New Year's Pieces of the Zurich Music Society

This publication contains the following 2 collections:

2. Musikgesellschaft auf der deutschen Schule
The Neujahrsgeschenke für die Zürchersche Jugend (published from 1713 to 1812) each comprise an engraved frontispiece, often of an allegorical nature, sometimes with a view of Zürich or its surroundings. This is followed by a poem that is in content either religious, patriotic or moralistic, and then by a religious song, usually in three or four parts. Both text, music, poems and engravings were made for the occasion. The identity has not been established of all the composers who wrote music for the Neujahrsgeschenke; however, the works are attributed to: 1713-32, 1736-40 and 1742-55 anonymous; 1733-35 and 1741 Johann Caspar Bachofen; 1756-71 Franz Kaufmann/Rudolf Naegeli; 1772-79 cantor Wüst (Christian name unknown); 1780-83 Johann Jakob Walder and 1784-1812 Johann Heinrich Egli. From 1767 onwards, the poems for the Neujahrsstücke were often written by Johann Caspar Lavater, a close friend of Goethe.

Huldrych Zwingli
When the Protestant reformer Huldrych Zwingli banned all music from the churches of Zurich in 1524, the musical life of the city suffered a severe setback but by no means a deathblow, as has occasionally been supposed. Music-making moved rapidly from the religious, public domain to the private, secular sphere. In the 17^th century, three music societies sprang up to cater for the musical needs of the upper classes. The ‘Musikgesellschaft zum Chorherrensaal’ (Canons’ Music Society) was founded around 1600 as a forum where men could meet and make music amongst themselves. It was joined in 1613 by the ‘Musikgesellschaft ab dem Musiksaal’ (‘Music Room Society’) and in 1679 by the ‘Musikgesellschaft auf der deutschen Schule’ (the ‘Music Society at the German School’; this society merged with the Canons’ Society in 1772). These societies gradually became responsible for the concert life of the city. They built up substantial libraries (deposited today in the Zentralbibliothek Zürich), ran their own orchestras, and were also responsible for organizing guest concerts by visiting artists, as in the case of the young Mozart in 1766. Their social status is reflected by the fact that their committees were made up of the leading politicians, businessmen and pastors of Zurich.

Neujahrsgeschenke
In 1685, the Musikgesellschaft ab dem Musiksaal began publishing so-called ‘Neujahrsgeschenke’ (New Year’s Pieces) at the beginning of every year; the Musikgesellschaft auf der deutschen Schule followed suit in 1713. This tradition lasted until 1812, when the remaining two societies were amalgamated to form the ‘Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft’ (General Music Society), and the New Year’s Pieces were replaced by a publication of a quite different format.

The New Year’s Pieces of the two societies were similar in content from the outset, and changed little during the course of the 18^th century. There was an engraved frontispiece – often allegorical, sometimes with a view of the city of Zurich in the background; this was followed by a poem that was either religious in content, patriotic or both, and then by a religious song, usually in three or four parts. Both text and music were especially written for the occasion.

Composers
Bachofen (1695-1755) was the leading Zurich composer of the early part of the 18^th century. His collection of religious songs entitled the Musical Hallelujah first appeared in 1727 and proved widely popular, being reprinted eleven times over a period of some seventy years. Several of Bachofen’s melodies have even survived into today’s hymnbooks. Steiner (1688-1761) was Zurich’s city trumpeter, a post that was held by members of his family for several generations. He was perhaps the most prolific Swiss composer of his day, and was largely responsible for introducing both the figured bass and the florid Italian style to his native town. Steiner was also a member of the Pietist movement – much to the chagrin of the Zwinglians in Zurich – and his works had a seminal influence on Pietist music in the United States in the 18^th century.

The identities of all the composers who wrote music for the New Year’s Pieces have not been established; however, it seems that the composers of the Pieces for the Musikgesellschaft ab dem Musiksaal were as follows: 1685-1717 anonymous; 1718-49 & 1751-56 Ludwig Steiner; 1750, 1757-77 Oeri (Christian name unknown); 1778-1812 Johann Heinrich Egli.

For the Musikgesellschaft auf der deutschen Schule, the composers were apparently: 1713-32, 1736-1740, 1742-55 anonymous; 1733-35 & 1741 Johann Caspar Bachofen; 1756-1771 Franz Kaufmann/Rudolf Naegeli; 1772-79 Cantor Wüst (Christian name unknown); 1780-83 Johann Jakob Walder; 1784-1812 Johann Heinrich Egli.

Unique insight
The New Year’s Pieces of the Zurich music societies had very small print runs, never enjoyed second editions, and are very scarce today. They document a period in Zurich’s history when it was renowned in the German-speaking world for the richness of its intellectual and artistic life. As the German poet Ewald Christian von Kleist wrote in 1752, ‘Zurich is truly an incomparable place . . . while you will only find three or four men of taste and talent in Berlin, little Zurich has twenty, thirty or more’. These Pieces offer a unique insight into the musical, social, religious and political life of the city of Zurich across the whole of the 18^th century.