The material presented in this exhibition is very diverse. It consists of printed and manuscript scores and books from the holdings of the Library of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade (FoM), different in terms of style, genre or artistic attainment... What they all have in common is the fact that all of them reveal some less known historical details about the Great War. Whether the compositions were written between battles at the Salonica Front, or performed on the ‘hot sands of Africa’, where Serbian soldiers were recovering from their retreat across Albania, or printed in London and Zurich in order to draw attention to the suffering of the Serbian people, or created and performed by Serbian students across Western Europe – they all reveal stories about the events and individuals connected with the First World War.
The material for this exhibition was not collected with the intention of being presented in this way. On the contrary, it seems that the publications presented ‘singled themselves out’ by virtue of their documentary value. The more the amount of the material related to the period of the Great War increased, the more the idea to present it in the form of a thematic exhibition matured. The variety of the material resulted in a somewhat fragmentary form of presentation. Nevertheless, we hope that this exhibition will generate the same kind of enthusiasm among its ‘visitors’ as that which fuelled the creation of these works, and which inspired the librarians to bring this project to fruition.
The material for this exhibition was not collected with the intention of being presented in this way. On the contrary, it seems that the publications presented ‘singled themselves out’ by virtue of their documentary value. The more the amount of the material related to the period of the Great War increased, the more the idea to present it in the form of a thematic exhibition matured. The variety of the material resulted in a somewhat fragmentary form of presentation. Nevertheless, we hope that this exhibition will generate the same kind of enthusiasm among its ‘visitors’ as that which fuelled the creation of these works, and which inspired the librarians to bring this project to fruition.
Ђорђевић, Владимир Р. Виолина и летимични преглед виолиниста до 19. века. Пирот: В. Ђорђевић, 1895.
The essay The violin and a short overview of violinists up to the 19th century (Виолина и летимични преглед виолиниста до 19. века) was written by Vladimir Đorđević (1869-1938) in 1895 for the purposes of taking his teacher licensing exam. The Ministry returned the essay to Đorđević, as it transpired that he had not been required to submit one in order to pass the exam. As the author states on the preliminary page, the house where he lived with his brother Tihomir Đorđević (who distinguished himself in the Great War as commander of a hospital unit after the retreat across Albania) was severely damaged in a Belgrade bombing. Many books, including this brief study, were damaged by shrapnel. At least nine shrapnel holes are visible on the manuscript.
During the First World War, Đorđević taught music at the Serbian Lycée in France from 1916 to 1919, thus disseminating Serbian musical culture.
During the First World War, Đorđević taught music at the Serbian Lycée in France from 1916 to 1919, thus disseminating Serbian musical culture.