Vortrag von Anna Caroline Haubold bei der Tagung „From Desperation to Hope: The Meanings and Effect of Group Singing„, Tartu 29. November 2022
November 29 – December 1, 2022
Estonian Literary Museum, Tartu
Organiser: Estonian Folklore Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum
efa.conference@folklore.ee
https://www.folklore.ee/regilaul/konverents2022/
Abstract:
Baltic German male choral societies and song festivals played an important role in the mid-nineteenth century in the creation of a Baltic German sense of togetherness. By bringing together people from different social classes and the three Baltic provinces of Courland, Livonia and Estonia, joint singing was seen as an opportunity to overcome the isolation and disassociation emanating from social stratification and provincialism.
Due to societal, economic, political and cultural changes especially in the second half of the 19th century (e.g. Estonian/Latvian National Awakening, Russification) Baltic Germans had to reposition themselves on the one hand within the Estonian/Latvian-German-Russian triangle of tension and on the other hand between the German Confederation (later German Empire) and the Russian Empire. Class society gradually receded into the background giving rise to an ethnical sense of belonging. As Courland, Livonia and Estonia never constituted an administrative entity, the song festivals had a wide sphere of influence.
In this paper I examine on the one hand the motivation of organizing the Baltic German song festivals which took place in 1857, 1861, 1866 and 1880 alternately in Tallinn (Reval) and Riga. This includes how doubts and external obstacles were overcome. On the other hand, I focus on the emotions evoked by singing together. ‘Was it perhaps the accidental excitement of the moment that almost no eye remained tearless? Oh no, men’s tears do not flow so easily!’ (Zum Revaler Sängerfest 1866, 13.07.1866). Emotions play an important role in the process of creating a sense of togetherness. This analysis is based on newspaper articles, (un)published descriptions of the song festivals and archival material of Baltic German male choral societies.
