Pressburg Church Music Association near St. Martin

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The church music association near St. Martin zu Preßburg was one of the leading musicians' associations in the city in the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century.

Directory of the members of the Preßburger Kirchenmusikverein near St. Martin.jpg

history

Forerunner and foundation of the association

The church music association at St. Martin's Cathedral could look back on a long artistic activity. As early as 1816 there were first attempts to found a music association in Preßburg. In 1828, the conductor, composer and music educator founded Heinrich Klein the Association of Pressburger Freyen artists and language teachers. The association set itself the goal of devoting itself primarily to church music and its dissemination. In addition to the courageous effects of the church services, the focus should also be on concerts and cultural events. This forerunner of the church music association ceased its activities after the death of Heinrich Klein in 1832.

After Klein's death, a general assembly of the members took place on June 27, 1833, in which the statutes for the foundation of the church music association were drawn up and discussed. At that time the association had more than 500 members and an orchestra of 100 people. The musician Joseph Kumlik was appointed as the conductor and Regens Chori. Count Casimir Esterházy was appointed protector of the association and canon and pastor Joseph von Prybila took over the chairmanship.

However, the church music association seemed to have had quite a success in the first few years of its existence, as the Wiener Allgemeine Musikalische Anzeiger wrote the following about a performance by the church music association on January 29, 1835 (19; 43):

"Report on a music festival in which 192 performing musicians took part; Haydn's wonderful creation had been given; the church music association deserved general praise.

St. Martin's Cathedral in Pressburg (Bratislava); Place of activity of the church music association

“The church music association in Pressburg, which has been in effect since 1833 and works so zealously and with such glorious consequences to bring up the highest and most dignified branch of music, currently already consists of 41 supporters and contributors, 276 merely supportive, 62 merely collaborative and from 35 honorary members, including generally respected names. Count Casimir Esterhazy, known for his musical knowledge, is at the helm as protector. "

The club's heyday

With Josef Kumlik (1801-1869) the most fertile time of action of the Musikverein starts. Kumlik came to Preßburg from his native Vienna when he was 12 or 13 years old, where he became a member of the Pressburg theater choir. At the same time he took singing and music lessons from the Pressburg cathedral organists Jakob Kunnert and Simon Sechter ( counterpoint in 1828). He became assistant to Heinrich Klein and after his death elected the first conductor of the church music association. He made great contributions to the spread of musical culture in Pressburg. As a professor at the local music school, he trained numerous musicians. Kumlik is known to have composed more than 50 of his own compositions (including a celebratory cantata for the 25th anniversary of the founding of the church music association) . With a break of six years, he worked as a Regens Chori and conductor for 35 years until his death in the church music association. Many classical musical works - especially the Viennese classics - were performed under his leadership. One of the first liturgical performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis , which Kumlik staged in 1835, deserves special mention . A memorial plaque in the interior of the cathedral still commemorates this event. (Kumlik had the Missa Solemnis performed five times and Beethoven's C major Mass fifty-four times). From 1836 the oratorio The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross by Joseph Haydn was performed regularly on Good Fridays. Over the years this performance has become a tradition. Kumlik also organized 'academies' in the Bratislava city theater in front of the Fischertore , where Haydn's The Creation was played, as well as Cherubini's Requiem, which was performed under the direction of Kumlik on the occasion of the death of Emperor Franz in 1835. In 1858 the church music association celebrated its 25th anniversary. For this occasion, the composer Johann Nepomuk Batka the Elder wrote a cantata that was ceremoniously premiered in the cathedral. The then Regens Chori Josef Kumlik was the recipient of various high awards, including the kk gold medal of honor for art and science. He died on May 29, 1869 in Preßburg and was buried at the Andreas Cemetery in Preßburg.

Josef Kumlik (1801–1869)

Kumlik's successor was Karl Mayrberger from Vienna who came to Pressburg in 1866. As a conductor and Regens Chori, he headed the church music association until his death in 1881. Above all, he tried to improve choral singing. Under his direction, the choir reached a top European level. He was friends with Franz Liszt and also worked closely with him in the musical field. The then secretary of the church music association, Johann Nepomuk Batka the Elder , also made a significant contribution to Liszt's stays in Pressburg . J. , who, as an enthusiastic music lover, was also close friends with Liszt. Mayrberger was also active as a composer (Opera Melusine ), his works were even printed in Salzburg. Mayrberger died on September 22nd, 1881 in Preßburg and was buried in the Andreas cemetery.

