• Orchestra of F.V. Svoboda: participating orchestra, orch
• unspecified chorus: participating ensemble, chorus
• SVOBODA, František Václav: director of ensemble

Bohemia 24/2/1850 published news that a ‘Musical-declamatory Academy for the Benefit of the Institute for the Care and Employment of adult Blind [Musikalisch-deklamatorische Akademie zum Besten der Versorgungs- und Beschäftigungsanstalt für erwachsene Blinde]’ was to be given on Thursday 28 February in the Žofín Island Hall at 5pm. No further details of the event were noted by this report. However, two days later, on 26/2/1850, the newspaper included news that ‘The homely [gemüthliche - lit. homely, or cozy] poem “An mein Vaterland” by Karl Viktor Hansgirg, that was published in the patriotic yearbook “Libussa 1850” and set by our countryman Wenzel Tomaschek [Tomášek] in music in Classical fashion as a male-voice chorus, has been translated into Czech by Mr Veit Mach, and this splendid composition will be given for the first time in the Czech language at the Academy for the Benefit ... of the Blind on 28 February 1850.’

A notice published by Bohemia 28/2/1850 announced that due to a Concert spirituel having also been arranged for 28/2/1850, the Musical and declamatory Academy for the benefit of the Institute for the Care and Employment of Adult Blind [Musikalisch-deklamatorische Akademie zum Vortheile der Versorgungs- und Beschäftigungsanstalt für erwachsene Blinde] was instead to take place on 1/3/1850. The time, venue and new date for the production were also noted in the Tagesanzeige texts of Bohemia 28/2/1850 and 1/3/1850. The Tagesanzeiger text of 26/2/1850 had noted the production of both this event and the Concert spirituel on 28/2/1850.

A review, signed ‘V.’, of this event was published two days later by Bohemia 3/3/1850. This reported that ‘The spacious Hall of Žofín Island was filled with a numerous audience made up mostly of the fairer sex. Mr W. Swoboda [Svoboda] assumed the leadership of his orchestra and of the choir.’ After noting that the programme comprised a performance of ‘Hansgirg’s poem “An mein Vaterland” set to music by our old master W. Tomaschek followed by fragments of A. Radzivill’s gigantic score [Riesenpartitur] to Goethe’s “Faust”’, the remainder of the text covered only the performance of the work by the Belorussian aristocrat-composer. The decision to present disconnected fragments of this composition - incidental music, although interestingly not referred to as such by the critic - specifically fragments of ‘part melodrama, part vocal music for soloists or chorus’ was considered to be ‘strange’. However, the most pleasing of these were adjudged to be ‘the chorus in E major “Christ ist erstanden” with bell accompaniment, and the closing scene “Requiem” of the tragedy, with double chorus and melodramatic declamation of Gretschen and the Spirit, which seems to us was composed with great effort and significant mastery. It was only a pity that the musical ending was missing. Less successful seemed to be the composition of the melodrama numbers.’ No more detailed judgement was offered on the grounds of the programme having been so ‘tactlessly’ assembled, even though the work had evidently been eagerly anticipated - the critic noted that the performance had previously been promised many times. Of the soloists, Miss Casanowa sang the Romanzas “Es war ein König in Thule” and “Mein Ruhe ist hin”, and spoke the part of Gretschen. Mr Lukow sang and spoke the part of the Spirit, and Klemens, Count von Weyrother took the part of Faust in the Invocation Scene and in the fifth number of the programme. The seventh number, a recitative and aria by Faust “Wenn ich empfinde” was to have been sung by Mr Schweizer but was for unknown reasons omitted. Finally, the review reported that before the ‘quite long interval’ the first part had ended ‘in an odd manner with a half-close [an imperfect tonic-dominant cadence].’

Although the earlier issue of Bohemia 26/2/1850 had reported that Tomášek’s chorus was to be sung in Czech, whether this actually happened was not confirmed by the subsequent review. The work was to have been given in a benefit concert for the blind on 21/4/1849 but was not then performed, probably due to censorship. Radzivill’s music to Faust, which gained European-wide renown during the early-nineteenth century is now perhaps best known through its being mentioned by George Eliot in Daniel Deronda.