• Hlahol: participating institution, vv
• unspecified participants: participating ensemble, vv
• KREJČÍ, Josef: director of ensemble

The consecration of the new Karlín church of Saints Cyril and Methodius took place on 18th October 1863 before a large gathering of local church and state officials and aristocracy. The project to build the church in the new Pragu suburb had been ongoing for 13 years. The end result was seen as very much as a distinctly national achievement.

A detailed outline of the occasion was published in advance by Politik 17/10/1863: ‘Programme for the Consecration Celebrations of the Karolinenthal Church on 18 October. At 7.30am the public will gather before the new church and the queues will form [for the procession into] the church. Immediately this is completed the participating bodies and their guests will take their appointed places as follows: Karolinenthal [Karlín] societies and school pupils on the left and the Catholic and journeymen’s societies to the right of the new church. The ‘Hlahol’ choral society, the building committee [responsible for the construction of the church] and the foremen of the builders and the committees of both the Catholic Society and the Karolinenthal parish will gather on the left (the evangelists’ side); the persons of authority and important guests (with red tickets), plus the higher clergy on the right. The guests and the Karolinenthal public (with white tickets) will take the places appointed for them inside the defined space, the ladies on the platform and the men in the standing places. II. After ¾ to 8 o’clock His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop will be received at the Poříč Door by the Mayor and the councillors of Karolinenthal; these will lead His Eminence to the Rothkirche. The procession will then form immediately in the following order: the Hlahol choral society, the building committee and the foremen, the Catholic Society committee, the Karolinenthal parish committee, the persons of authority and invited guests and finally the senior clergy. III. The procession goes to the new church. The Hlahol will gather on the left and the authorities and guests will congregate on the right-hand side of the stone steps; for now the clergy will remain standing on the steps. The director of the building committee will address His Eminence. Next the clergy will take the highest position on the steps. IV. After the societies on the one hand and the Catholic and journeymen’s society have taken their places in their demarcated places, His Eminence will give the festive sermon in Czech, after which the societies and the Catholic and journeymen’s society will assume their former position. V. After a short break, during which His Eminence will view the interior of the church, the act of consecration will begin, in front of the church that has been closed once more. The church will be circled three times, but only the senior clergy will participate in this. - Opening of the main door, entry of His Eminence with his assistance into the church. Next the building committee, the Catholic Society and Parish Councils, the persons of authority and the invited guests (with red tickets) will be likewise admitted into the church and will take the places allotted to them there. VI. Continuation of the consecration. In the course of this the senior clergy will form the procession in the church for the collecting of the relics. As soon as the procession has left the church, the Hlahol positions itself at the head. The procession then goes to the Rothkirche and then returns to the new church, entering by the great portal. The Hlahol returns to its earlier position on the right-hand side. Those persons who had been admitted to the church earlier retain their places meanwhile and take part in this procession. VII. Once the paramente have been consecrated, the people will be admitted in the following order: through the middle door the invited guests and the citizens of Karolinenthal (with white tickets), first the ladies, then the gentlemen. Through the right-hand side door the Hlahol and the Catholic and journeymen’s society; through the left-hand side door the Karolinenthal societies; [and] the remaining public, so far as space allows. The Pontifical Mass will end the celebration.’ No specific details were given of the musical content of the occasion.

Detailed accounts of the event were published in all of the major German and Czech  Prague newspapers including Prager Morgenpost, Národní listy and Politik. The Tasgesanzeiger daily almanac of Prague social and musical events published in Prager Morgenpost 18/10/1863 noted for this day simply: ‘Consecration of the Carolinenthaler Church’.

