150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST CROATIAN CHORAL SOCIETY

Motif: Town Theatre "Zorin dom Karlovac" and lyra with inscription "Singing towards the Homeland" In 1854, a small group of patriots from the town of Karlovac, not more than nine of them, used to gather for informal meetings at the home of Baron Dragojlo Kušlan. Shortly afterwards they turned their informal meetings into serious music rehearsals, at which they used to practice singing of Croatian tunes as harmonious four-part compositions. In 1858, having returned from Vienna, Janko Modrušan joined this group and opened the door of his home for further rehearsals. Having transferred his personal experience from the famous Viennese choir "Wiener-Männer-Gesang-Verein", in which Modrušan was a member, he encouraged the group to start participating in church processions and give the first public concerts. It was those events that the Karlovac Choral Society germinated from – "Društvo karlovačkih pjevača". In 1859, having as many as 60 members, the choir started with public performances and formulated stricter rules. Antun Čop was elected President, and the choir leader was Antun Suppan. A year later, in 1860, the choir was taken over by a competent musician, the renowned Oton Hauska. His reputation in music can also been seen from the fact that in 1856, as a guest conductor, he conducted an orchestra in Zagreb playing the concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. On 30 May 1868 the Karlovac Choral Society changed its name into the First Croatian Choral Society "Zora" (Dawn); its slogan was "Signing towards the Homeland" ("Pjesmom za dom"). The Society had its own flag as an emblem and was under the patronage of Bishop Ivan Kralj. "Zora" popularised the non-professional cultural and artistic work and was supported by 130 members, with substantial assets and a choir leader on the payroll. At that time "Zora" was taking part in all important events in the town: the choral society was present at monument unveiling ceremonies, ceremonial receptions, anniversaries, opening ceremonies, charity concerts... It also used to perform outside Karlovac. In 1870 governor Levin Baron Rauch dissolved the Town Council of Karlovac, which meant also a break of the activities of the choral society "Zora" for a while. Ten months later, governor Koloman Bedeniković, Esq., reinstated the Town Council. "Zora" was again permitted to work under the new choir leader Fran Vanišek. The ceremony of opening of the University in Zagreb, held on 19 October 1874, gathered representatives of a number of choral societies: "Danica" of Sisak, "Kolo" of Zagreb, "Lira" of Velika Gorica, "Slavuj" of Petrinja, "Sokol" of Glina, "Tamburica" of Đurđevac, "Zora" of Karlovac, "Zvono" of Križevci. On that occasion they decided to establish the Federation of Choral Societies and Choirs, which was done on 17 May 1875. The First Croatian Choral Society "Zora" was the first registered choir in Croatia. "Zora" was so successful and famous that it organised the entire social and cultural life of the town of Karlovac. An especially important event was the 25th anniversary of the choir in 1884. For that occasion, engineer A. Kappner erected a huge wooden building that could accept as many as 3000 spectators, Ante Kovačić wrote and dedicated a hymn to "Zora", and Ivan Zajc, Esq., created the festive program and conducted. In 1891, the choir performed the most popular parts of Verdi’s Aida, and the operetta Das Pensionat by Franz von Suppé was staged with the choir’s own resources. In the period 1885 – 1909, when the Society was presided by Vilim Reiner, the town donated building land and on 27 November 1892 the Society got a new building as a reward for realisation of its programs, i.e. the present-day Town Theatre "Zorin dom". At that time the choir was conducted by its versatile and long-standing member, teacher Gjuro Bach. From 1904 the choir leader was Ivo Horvat, very popular among younger members of the Society. The new theatre building, a beautiful edifice, encouraged the enthusiasm and ambitions of the members of "Zora", so that the Society started some ambitious and demanding music projects, such as Haydn’s The Creation of the World (1913) and Schubert’s "Mass in E flat major" (1929). "Zora" was an inexhaustible source of talents, among whom there were also those who made a career on the European level, such as opera singers Leonia Brückl and Draginja Hauptfeld. Such high artistic level was imposed by David Meisl, a long-standing favourite conductor of "Zora". Under his conduction "Zora" made its greatest success and confirmed its quality with successful appearances at international festivals in Germany in 1927 and at the royal court in Belgium in 1935. "Zora" also had notable guests that performed together with it: renowned string quartets from Prague, London and Vienna. In 1941, the activities of "Zora" were banned. For a period of 37 years, Karlovac was deprived of its music creation. Only few inhabitants of Karlovac remembered with melancholy what "Zora" had been earlier, and its remaining members cherished dearest memories, hoping that the Society’s activities would be restored. In 1978, on the initiative of the Town Theatre "Zorin dom" and its director at that time, Professor Ratko Pogačić, the Mixed Choir "Zora" was established. However, its original name, the First Croatian Choral Society "Zora", was returned to it only in 1990. After its resumed activity "Zora" has given a number of all-evening concerts to the inhabitants of Karlovac, performing both sacral and secular music repertoire. Each year "Zora" gives traditional concerts at Christmas and the Lent, as well as the concert under the title "Zora and Its Guests", and participates at numerous town events and local festivals of choir music. The Society has already been on many tours abroad (Italy, Austria, Belgium, Poland). In 1998, a festal concert was given on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the choir formation and the 20th anniversary of its restoration, under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Croatia. The artistic directors of the restored "Zora" were: maestro Vjekoslav Šutej (1980), Aleksandar Radivojević (1980 – 1986 i 1990 – 1998), Dragan Sremec, Stjepan Novačić, Josip Perić and Nikola Bašić (1986 – 1990), Dubravko Rukavina (1998/1999) and maestro Tonči Bilić (1999 – 2006.). Since autumn 2007, the artistic director has been Bojan Pogrmilović, under whose guidance the First Croatian Choral Society "Zora" (70 members) proudly celebrates its 150th anniversary (1858 – 2008), hoping that its future activity will bring more glorious moments in honour of the town of Karlovac and the homeland Croatia.