Page 253 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2017. Glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti - Musical Migrations: Crossroads of European Musical Diversity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 1
P. 253
from “baggage culture” to universally accepted cultural commitment ...
jor, was to extol the circumstances that led B&H to the community with a
European country. Further, it said that grassroots could be gained over if
they were shown, on the stage, “the best they had, in a powerful way which
affects the spirit…”23 Major also claimed that the theatre could be an excel-
lent political instrument which could increase influence on the population.
“The best they had”, which he hinted at, pertained to the B&H musical tra-
dition that should be disguised in new musical clothes, and by stylizing it in
the Western European manner brought to the concert stage, which in turn
could result in affinities by the local people.24 And indeed, Major’s composi-
tions permeated with folk tunes incorporated in the forms of piano minia-
tures, such as Bosnisches rapshodie op. 71 immensely resounded in the pub-
lic, though the immigrants’ one. The Government looked favorably upon
such and similar intentions, presenting them as efforts that Austro-Hunga-
ry invested in order to get acquainted with the native culture, while the lat-
ter’s emancipation should imply preservation from the inevitable oblivion.
Moreover, the pro-regime newspapers such as Sarajevski list labeled Julius
Major as an ambassador of B&H culture.25
On the other hand, the local population perceived the musical life in a
considerably different way, viewing the Western European musical culture
as a symbol of occupation. Moreover, grassroots ignored even the stylized
traditional music for years. The collection Bosanske sevdalinke [Bosnian
sevdalinkas] (1907) can serve as a graphic example. It was published pri-
vately by the Czech composer, choirmaster and pedagogue Bogomir Kačer-
ovskỳ (1873–1945) and consisted of ten sevdalinkas arranged for one and
two voices and the piano. The original edition was accompanied with the
translation of lyrics into German, done by Đuro Bujher, the principal of the
23 Sarajevo. The Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina. ZMF, 1911, br. 18630/1911.
24 Ibid..
25 The case of Julius Major was not an isolated one, since examples of the politicization
of musical life, as well as of B&H musical tradition had been encountered before,
e.g. when in 1893, the ballet Eine Hochzeit in Bosnien [Marriage in Bosnia] was per-
formed on the stage of the Viennese Royal Opera before Tsar Franz Joseph. The cos-
tume design after the model of B&H folk costumes and abundant use of folk tunes
transmitted the message that Austro-Hungary accepted and respected the indige-
nous culture, and the local press strove to convince the local population of the same.
However, judging by the internal correspondence and preserved archival documents
of the Imperial Ministry of Finance, such and similar performances were primarily
viewed through the prism of politics, and only then of culture and arts. For more de-
tails about ballet Eine Hochzeit in Bosnien see: Katharina Wessely, “’A really charm-
ing ethnography’. Staging the Regional in Vienna’s Theatre Cultures” (unpublished
manuscript).
251
jor, was to extol the circumstances that led B&H to the community with a
European country. Further, it said that grassroots could be gained over if
they were shown, on the stage, “the best they had, in a powerful way which
affects the spirit…”23 Major also claimed that the theatre could be an excel-
lent political instrument which could increase influence on the population.
“The best they had”, which he hinted at, pertained to the B&H musical tra-
dition that should be disguised in new musical clothes, and by stylizing it in
the Western European manner brought to the concert stage, which in turn
could result in affinities by the local people.24 And indeed, Major’s composi-
tions permeated with folk tunes incorporated in the forms of piano minia-
tures, such as Bosnisches rapshodie op. 71 immensely resounded in the pub-
lic, though the immigrants’ one. The Government looked favorably upon
such and similar intentions, presenting them as efforts that Austro-Hunga-
ry invested in order to get acquainted with the native culture, while the lat-
ter’s emancipation should imply preservation from the inevitable oblivion.
Moreover, the pro-regime newspapers such as Sarajevski list labeled Julius
Major as an ambassador of B&H culture.25
On the other hand, the local population perceived the musical life in a
considerably different way, viewing the Western European musical culture
as a symbol of occupation. Moreover, grassroots ignored even the stylized
traditional music for years. The collection Bosanske sevdalinke [Bosnian
sevdalinkas] (1907) can serve as a graphic example. It was published pri-
vately by the Czech composer, choirmaster and pedagogue Bogomir Kačer-
ovskỳ (1873–1945) and consisted of ten sevdalinkas arranged for one and
two voices and the piano. The original edition was accompanied with the
translation of lyrics into German, done by Đuro Bujher, the principal of the
23 Sarajevo. The Archives of Bosnia-Herzegovina. ZMF, 1911, br. 18630/1911.
24 Ibid..
25 The case of Julius Major was not an isolated one, since examples of the politicization
of musical life, as well as of B&H musical tradition had been encountered before,
e.g. when in 1893, the ballet Eine Hochzeit in Bosnien [Marriage in Bosnia] was per-
formed on the stage of the Viennese Royal Opera before Tsar Franz Joseph. The cos-
tume design after the model of B&H folk costumes and abundant use of folk tunes
transmitted the message that Austro-Hungary accepted and respected the indige-
nous culture, and the local press strove to convince the local population of the same.
However, judging by the internal correspondence and preserved archival documents
of the Imperial Ministry of Finance, such and similar performances were primarily
viewed through the prism of politics, and only then of culture and arts. For more de-
tails about ballet Eine Hochzeit in Bosnien see: Katharina Wessely, “’A really charm-
ing ethnography’. Staging the Regional in Vienna’s Theatre Cultures” (unpublished
manuscript).
251