The Prager Morgenpost 19/10/1863 review was signed ‘n.’. The correspondent reported: ‘Consecration of the Church in Carolinenthal [Karlín]. The religious festival for the sactification of the new church in Carolinenthal [Karlín], which took place yesterday offered the opportunity for a popular national festival [eines nationalen Volksfestes – with ‘Volks’ in the context of people rather than ‘folk’], also had, as appropriate to the occasion, a richly sacred character.’ The source then described how the church was decorated in national colours – Austrian – and flowers, with the Slavic tricolor absent. The singing society Hlahol were noted to be without their insignia. Among the invited guests to the occasion were the President of the Catholic Society Count Ottakar Černin, Count Franz Thun, Count Schönborn, Dr Rieger [the Czech politician František Ladislav Rieger], Dr Brauner, several Czech Deputies, Pleschner, von Eichstädt, State Commisioner Klingler, Police Director Ullmann, Dr Tieftrunkm personal physician of His Majesty the Emperor Ferdinand, who was given leave to travel to Prague to attend the Church festival, Professor Schier, Vice-president of the Mercantile Guild and Deputy Richard Dotzauer and many others. The Mayor, Dr Bělský, appeared in the uniform of a Colonel of the Civil Corps [Bürgercorps] in a company of Officers of the Civil Regiment, of the military were present Field Marshal Baron Melzer in the company of the Officer Corps of Karlín. His Eminence the Cardinal Archbishop Prince Schwarzenberg processed at the side of the Mayor of Karlín Mr Götzl, in the company of the Town Council. As His Eminence arrived at the Red Church [Rothkirche] to a peal of bells and volley of shots [i.e. a military salute], he was greeted by Count Černín with a speech in German, in which he thanked the Cardinal on behalf of the Catholic Society that Prince Schwarzenberg had built the church „at his own expense“ [zu seiner eigenen Sache] and had been concerned [for it ] as would a father. His Eminence replied in German that the activities of the Catholic Society in Austria during the last decade had been extensive, and those of the Prague Catholic Society accorded the honour... of being unprecedented. The Cardinal then stepped into the Red Church, where he said a silent prayer, and then took his place in the procession to the new church. In front walked the Committee of the Catholic Society, the representatives of the Building Committee, among them the architects Rösner and Ullmann, the Mayors of Prague and Karlín and the City Council, the Military and Civil deputations, then numerous guests, succeeded in great number by clergy of all Prague Orders, in particular the Moravian Imperial Deputy [mährische Reichsrathsabgeordnete] Father Bilý who had arrived especially for this day, in company with the Canon Stulc [Štulc], His Eminence the Cardinal Bishop Jirsik and assistant Bishop [Weihbischofe] Krejčí. In front of the church had formed a guard of honour the Civil Guard, the Guilds [Genossenschaften], and the school children of Karlín. To both sides of the church arranged under a Triumphal arch was a gallery for the ladies [befanden sich unter den Triumphpforten Tribunen für die Damen], who attended the festival in great number. As the Cardinal arrived at the halting place, Prof. Jonák stepped forward, as President of the Building Committee, and gave an address in Czech, in which he pronounced his joy over the achievement of the splendid completion of the church and asked His Eminence to invoke a blessing down from the Heavens for the same. Following this speech the Cardinal climbed down from the halting place and in the open before the church gave a commemorative speech [Festrede] in Czech. This was purely religious in content, setting out the particular importance of the church, and closed with a prayer for the reigning Emperor and Empress, the Pope and the Church [as a whole]. (The scene, which at this moment unfolded, as His Eminence spoke before the portal of the church the sermon spoke, the rest of the clergy girdled in glittering vestements, and the decorated guests to both sides of the doorway, was captured by a photographer attending on the festival square). After the speech there followed the customary three processions around the church, and the dedication of the exterior church walls. Thereupon the Cardinal spoke a prayer, and after he had knocked three times with his crozier on the gates the double doors were opened and the entire religious company stepped inside for the dedication of the interior. Following the completeion of this act the remainder of the guests entered...’ A festival mass was given, after which the ceremony ended with a march past the church by the Civil Guard. The correspondent then noted that the interior of the church was not yet quite finished, and that the slender marble columns before the altar were particularly beautiful. ‘During the High Mass the unhappy circumstance arose that the bell over the sacristy, a gift of Mrs Bellmann (widow), came crashing down and broke into little pieces. No-one was injured.’

A report describing specifically the musical content of the occasion was published by Prager Morgenpost 20/10/1863. Signed ‘□’, the source related: ‘The Musical Festival at the Karlín Church Consecration [Die musikalische Feier bei der Carolinenthaler Kirchenweihe]. Concerning the ceremony at the Inauguration of the Karlín Church we still have to consider the musical part [of the occasion]. In addition to interpolations by Brixi and Koželuh – two of the best native church composers of the previous century – this consisted of the spirited [schwungvoll] vocal Mass in F minor by Josef Krejčí and a Te deum with orchestra specially composed for this Festival by W.H. Veit. The direction was placed in the hands of – distinguished equally as composer as well as conductor – Mr Krejčí, in addition to a number of choristers, for sure about fifty of the most able-voiced and musically literate ladies and gentlemen who had readily agreed to participate and with kind alacrity and unusual assiduity undertook all the necessary rehearsals for this purpose; indeed, the atmosphere was also friendly and highly spirited, even though exhaustion and fatigue caused by a long delay – the start was announced to be at 11 o’clock and happened 2 and-a-half hours later – led to the expectation of [the performance being a] failure. That the outcome and effect of the performance was worthy of the event, regardless of and despite the many other disruptions, was thanks in particular to the extraordinary sacrifice of the participants and the diligence and firmness of the direction [i.e. of the musical direction under Krejčí]. It was only a pity that this so beautiful combination of forces is not to be perpetuated and continued!’

The participation in this event of Hlahol may or may not have extended to the singing society performing in the church. This is not made clear by the Prager Morgenpost reviews. That Hlahol was present at the event yet there is no mention of its performing or otherwise role in the church service may have caused protests from within the choir itself or from more vehemently pro-Czech or pro-German sections of the Prague social/musical establishment. Interestingly, immediately after this event, Prager Morgenpost 20/10/1863 reported that the director of Hlahol, Ferdinand Heller, and its founder committee member J.L. Zvonař, had resigned from their posts.