After the death of Karl Mayrberger Josef Adam Thiard-Laforest took over the musical direction of the church music association. He returned the repertoire of the association with works by Johann Nepomuk Hummel , who was born in Pressburg , and he also performed works by Anton Dvořák and Anton Bruckners . The composer was personally present at the performance of Bruckner's IV Symphony. He also maintained friendly and collegial relationships with Hans Richter . At high offices he repeatedly performed Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Liszt's Coronation Mass. On March 16, 1883, he performed the Pressburg premiere of the oratorio Die Heilige Elisabeth by Franz Liszt with great success. In the same year he composed two mixed choral works with organ accompaniment for the 'Lutherfeier 1883' (400th anniversary of Martin Luther's birthday ). Thiard-Laforest wrote a number of compositions including the cantata for the cantata at the unveiling of the Preßburg Hummel monument in 1887. Thiard-Laforest died on March 2, 1897 and was buried in the Pressburg Andreas Friedhof.

Ludwig Burger , who was born in Billigheim , came to Pressburg in 1870, where he first worked as a flautist with the theater orchestra in front of the Fischertore . After Thiard-Laforest's death (1897) he was elected Regens Chori of the Musikverein, where he worked until 1901. From 1881 he devoted himself entirely to composition and music education. He was Franz Schmidt's teacher . In 1898 he composed the cantata in memoriam of the death of Empress Elisabeth .

From 1901 there were differences between the representatives of the church association and the vice mayor of the city of Preßburg Theodor Kumlik, who was at the same time the chairman of the Roman Catholic church district in Pressburg. Theodor Kumlik dissolved the position of the Regens Chori and replaced it with an elected conductor. This task was taken over - temporarily - between 1901 and 1905, Anton Strehlen, who had been the cathedral organist in St. Martin's Cathedral since 1873 and was also an excellent singer. Strehlen worked as a music teacher in Pressburg.

Only in 1905, after the disputes had been resolved, did Dr. Eugen Kossow conducts the club. He was the first - not appointed, but elected - conductor of the association. Thanks to his organizational skills, he was able to bring the orchestra to its former height. He reintroduced the traditional performances of Beethoven's Mist Solemnis and the works of Joseph Haydn. In 1906 he founded his own music school in which musicians and singers were trained. Kossow died on January 24, 1921 in Preßburg and was buried in the Andreas cemetery.

The association after 1918

At the end of the First World War , Austria-Hungary was dissolved as a state. One of the successor states was Czecho-Slovakia, newly founded on October 28, 1918 . Pressburg was acc. Treaty of Trianon assigned to this state. Under the leadership of Eugen Kossow, the association had survived the political changes relatively well and unscathed. However, Kossow died in 1921 and after his death there was a vacancy that lasted until 1924. This year Alexander Albrecht was elected conductor of the church music association. In the interwar period he played an important role in shaping the musical life of Bratislava in the newly founded Czecho-Slovakia. With Franz Schmidt , Béla Bartók and Ernst von Dohnányi , Alexander Albrecht belonged to the "clover leaf" of those musicians whose careers began in Bratislava and who later achieved international reputation and fame. At first he worked as an organist in the Cathedral of St. Martin, at the same time he taught at the music school. Alexander Albrecht was the first to have pieces of modern music performed in the church music association in addition to the classical repertoire ( Max Reger , Igor Stravinsky , Zoltán Kodály ). He was also active as a composer, numerous pieces of music have been preserved for posterity.

In 1942 Albrecht Bach brought the St. Matthew Passion with the participation of important artists, such as B. Anton Dermota and soloists from the Vienna State Opera for the performance. Well-known conductors such as Rudolf Nilius and Ludwig Rajter also made guest appearances at the Church Music Association. Alexander Albrecht looked after the association until it was dissolved in 1952. Then he retired into private life. He died in 1958 and was buried at the Andreas Cemetery in Preßburg.

The end of the club

After the February coup in 1948 ( referred to as “Victorious February” in communist historiography ), the communists came to power in post-war Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia became a country of the " Eastern Bloc ", which was under the influence of the Soviet Union .

In April 1950, by order of the then President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) Klement Gottwald, the so-called “Action K.” was carried out by the notorious secret police ŠtB . The result of this "action" was that 61 orders, which had 15,000 members, were dissolved. 2192 religious were incarcerated in the communist prisons of the time, and together they had to serve a sentence of 42,763 years.

The church music association at St. Martin's Cathedral was not spared from these reprisals - which began after the communists seized power in 1948. After 122 years it was now forced to cease its activity and ceased to exist completely around 1952. His place was taken by the Slovak Philharmonic founded in 1949 .

