Page 151 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2023. Glasbena društva v dolgem 19. stoletju: med ljubiteljsko in profesionalno kulturo ▪︎ Music societies in the long 19th century: Between amateur and professional culture. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 6
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visits of vienna choral societies to sarajevo – an occasion for redefining ...
a half months, and on 18 February 1887 the approval for the beginning of
the operation of the society arrived.18
The first printed statute of the society appeared in public in the early
1887,19 while the assembly of the society, where the management board was
appointed, took place on 14 April 1887.20 Members of “Männergesangvere-
in” did not delay the organization of the first inauguration festivity, which
took place about ten days after the first assembly. The festivity, which was
organized on 23 April 1887, was a significant social event, while the pro-
gram was composed of seven choral compositions by Vaclav Horejšek, Ivan
pl. Zajc and Ferdo Rusan. They were performed by a men’s chorus consist-
ed of 30 singers, and the program was supplemented by the Concerto for vi-
olin by Charles August de Bériot, performed by a violinist and court clerk
Sandecki from Zenica.21
From its very beginnings, “Männergesanverein” had a well-elaborat-
ed system of interior organization, which distinguished it from other soci-
eties of the time. Every year, the number of the members of the society in-
creased, so that from the initial 30, who also acted as founders, assistants
and singers, in 1906 the number of members reached as many as 544, 116
out of whom were members of the singing ensemble.22 These were certain-
ly the golden years of “Männergesangverein,” when it was led by the chair-
man Karlo knight Stefanowski and choirmasters Josip Vancaš and Eduard
Heeger. The success did not subside until the beginning of the First World
War, when the society, due to unfortunate war events, worked with a de-
creased intensity and a smaller number of members. It should be noted that
this society was one of the first societies in Bosnia and Herzegovina which
accepted women, which was certainly not a frequent practice of the time.
In 1896, the society also founded a women’s chorus, whose appearances and
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 The board of “Männergesangverein” consisted of: Constantin Hörmann – chair-
mank, Klaudius Hascha – secretary, Josip pl. Vancaš – 1st choir master, Titus Falta –
2nd choir master, Alf. Ritter von Hruby – treasurer and Karl Racher – archivist. Risto
Besarović, ed., Kultura i umjetnost u Bosni i Hercegovini pod Austrougarskom upra
vom (Sarajevo: Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine 1968), 577.
21 Anon., “Muško pjevačko društvo (Mali vjesnik),” Sarajevski list, no. 47 (27 April
1887): 2–3; Lana Paćuka, “Muzički život u Sarajevu za vrijeme Austro-Ugarske up-
rave kroz napise o muzici u Sarajevskom listu” (MA, University of Sarajevo, 2010),
36.
22 Anon., “B. Landeshauptstadt Sarajevo – Vereine in Sarajevo,” Bosnischer Bote X
(1906): 318.
149
a half months, and on 18 February 1887 the approval for the beginning of
the operation of the society arrived.18
The first printed statute of the society appeared in public in the early
1887,19 while the assembly of the society, where the management board was
appointed, took place on 14 April 1887.20 Members of “Männergesangvere-
in” did not delay the organization of the first inauguration festivity, which
took place about ten days after the first assembly. The festivity, which was
organized on 23 April 1887, was a significant social event, while the pro-
gram was composed of seven choral compositions by Vaclav Horejšek, Ivan
pl. Zajc and Ferdo Rusan. They were performed by a men’s chorus consist-
ed of 30 singers, and the program was supplemented by the Concerto for vi-
olin by Charles August de Bériot, performed by a violinist and court clerk
Sandecki from Zenica.21
From its very beginnings, “Männergesanverein” had a well-elaborat-
ed system of interior organization, which distinguished it from other soci-
eties of the time. Every year, the number of the members of the society in-
creased, so that from the initial 30, who also acted as founders, assistants
and singers, in 1906 the number of members reached as many as 544, 116
out of whom were members of the singing ensemble.22 These were certain-
ly the golden years of “Männergesangverein,” when it was led by the chair-
man Karlo knight Stefanowski and choirmasters Josip Vancaš and Eduard
Heeger. The success did not subside until the beginning of the First World
War, when the society, due to unfortunate war events, worked with a de-
creased intensity and a smaller number of members. It should be noted that
this society was one of the first societies in Bosnia and Herzegovina which
accepted women, which was certainly not a frequent practice of the time.
In 1896, the society also founded a women’s chorus, whose appearances and
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 The board of “Männergesangverein” consisted of: Constantin Hörmann – chair-
mank, Klaudius Hascha – secretary, Josip pl. Vancaš – 1st choir master, Titus Falta –
2nd choir master, Alf. Ritter von Hruby – treasurer and Karl Racher – archivist. Risto
Besarović, ed., Kultura i umjetnost u Bosni i Hercegovini pod Austrougarskom upra
vom (Sarajevo: Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine 1968), 577.
21 Anon., “Muško pjevačko društvo (Mali vjesnik),” Sarajevski list, no. 47 (27 April
1887): 2–3; Lana Paćuka, “Muzički život u Sarajevu za vrijeme Austro-Ugarske up-
rave kroz napise o muzici u Sarajevskom listu” (MA, University of Sarajevo, 2010),
36.
22 Anon., “B. Landeshauptstadt Sarajevo – Vereine in Sarajevo,” Bosnischer Bote X
(1906): 318.
149
