Česká hudba pro mexický císařský dvůr. Události roku 1864 v korespondenci kapelníka Josefa R. Sawerthala

Pages	9–50
DOI	10.37520/cnm.2023.007
Keywords	Second Mexican empire, Josef Sawerthal, Mathilde Sawerthal Weissmann, Josef Řebíček, Czech music emigration, Austrian military music, German Bohemian Musicians
Citation	SLAVICKÝ, Tomáš. Česká hudba pro mexický císařský dvůr. Události roku 1864 v korespondenci kapelníka Josefa R. Sawerthala. Journal of the National Museum. History Series. Prague: National Museum, 2023, 192(3-4), 9–50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37520/cnm.2023.007. ISSN 1214-0627. Also available from: https://www.nm.cz/en/periodicals/journal-of-the-national-museum-history-series/192-3-4/ceska-hudba-pro-mexicky-cisarsky-dvur-udalosti-roku-1864-v-korespondenci-kapelnika-josefa-r-sawerthala

Journal of the National Museum. History Series | 2023/192/3-4

Czech musicians for the Mexican imperial court. Events of 1864 in the correspondence of bandmaster Josef R. Sawerthal

There has been much discussion about the presence of Czech musicians in Mexico during the Second Mexican Empire (1864–1867), especially in connection with the introduction of central European dance music to Mexico and, in turn, of Mexican melodies to Europe. The estate of the Mexican court bandmaster Josef Rudolf Sawerthal (1819–1893), kept at the Czech Museum of Music, clarifies certain assertions that have long been in circulation. Correspondence dated 1864 documents that Josef Sawerthal was entrusted with the recruitment of musicians for an Austrian volunteer Corps, and he found them in Bohemia. Thereafter, at the request of Emperor Maximilian, Josef Sawerthal joined the expedition to Mexico despite having wished to remain with his family and having suggested Josef Řebíček (1844–1904) as his replacement. After the Austrian volunteer Corps was dissolved, he returned home, while most of the members of the band stayed in Mexico. Sawerthal’s letters dated 1864 along with period press reports also provide more detailed information about the biography of his daughter, the singer Mathilde Sawerthal-Weissmann (1846–1908). Her journey to Mexico was followed by a failed attempt to win an engagement at the Provisional Theatre in Prague. Texts from 1864 also bear witness to an episode when Josef Sawerthal began signing his name as “Zavrtal” using Czech orthography. After returning from Mexico, he reverted to the spelling “Sawerthal” used by his family.

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