Eutonia

Published in ten volumes between 1829 and 1837, first in Breslau and then in Berlin, Eutonia is largely the product of its editor Johann Gottfried Hientzsch. The focus of the journal is musically conservative, and its discussions have a pedagogical and scholarly tone. Church music, symphonic works and choral singing are featured above chamber music, opera and art song. Theoretical and historical subjects frequently receive attention, but they are overshadowed by presentations dealing with the practical needs of music teachers and church musicians. These needs are satisfied by inclusion of essays on the teaching of singing to small children, the selection of appropriate repertory for older students, the accompaniment of chorales, and the organization of singing societies and musical fêtes.

Each issue of Eutonia is divided into five sections. The aufsätze (essays) section deals with aspects of music history, theory, and sometimes issues in contemporary music, including several discussions of church music. An unsigned series of essays about music history includes lists of works by many German composers, while other articles deal with the significance of the church modes, and the laws governing music in various German states. Eutonia’s perspective is one that accepts the political divisions of German-speaking culture, but assumes a national and intellectual unity.

The kritische berichte (critical reports on music and writings about music) may well be the most valuable resource Eutonia offers. Every section focuses on a particular field of music (such as vocal pedagogy, acoustics, teaching methods and literature for keyboard instruments, music history and choral repertory), with the aim of critically examining all published music and writings in the selected field. Many of the discussions of specific theoretical and historical studies describe specific chapters and include annotated reproductions of tables of contents. The nachrichten sections consist of concert reviews, descriptions of curricula and teaching methods in various schools and gymnasiums, and accounts of musical life in Breslau as well as other cities and villages located in the region of Silesia.