Page 157 - 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
P. 157
visits of vienna choral societies to sarajevo – an occasion for redefining ...
Reporting of Sarajevski list confirmed the initial writings in Deutsche
Kunst-und Musikzeitung about the visit to Mostar, with the remark that the
reception of the singers was friendly and accompanied with an immense
interest of local administration. The success of the concert in Sarajevo was
repeated in Mostar, in the hall of the Hotel “Neretva,” and the audience re-
warded the “masterly singing” with the enthusiastic applause.44
The first foreign visit of a choral society to Sarajevo had positive out-
comes for the musical life of local community. The visit sent the message
that Austro-Hungarian administration supported the idea of association
and public activity, but that they had to be in line with public sentiment and
the socio-political views of the Empire. The novelty adopted after the visit
of the Vienna society pertained to the organization and networking of so-
cieties of a similar orientation and the “pattern” of organization applied in
1892 would begin to be practiced at a local level when organizing joint cel-
ebrations or marking significant jubilees (consecration of flag, celebrations
in the honor of Tzar Franz Joseph and others).45
Although the visit of 1892 represented a distinctive penetration of new
information in the contexts of choral societies’ musical practice, musical
life did not host any foreign choral society for many years. For this reason,
the local choral community, which in the meantime, besides “Männerge-
sangverein” and the Serbian Orthodox church singing society “Sloga,” was
expanded by the Croatian singing society “Trebević” (1894) and the Jew-
ish singing society “La Lira” (1901), acted as isolated and turned to itself.
Therefore the organization of work almost fell into a rut and relied upon a
pattern of activity which implied singing evening (summer, winter, Lied-
ertafel, Carnival and New Year’s), inaugural ceremonies and charity con-
certs in the cooperation with other local choral, support and cultural-edu-
cational societies.46
Nevertheless, the evolution of the Sarajevo choral community was mo-
notonous and reduced to the activity of few societies, and as such it could
be “woken up” only by a continuous connection with societies from the
outside. In this context, the significance was attached to the visit by Vien-
na-based “Schubertbund,” which took place in the period from 16 to 19 July
44 Anon., “Bečki pjevači,” Sarajevski list, no. 74 (19 June 1892): 2.
45 An example is a celebration on the occasion of consecrating the flag of the Croatian
choral society “Trebević” in 1900, which was attended by all the significant socie-
ties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Paćuka, “Muzički život u Sarajevu u periodu Aus-
tro-Ugarske uprave (1878–1918),” 119.
46 Ibid., 105–29.
155
Reporting of Sarajevski list confirmed the initial writings in Deutsche
Kunst-und Musikzeitung about the visit to Mostar, with the remark that the
reception of the singers was friendly and accompanied with an immense
interest of local administration. The success of the concert in Sarajevo was
repeated in Mostar, in the hall of the Hotel “Neretva,” and the audience re-
warded the “masterly singing” with the enthusiastic applause.44
The first foreign visit of a choral society to Sarajevo had positive out-
comes for the musical life of local community. The visit sent the message
that Austro-Hungarian administration supported the idea of association
and public activity, but that they had to be in line with public sentiment and
the socio-political views of the Empire. The novelty adopted after the visit
of the Vienna society pertained to the organization and networking of so-
cieties of a similar orientation and the “pattern” of organization applied in
1892 would begin to be practiced at a local level when organizing joint cel-
ebrations or marking significant jubilees (consecration of flag, celebrations
in the honor of Tzar Franz Joseph and others).45
Although the visit of 1892 represented a distinctive penetration of new
information in the contexts of choral societies’ musical practice, musical
life did not host any foreign choral society for many years. For this reason,
the local choral community, which in the meantime, besides “Männerge-
sangverein” and the Serbian Orthodox church singing society “Sloga,” was
expanded by the Croatian singing society “Trebević” (1894) and the Jew-
ish singing society “La Lira” (1901), acted as isolated and turned to itself.
Therefore the organization of work almost fell into a rut and relied upon a
pattern of activity which implied singing evening (summer, winter, Lied-
ertafel, Carnival and New Year’s), inaugural ceremonies and charity con-
certs in the cooperation with other local choral, support and cultural-edu-
cational societies.46
Nevertheless, the evolution of the Sarajevo choral community was mo-
notonous and reduced to the activity of few societies, and as such it could
be “woken up” only by a continuous connection with societies from the
outside. In this context, the significance was attached to the visit by Vien-
na-based “Schubertbund,” which took place in the period from 16 to 19 July
44 Anon., “Bečki pjevači,” Sarajevski list, no. 74 (19 June 1892): 2.
45 An example is a celebration on the occasion of consecrating the flag of the Croatian
choral society “Trebević” in 1900, which was attended by all the significant socie-
ties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Paćuka, “Muzički život u Sarajevu u periodu Aus-
tro-Ugarske uprave (1878–1918),” 119.
46 Ibid., 105–29.
155
