• Prague Men's Singing Society [Prager Männergesangsverein]: participating institution, male vv

Advance news of this event was published by Prager Morgenpost 28/7/1863. The source reported: ‘At the Foundation Festival [Stiftungsfeier] of the Prague Men’s Singing Society, which takes place in the form of a Liedertafel on Thursday 31st July at 8pm in the Žofín Island Hall, will be offered for performance: Rheinweinlied by Herwegh, music by Mendelssohn-Bartholdy; Sommerruh by Schad, composed for and dedicated to the Prague Men’s Singing Society by Eduard Tauwitz; Vaterlandslied from the War of Liberation [Befreiungskrieg] from 1813 by Ernst Moritz Arndt, music by Seyfritz; Im Weinhaus, Dusseldorf prize-song by Boenike; Cikáni, especially in a new arrangement by Franz Arnold Vogl, choral director of the Society; Lovecká (Jagdlied) by Ferd. Podhorsky (rewarded with a prize at the Thüringian Singing Festival); Děvče já ti udělám by Čelakowsky [Čelakovský], music by Lud. Procházka; Pocestný by A., music by Zwonař [Zvonař]; then 2 compositions for men’s chorus with Waldhorn accompaniment: Franz Schubert’s Nachtgesang im Walde and Robert Schumann’s Die hohe Jagd.’ No further details were given by the source. The horn players in the choruses with horns were unidentified. The programme is listed in order according to the Prager Morgenpost 28/7/1863 and does not necessarily correspond with the sequence in which the works were performed in the event.

An account of this event was published by Prager Morgenpost 1/8/1863. The correspondent reported: ‘For the Anniversary Festival for the Foundation [Gründungsfeier] of the Men’s Singing Society a Liedertafel should have taken place, in the programme of which should have been sung in addition to two classical choruses with instrumental accompaniment, 4 German and 4 Czech choruses; among the former was to be found Arndt’s „Vaterlandslied vom Jahre 1813“ („der Gott, der Eisen wachsen ließ, der wollte keine Knechte“). Music by Seyfried... The inclusion of this song in the festival programme and the purported programming it as the first number (the definitive order [of the concert] had not yet been fixed), caused 30 members of the Society to protest about the performance and positioning of the song, added to which, in embarrasing fashion, several German [members of the Society] had even signed. In their protest the signatories set down their disapproval of the performance of the song as being a composition of exclusively nationalist content... [they] protested against the performance of the chorus and declared their resignation from the Society if the Arndt song was not withdrawn from the programme. The Committee considered the protest to be unjustifiable; it saw the song as absolutely not a German nationalist demonstration, but as stemming from the war of liberation from 1813, as such the song was completely in accordance with the Statute devised by the Committee, that it had been practised by the Society for months during which not even a single voice raising a complaint...’ The Committee noted that the German members of the Society had always been willing to sing Czech works. Therefore the signatories to the protest were told to put aside their dispute or to resign. Among the Committee members who did not vote on this issue were noted to be the director of the Czech Escomptebank and previously president of the Brno Liedertafel Mr Moser, the Secretary the bookseller Mr Steinhauser and the Master of Ceremonies Mr Hess. The report related that the last two named had signed the protest. This resulted in a new Committee being established.

Further news that this dispute had apparently been settled was published by Prager Morgenpost 8/8/1863. The newspaper related: ‘Prague Men’s Singing Society. The conflict that had broken out in the Men’s Singing Society over a German song by Arndt is being resolved in an amicable manner, that the whole matter has been deemed a misunderstanding, which has been resolved successfully through the endeavours of the new Society’s committee and several committee members. The chorus in question will be performed in the next Liedertafel of the Society and cordial relations between Society members of both nationalities have henceforth been attained.’