Page 181 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Between Music and Politics: The Role of Composers in Musical Societies …
tafel in 1860/61 to 1863), Zagreb (Hrvatsko pjevačko društvo “Kolo” [Cro-
atian Singing Society “Kolo”] in 1862, Croatian Typographers’ Singing
Society “Sloboda” in 1866), Osijek (Singing Society in Osijek, formed by
merging two earlier societies Kirchenmusikverein and Liedertafel in 1862),
Đakovo (Croatian Singing Society “Sklad” in 1863), Križevci (Croatian
Singing Society “Zvono” in 1863), Petrinja (Petrinja Singing Society / Cro-
atian Singing Society “Slavulj” in 1864), Vukovar (Croatian Singing Socie-
ty “Dunav” in 1867).
The statutes of Croatian Singing Society “Kolo” in Zagreb served as a
model for the drafting of statutes in many other societies, and these con-
tinued to evolve throughout the century, adapting to new cultural practic-
es and societal expectations.
Singing societies were considered a desirable form of socialising for
several reasons. Primarily, their activities promoted the education (enlight-
enment) of the general population. Members were required to adhere to
specific, officially approved rules, and the functioning of the societies de-
pended on harmonious cooperation among their members. Singing was
also regarded as a favourable form of entertainment and it did not require
65
(significant) initial financial investment. A brief period of decline in the
activities of singing societies with a pronounced national character oc-
curred during the tenure of Ban Levin Rauch (1868–1871), whose rule was
marked by repressive governance. In 1870, for instance, the Croatian Sing-
ing Societies “Kolo” and “Zora” were dissolved under the accusation that
they had “exceeded the boundaries set forth in their statutes through polit-
ical agitation”. In reality, however, their dissolution was prompted by the
fact that they “most conscientiously fulfilled their patriotic duty of awaken-

ed “for about ten years” (Anon., “Narodno pjevačko družtvo u Karlovcu [Nation-
al Singing Society in Karlovac],” Glasonoša 2, no. 90 (8 November 1862): 3). Mono-
graphs on the society usually take the year 1858 as the beginning of its activity, the
year in which Janko Modrušan – upon returning from Vienna, where he had been
a member of a Viennese choral society – gathered a circle of friends united by their
shared love of singing and fellowship. However, the group remained informal until
the society’s formal establishment with the approval of its statutes in 1861.
65 Cf. Gjuro Klarić, “Karlovačko pjevačko družtvo [Karlovac’s Singing Society],” Kar-
lovački viestnik 1, no. 2 (13 January 1866): 9–10. See also: Anon., “Dvie tri o družtvih
[Two or three Words on Societies],” Karlovački viestnik 1, no. 3 (20 January 1866):
18–9. An anonymous author (possibly the editor Ljudevit Tomšić) cites the Slovene
national reading rooms of Styria, Carniola, Carinthia, and Gorizia as exemplary
models of well-organised societies.

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