Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, organised communal singing became a primary leisure activity in Europe that attracted all layers of society. These choral societies often became instruments of nation-building, singing in native languages and praising the homeland. Though strongly patriotic in tone, choral societies borrowed from each other and relied heavily on prominent German or French models.
This projects gathers and connects the data that has been collected by participants in the Antwerp workshop in 2011 (jointly organised by SPIN and NISE) and the resulting proceeding Choral societies and Nationalism in Europe (2015).
The project is the result of a collaboration with the Study Centre for Flemish Music and emphasises the rise of choral societies in Belgium from 1823 to 1855.