbachtaler and Hammerbachtaler Blous`n come from Amberg and the surrounding area.
At the beginning of the 1970s, Sepp Luber from Trisching not only took over the musical direction, but also trained the next generation of Hammerbachtal talents. Many young people learned an instrument at this time and played in their own youth formation.
In order to be able to continue what had been musically built up in Freudenberg up to then, the Freudenberg Music Association was finally founded in 1976.
The musical direction of the youth wind orchestra was taken over by Franz Luber jun. from Wutschdorf, who was also the head of the Hammerbachtaler at this time.
With the establishment of the music association, the training of young musicians became more diverse and qualified. After a period of about four years, some of them were integrated into the Hammerbachtaler in order to secure the preservation of this chapel next to the brass orchestra of the Musikverein. This personnel reinforcement by the Freudenberg Music Association was vital for the continued existence of the Hammerbachtaler.
With the addition of young musicians, the band's repertoire also changed significantly. The pure traditional brass music that had been performed up until then was gradually joined by more and more modern pieces.

Several generations made music together over a period of around 25 years. That worked because there was something for everyone due to the versatility of the music on offer.
During this time, the range of the program ranged from double over polka, waltzes and marches to current hit titles.
It was also crucial for the good harmony within the band that each individual made music out of personal conviction and enjoyment of the brass music, not out of financial interest.
The generation change also took place smoothly in the management of the chapel.
In 1995, Josef Zweck, who also came from Freudenberg and the Musikverein, took over the musical direction from Franz Luber Jr., who continued to play the trumpet.
The quality of the music, which was only performed live, was known far beyond our district boundaries.

In October 2010 the Hammerbachtal musicians disbanded. Due to various personnel restructuring, it did not make sense to continue following the previous line.
Two musicians - Franz Luber jun. and Martin Schmid (both from Freudenberg) have experienced all the ups and downs from the beginning, were indispensable pillars of this chapel until 2010 and can look back on 54 years of active membership in the Hammerbachtal people.