Page 237 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2024. Glasbena kritika – nekoč in danes ▪︎ Music Criticism – Yesterday and Today. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 7
P. 237
“a cr itique of cr iticism”: an attempt to outline “mor e appropr iate” ...
This appeal seems to have found its mark, since the earlier profession-
al reviews that were considered too favourable to Tomc now gave way to a
“better” type of criticism, in other words criticism that was primarily con-
cerned with sociopolitical reality. I should mention that the majority of the
later critics remain anonymous, since their initials, which only appear in
newspapers on a few occasions following Vošnjak’s intervention, do not al-
low us to establish their identities. Thus it was that a work that had previ-
ously been described as Tomc’s “mighty cantata”40 was henceforth, in the
articles that followed Vošnjak’s appeal, deliberately painted with the col-
ours of mediocrity.
In order to illustrate even more clearly what a significant change of at-
titude this was, I should quote a few extracts from news items published in
the wake of Vošnjak’s piece: “Last November the choir counted ninety-four
members. Today its numbers have fallen below seventy.”41 The same author
writes that “Following this months-long crisis, the conductor Janez Bole has
at last taken pity on the choir.”42 The daily press included headlines such as
“Out of the Darkness,”43 reflecting the view that “the culture of Slovenian
choral singing is today greatly diminished despite receiving generous finan-
cial support.”44
The initial reviews of Tomc’s work – too favourable and insufficiently
socially engaged – thus had to make way for “more appropriate” criticism
bemoaning the fact that such a revolutionary ensemble should have chosen
to mark its 10th anniversary by singing “chorales” and “petitions to heaven.”45
Tomc originally intended to reply, via the newspapers, that no more
than eighteen bars of music in the entire two-hour work could be described
as a “chorale”, or, more accurately, as music of religious content, and that
even this passage could only be characterised as sacred music by virtue
of the nature of Aškerc’s text. The passage in question appears in the fifth
movement (passage 4), entitled Tlaka (“Serfdom”).
40 J. P., “Pred jubilejnim koncertom,” 4.
41 Signed by an anonymous writer with the initials S. B. whose identity remains un-
known. S. B., “Ven iz teme,” 4.
42 S. B., “Pro et contra,” 4.
43 S. B., “Ven iz teme,” 4.
44 BP, “Pojó, pojó, da še nikdar tako …,” 5.
45 Vošnjak, “Kritika kritike,” 6.
237
This appeal seems to have found its mark, since the earlier profession-
al reviews that were considered too favourable to Tomc now gave way to a
“better” type of criticism, in other words criticism that was primarily con-
cerned with sociopolitical reality. I should mention that the majority of the
later critics remain anonymous, since their initials, which only appear in
newspapers on a few occasions following Vošnjak’s intervention, do not al-
low us to establish their identities. Thus it was that a work that had previ-
ously been described as Tomc’s “mighty cantata”40 was henceforth, in the
articles that followed Vošnjak’s appeal, deliberately painted with the col-
ours of mediocrity.
In order to illustrate even more clearly what a significant change of at-
titude this was, I should quote a few extracts from news items published in
the wake of Vošnjak’s piece: “Last November the choir counted ninety-four
members. Today its numbers have fallen below seventy.”41 The same author
writes that “Following this months-long crisis, the conductor Janez Bole has
at last taken pity on the choir.”42 The daily press included headlines such as
“Out of the Darkness,”43 reflecting the view that “the culture of Slovenian
choral singing is today greatly diminished despite receiving generous finan-
cial support.”44
The initial reviews of Tomc’s work – too favourable and insufficiently
socially engaged – thus had to make way for “more appropriate” criticism
bemoaning the fact that such a revolutionary ensemble should have chosen
to mark its 10th anniversary by singing “chorales” and “petitions to heaven.”45
Tomc originally intended to reply, via the newspapers, that no more
than eighteen bars of music in the entire two-hour work could be described
as a “chorale”, or, more accurately, as music of religious content, and that
even this passage could only be characterised as sacred music by virtue
of the nature of Aškerc’s text. The passage in question appears in the fifth
movement (passage 4), entitled Tlaka (“Serfdom”).
40 J. P., “Pred jubilejnim koncertom,” 4.
41 Signed by an anonymous writer with the initials S. B. whose identity remains un-
known. S. B., “Ven iz teme,” 4.
42 S. B., “Pro et contra,” 4.
43 S. B., “Ven iz teme,” 4.
44 BP, “Pojó, pojó, da še nikdar tako …,” 5.
45 Vošnjak, “Kritika kritike,” 6.
237
