Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/611

 mediæval Meistersinger guilds. But presently the popular and social idea became dominant, membership being open to all with fair singing ability, and the objects being quite as much convivial or patriotic as strictly musical. Pioneer efforts in this latter direction began in 1810 at Zurich under Nägeli and soon spread through South Germany generally. In Austria similar movements began with the founding of the Vienna Männergesangverein in 1843. Gradually in each country and province federations of singing-clubs were perfected, chiefly for the holding of large festivals, and out of these about 1860 under Müller von der Werra was evolved the comprehensive Deutscher Sängerbund, uniting more than 70 federations and over 80,000 singers.

The somewhat parallel French institution of the Orphéon had a different genesis, being the outgrowth from 1835 of the singing-classes in the public schools. But in practical working this has led in both France and Belgium to similar results on a larger scale. Before the Franco-Prussian War the Orphéonistes counted about 3250 local clubs and nearly 150,000 members. The organizer of the movement was Wilhem [Bocquillon] (d. 1842), but its later success was due to Gounod, who was its general director in 1852-60, and to François Bazin (d. 1878), the opera-writer (see sec. 204).

Among the best-known writers of male choruses and part-songs were Karl Zöllner (d. 1860), who taught at Leipsic from 1820 and in 1833 started the noted Zöllner-Verein; Julius Otto (d. 1877), from 1825 an equally prominent conductor at Dresden; Franz Weber of Cologne (d. 1876); the indefatigable Ludwig Erk of Berlin (d. 1883); Vincenz Lachner (d. 1893), from 1836 at Mannheim and from 1873 at Carlsruhe; Karl Mangold of Darmstadt (d. 1889); Heinrich Esser of Vienna (d. 1872); Wilhelm Tschirch (d. 1892), from 1843 at Liegnitz and from 1852 at Gera; Friedrich Lux (d. 1895), from 1841 at Dessau and from 1851 at Mayence; Karl Reinthaler of Cologne and Bremen (d. 1896); the Swiss Karl Attenhofer, from 1867 at Zurich; and Eduard Kremser of Vienna. After 1860 many other writers became influential, such as Reyer in France and Bruch in Germany.

219. The Berlin Circle.—The modern importance of Berlin as the capital of Germany began to develop only after Napoleon's career was checked in 1813-5. In the outburst of patriotic aspiration following the War of Liberation, intellectual and artistic interests, including music, received much attention. But those who happened to be leaders in musical matters chose to apply themselves almost exclusively to choral music of a somewhat antique type. Hence arose a Berlin group or school which long stood aloof from the exuberant instrumentalism of the Viennese group and from the several phases of romanticism represented by Mendelssohn, Schumann and Chopin, as well as from the radicalism of Wagner, Liszt and Berlioz. The