Page 422 - 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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glasbena društva v dolgem 19. stoletju: med ljubiteljsko in profesionalno kulturo
One of the most visible creative achievements of Khom in Ljubljana
was his participation in the performance of The Brave Women of Bled (Die
muthigen Weiber von Veldes), in the Slovenian translation as Junaške Ble
jke or Serčne Blejke. The work is set in Bled, at the immediate end of the
French Illyrian provinces, and its theme alludes to a popular patriotic motif
of persecution of the French occupiers from the Austrian lands. Germonik
based his text for the play Die Weiber von Veldes on a story from the time
of the French occupation of Bled in 1813. In the minds of the average Slo-
venian, the occupation rule of the French has been preserved as harsh and
unfriendly. The vivid memory of many unpleasant events contributed to
this, and this image was partly fueled by the Habsburg government, which
strengthened civic consciousness under the Austrian crown. This con-
sciousness also overcame the later aggravated national division, which was
already indicated in the so-called Völkerfrühling, but only reached its true
climax with the outbreak of the First World War. This way of expressing the
importance and excellence of the united Austrian state also contributed to
the revival of memories of the French occupation as depicted in the story
around which Germonik shaped his text. The text made the representatives
of the French authorities on Slovenian soil laugh, because they did not care
about the inhabitants, but appropriated the property here for themselves
and their own. Germonik’s story was based on the story of the brave wom-
en from Bled. The story, in which German names are interwoven with Slo-
venian ones and German songs with Slovenian tunes, thus resonates in the
spirit of the aforementioned Austrian patriotic transnational feeling that
was particularly close to both Germonik and Khom. Moreover, the narra-
tive about the popular movement in Bled in 1813 is based on a concrete his-
torical event that was historically documented and presented in a long ar-
ticle in the Laibacher Zeitung at the end of October 1867 as preparation for
the performance of the play.58 The play was very popular with the public, so
that even later, when Khom was no longer in Carniola,59 it remained on the
58 F. L. Mogainer, “Zur Volksbewegung in Veldes im J. 1813,” Laibacher Zeitung, no.
248 (28 October 1867): 1689–91, http://www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
C45WSW7I.
59 The play was translated into Slovenian in 1871 under the title Serčne Blejke. The first
act was translated by Anton Umek-Okiški, the second and third by Valentin Prešer-
en. In Ljubljana it was performed in the theatre under the title Pogumne Gorenjke: on
December 10, 1872 and January 25, 1874, directed by Nolli, on February 27, 1876, di-
rected by Gecel, and on January 6, 1895, directed by Anić. Mina Černe, “Bled v slov-
enski literaturi ‘dolgega 19. stoletja’ (1. del),” Kronika 61, no. 1 (2013): 105–24, http://
www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-FHQJG1EP.
420
One of the most visible creative achievements of Khom in Ljubljana
was his participation in the performance of The Brave Women of Bled (Die
muthigen Weiber von Veldes), in the Slovenian translation as Junaške Ble
jke or Serčne Blejke. The work is set in Bled, at the immediate end of the
French Illyrian provinces, and its theme alludes to a popular patriotic motif
of persecution of the French occupiers from the Austrian lands. Germonik
based his text for the play Die Weiber von Veldes on a story from the time
of the French occupation of Bled in 1813. In the minds of the average Slo-
venian, the occupation rule of the French has been preserved as harsh and
unfriendly. The vivid memory of many unpleasant events contributed to
this, and this image was partly fueled by the Habsburg government, which
strengthened civic consciousness under the Austrian crown. This con-
sciousness also overcame the later aggravated national division, which was
already indicated in the so-called Völkerfrühling, but only reached its true
climax with the outbreak of the First World War. This way of expressing the
importance and excellence of the united Austrian state also contributed to
the revival of memories of the French occupation as depicted in the story
around which Germonik shaped his text. The text made the representatives
of the French authorities on Slovenian soil laugh, because they did not care
about the inhabitants, but appropriated the property here for themselves
and their own. Germonik’s story was based on the story of the brave wom-
en from Bled. The story, in which German names are interwoven with Slo-
venian ones and German songs with Slovenian tunes, thus resonates in the
spirit of the aforementioned Austrian patriotic transnational feeling that
was particularly close to both Germonik and Khom. Moreover, the narra-
tive about the popular movement in Bled in 1813 is based on a concrete his-
torical event that was historically documented and presented in a long ar-
ticle in the Laibacher Zeitung at the end of October 1867 as preparation for
the performance of the play.58 The play was very popular with the public, so
that even later, when Khom was no longer in Carniola,59 it remained on the
58 F. L. Mogainer, “Zur Volksbewegung in Veldes im J. 1813,” Laibacher Zeitung, no.
248 (28 October 1867): 1689–91, http://www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:DOC-
C45WSW7I.
59 The play was translated into Slovenian in 1871 under the title Serčne Blejke. The first
act was translated by Anton Umek-Okiški, the second and third by Valentin Prešer-
en. In Ljubljana it was performed in the theatre under the title Pogumne Gorenjke: on
December 10, 1872 and January 25, 1874, directed by Nolli, on February 27, 1876, di-
rected by Gecel, and on January 6, 1895, directed by Anić. Mina Černe, “Bled v slov-
enski literaturi ‘dolgega 19. stoletja’ (1. del),” Kronika 61, no. 1 (2013): 105–24, http://
www.dlib.si/?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-FHQJG1EP.
420
