Page 182 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2026 Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes.../Composers’ Societies Past and Present...

Skladateljska društva nekoč in danes | Composers’ Societies Past and Present
66
ing Croatian national consciousness through Croatian song”. The estab-
lishment and operation of (Croatian) singing societies thus represented a
meaningful contribution to Croatian culture – both as spaces for the ex-
plicit expression of national spirit and as agents of broader musical devel-
opment. These societies fostered the cultivation of musical audiences and
enabled musical engagement even in smaller communities. In the article
“Society of Friends of Music” from 1872, the author, signed with the initial
“D.”, reflects on the development of the musical milieu (in Zagreb and be-
yond), observing:

Music has therefore significantly progressed, gaining numerous friends
and supporters, as well as promoters and cultivators. [...] It was indeed
necessary to elevate our suppressed musical position, to blaze a trail,
and to seek and find friends and admirers of music, this noble art capa-
ble of stirring our entire being, and which is, at the same time, a vital
factor of social life. We have thus reached a turning point; we can now
proceed along a newly cleared path, and the near future will demon-
strate the power of musical practice, especially today, when there is
hardly a household or family not engaged with music. [...] From this
one may discern a certain tendency, a clear indication that the need
for music has become universal and that it is finally being rightfully
appreciated. 67
Particularly noteworthy is the author’s proposal to establish an asso-
ciation, of private character and without any political features, that would
bring together musical amateurs, offering them an opportunity for further

66 Benjamin Zeininger, Hrvatsko pjevačko družtvo “Kolo” u Zagrebu (1862.–1892.): teča-
jem trideset godina. Jubilejski spis [Croatian Singing Society “Kolo” in Zagreb (1862–
1892): Over Thirty Years. Jubilee Paper] (Zagreb: Knjigotiskarski i litografijski zavod
C. Albrechta, 1892), 79.
67 D., “Družtvo prijateljah glasbe [Society of Friends of Music],” Narodne novine 38, no.
145 (26 June 1872): 1; no. 146 (27 June 1872): 1–2. In explaining the development and
significance of music, the author distinguishes between professional musicians and
artists – those for whom music is a vocation (an individual with ordinary talent be-
comes a competent musician, whereas one with exceptional, genius-level talent be-
comes an artist) – and friends of music, i.e. amateurs, for whom music constitutes a
part of general education and a form of leisure. It is this latter group that is credit-
ed with the dissemination and popularisation (“and thus making it more widespread
and popular among the people”) of music – beginning within the family setting and
subsequently extending to the broader public sphere.

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