They’re Singing Our Song
They’re Singing Our Song

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores the use of songs by Czech activists in public demonstrations, festivals, and protests under dualism, with a focus on the era of the tábory lidu in the late 1860s and early 1870s. Beginning with the Kaiserlied and its Czech competitor, “Kde domov můj?”, it explores the role of singing in the nationalist movement. The meaning of a song depended as much on who sang it and in which contexts as it did on its content, form, or the intention of its authors or sponsors. In addition to the official and unofficial anthems, Czech demonstrators sang songs like “Hej, Slované,” which paired with “Kde domov můj?” the way “Rule, Britannia” paired with “God Save the King.” Other numbers composed for Czech choral societies also entered the repertoire, as did three important monuments of Czech musical and literary history, the songs of St. Vojtěch, St. Václav, and the Hussite war hymn, “Ktož jsú Boží bojovníci.” These songs were rooted in religious ritual but were now secularized to claim the Bohemian lands for the Czech element, while the Hussite hymn also played a role in internal conflicts within the Czech movement. Singing in Czech demonstrations today still displays these complexities.

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