Page 199 - 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. 199
music societies in ireland during the nineteenth century
chestral Union” in Dublin had 60 members while the “Dublin Instrumen-
tal Club” listed 30 members in 1896.8 The “University of Dublin Choral So-
ciety” initially limited the number of performing members to 18 yet later
expanded it to 30; perhaps in order to perform larger pieces without ex-
ceeding the maximum number of performing members this society at least
temporarily diversified membership categories to “performing members”,
“performing associates, first class”, “performing associates, second class”,
and “non-performing members” (associates had no voting rights regarding
matters of the society).9
Newspapers and journals reporting on public events hosted by music
societies always used a significant amount of ink describing the social as-
pects of the concerts, and often much less talking about the quality of the
music (regularly not even mentioning which pieces were performed); Rod-
mell is certainly right when stating that “the social function of Dublin con
certs could be as great as the musical.”10 It was extremely important for a
society’s reputation to have aristocrats or other high-ranking persons as
President, Vice-President and Patrons. However, over the course of the cen-
tury societies open to the middle and lower classes gradually emerged. The
“Dublin Sacred Harmonic Society” (1841–1847) was perhaps the most pro-
gressive of these; based in the Presbyterian Scots’ Church it was open to
members from different classes and religions and also accepted women as
members (Dublin’s “Anacreontic Society” also accepted Catholics, yet no
“female soprani” as they were often called).11 Elsewhere most societies re-
cruited boys from the cathedral choirs to sing the soprano and alto parts of
the choruses while only female solo parts were sung by women. In 1856 the
“Hibernian Catch Club” (founded ca. 1680 – Europe’s oldest music socie-
ty still in existence today) allowed women to join their meetings, although
they had to remain hidden behind a screen – yet this “experiment” was
quickly abandoned.12 All of this resulted in a social hierarchy of music so-
cieties, which Catherine Ferris describes as follows with regard to Dublin.
8 Ita Beausang, “Dublin Musical Societies 1850–1900,” Irish Musical Studies 5, no. 2,
eds. Patrick Devine and Harry White (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1995), 175.
9 Gerald Fitz Gibbon, “‘College Choral’, 1837–1987,” Hermathena, no. 144 (Summer
1988): 39, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23042010.
10 Rodmell, “The Society of Antient Music,” 214.
11 Catherine Ferris, “The Use of Newspapers as a Source for Musicological Research: A
Case Study of Dublin Musical Life 1840–44” (PhD diss., Maynooth University, 2011),
179–182.
12 Ibid., 89.
197
chestral Union” in Dublin had 60 members while the “Dublin Instrumen-
tal Club” listed 30 members in 1896.8 The “University of Dublin Choral So-
ciety” initially limited the number of performing members to 18 yet later
expanded it to 30; perhaps in order to perform larger pieces without ex-
ceeding the maximum number of performing members this society at least
temporarily diversified membership categories to “performing members”,
“performing associates, first class”, “performing associates, second class”,
and “non-performing members” (associates had no voting rights regarding
matters of the society).9
Newspapers and journals reporting on public events hosted by music
societies always used a significant amount of ink describing the social as-
pects of the concerts, and often much less talking about the quality of the
music (regularly not even mentioning which pieces were performed); Rod-
mell is certainly right when stating that “the social function of Dublin con
certs could be as great as the musical.”10 It was extremely important for a
society’s reputation to have aristocrats or other high-ranking persons as
President, Vice-President and Patrons. However, over the course of the cen-
tury societies open to the middle and lower classes gradually emerged. The
“Dublin Sacred Harmonic Society” (1841–1847) was perhaps the most pro-
gressive of these; based in the Presbyterian Scots’ Church it was open to
members from different classes and religions and also accepted women as
members (Dublin’s “Anacreontic Society” also accepted Catholics, yet no
“female soprani” as they were often called).11 Elsewhere most societies re-
cruited boys from the cathedral choirs to sing the soprano and alto parts of
the choruses while only female solo parts were sung by women. In 1856 the
“Hibernian Catch Club” (founded ca. 1680 – Europe’s oldest music socie-
ty still in existence today) allowed women to join their meetings, although
they had to remain hidden behind a screen – yet this “experiment” was
quickly abandoned.12 All of this resulted in a social hierarchy of music so-
cieties, which Catherine Ferris describes as follows with regard to Dublin.
8 Ita Beausang, “Dublin Musical Societies 1850–1900,” Irish Musical Studies 5, no. 2,
eds. Patrick Devine and Harry White (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1995), 175.
9 Gerald Fitz Gibbon, “‘College Choral’, 1837–1987,” Hermathena, no. 144 (Summer
1988): 39, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23042010.
10 Rodmell, “The Society of Antient Music,” 214.
11 Catherine Ferris, “The Use of Newspapers as a Source for Musicological Research: A
Case Study of Dublin Musical Life 1840–44” (PhD diss., Maynooth University, 2011),
179–182.
12 Ibid., 89.
197