In 1990, after the political change , Ján Albrecht tried to reanimate the club.

literature

  • P. Rainer Rudolf, Eduard Ulreich: Karpatendeutsches Biographisches Lexikon. Working group of the Carpathian Germans from Slovakia, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-927096-00-8 . (KDBL)
  • Ján Albrecht: Spomienky bratislavského hudobníka, Bratislava 1998, ISBN 80-967026-8-8 . (Slovak; a German edition was published in 1998 under the title Memories of a Pressburg Musician by Hans Schneider Verlag in Tutzing )
  • Hans-Werner Rautenberg: Hikes and cultural exchange in Eastern Central Europe. Oldenbourg, 2006, ISBN 3-486-57838-3 .
  • Veronika Bakičová: Cirkevný hudobný spolok & Alexander Albrecht. Music Forum Bratislava, 2014, ISBN 978-80-88737-42-1 . (Slovak)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinrich Klein, born September 11, 1756 in Rudelsdorf in Moravia, † August 26, 1832 in Preßburg (see also BLKÖ Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich, Volume 12, p. 49; online)
  2. ↑ Josef Kumlik * August 10, 1801 in Vienna , † May 29, 1869 in Preßburg (see also BLKÖ , Volume 13, p. 371; online)
  3. ^ Count Kázmér Miklós Esterházy de Galántha was born on November 15, 1805 in Pressburg. In 1848 he was in command of the Pressburg troops of the Hungarian "National Guard" (Nemzetöség). A multiple lithographed picture by Kriehuber shows him as a commander with the red-white-green band. Seriously disappointed by the further course of the Hungarian independence movement, he set up a free corps on the side of the imperial troops, which he financed himself. He acted as dedicatee of Franz Liszt's 4th Hungarian Rhapsody. His first marriage was to Countess Leopoldine Szapáry de Széchysziget. In his second marriage he was married to Mária Henrica Aspasia Le Marcant ditte de Montval. His court painter Franz Alt often accompanied him on his numerous carriage rides . Many watercolors immortalize the various journeys and whereabouts of Casimir and his second wife. He finally settled in Salzburg-Aigen , where he died on May 13, 1870. Later he was transferred to the crypt of Oberalm , where the marble prayer stool is adorned with his own grave inscription.
  4. ↑ u. A .: Salve Regina, Mass in D major, Te Deum, Tantum ergo, Veni sancte spiritus
  5. ↑ Between 1837 and 1843 the church music association was headed by Karol Frajman von Kochlow, who came from Poland .
  6. ↑ According to some information (e.g. by Jan Albrecht, see literature, p. 9) it is said to have been the first liturgical performance worldwide. The first non-church performance took place in St. Petersburg in 1824 .
  7. ^ Karl Mayrberger * June 9, 1828 in Vienna, † September 23, 1881 in Preßburg; he was a student of Simon Sechter. Between 1862 and 1866 he headed the music choral society in Bruck an der Mur . In his repertoire he put through works by Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt in particular (first performances of the Graner Mass in 1872 and the Hungarian Coronation Mass in 1874). He also wrote the book Textbook of Musical Harmonics in a common representation for higher music schools and teacher training colleges, as well as for self-teaching. New edition. 2017, ISBN 978-3-7436-4034-4 .
  8. ↑ Josef Adam Thiard-Laforest, * March 16, 1841 in Bischdorf (Hungarian Pozsonypüspöki) / Kingdom of Hungary , † March 2, 1897 in Pressburg. He was born as József Ádám Duránszki ; according to the baptismal register he was the illegitimate son of Eva Duránszki from Bischdorf, the father's name is not entered in the baptismal register. Josef Adam was adopted and raised by the Thiard-Laforest family and also took the name of his foster parents. Laforest attended grammar school in Pressburg and received music lessons from Josef Kumlik. 1866–1869 and 1871–1874 he was military bandmaster of the Kuk infantry regiments No. 23 and 64. In 1873 he was a co-founder of the Philharmonic Society in Arad . (quoted from Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon, online)
  9. ↑ a b Karpatendeutsches Lexikon, p. 331 (see literature)
  10. ↑ Ludwig Burger, born April 11, 1850 in Billigheim, † May 29, 1936 in Preßburg; at the age of 15 he was a member of the court theater orchestra in Mannheim . He was trained as a violinist and flutist. (quoted from KDBL p. 52)
  11. ↑ Theodor Kumlik was the son of the founder of the music church association Josef Kumlik.
  12. ^ Anton Strehlen (born April 5, 1840 in Hollabrunn / Lower Austria, † 1922 in Preßburg) studied music in Vienna and came to Preßburg around 1873. He was buried in the Andreas cemetery in Pressburg.
  13. ↑ Dr. Eugen Kossow, * 1860 in Ödenburg / Austria-Hungary, † January 24, 1921 in Preßburg; Originally a lawyer (studied at the University of Vienna), but also studied composition with Anton Bruckner. In Ödenburg he founded the "Verein der Musikfreunde" whose conductor he had been before coming to Pressburg. (quoted in KDBL p. 169)
  14. ↑ cit. According to Vladimír Godár: Cirkevno-hudobný spolok, in Slovo from June 11, 2004 (Slovak, online, see web links)
  15. ↑ Hans "Ján" Albrecht (1919–1996) was the son of Alexander Albrecht. He attended the German grammar school in Preßburg and studied at the conservatory and music academy in his hometown. For many years he dealt with "early music" and founded and directed the music ensemble Musica aeterna.
  16. ↑ The book contains a CD-ROM with the recording of an interview with Alexander Albrecht in German.