Sweet Street Music for Petty Alms : The Barrel-Organ Career of Anna Balcarová in the Poděbrady Region, 1889–1905

Abstract

The history of street music in Central Europe remains a surprisingly little-researched theme—hardly anything has been published on professional buskers. These musicians were usually men, but this chapter concentrates on the careers of Anna Balcarová (b. 1848) with her husband František Balcar (b. 1863), and Marie Steklá (b. 1863), who all worked in the Poděbrady district, but also in the districts of Kolín, Kutná Hora, Nový Bydžov and Mladá Boleslav in Central Bohemia. While actual begging was forbidden, licensed busking constituted a form of social security, especially for persons of disability. Buskers and Roma musicians were of the lowest social status and therefore subject to strict authority control. On top of that, concentrating on the often disturbing sound of barrel-organs in streets, squares and yards, the public debate on busking tended to be negative. The sources used are music licences and other relevant documents from the State District Archive in Nymburk and texts on organ grinders in the press. The archive material consists of applications, statements, performance licences and examination minutes. The conclusions are that women were not marginal in organ-grinding, and that Anna Balcarová was much more than a simple member of the household. Professional female musicians outside the classical sphere deserve scholarly interest. This viewpoint is instrumental in challenging the canon of the highbrow greats in national music.