When I reflect on the materials of a course, I sometimes like to consider the things that we didn’t explicitly discuss in class. The things that we left unsaid, if you will.
It goes without saying that one of the major themes of our course has been just how not German French music was during this period. It was so not-German, in fact, that the very concept fueled an entire nationalist movement, inspiring composers, artists, and patrons alike to ensure the “sobriety and clarity” of all French music and art throughout the time. Music was jarring, avant garde, sparsely orchestrated, primitive and exoticized, but above all else – it was not German.
What could stand to be said, though, is a concept that we didn’t discuss as thoroughly. While we definitely entertained vast themes of classism and the power of patronage – only a few times did we mention that the arts we studied were almost always in the eyes and ears of those who could especially afford it. We discussed the patronage, yes, but we grazed over the differences between the private studio of Nadia Boulanger versus the common person. We entertained the ideas and works of the societally elite, but rarely noted on the perspective of the commoner. Is this because our discipline (music in general) is a high-kept and financially restricted art? Yes. Does that concept emphasize the notes of classism in our studies? Also yes!
I could write several papers on the concepts of our class – dare I say I already have written a few – but sometimes what we learn can help frame what we leave unsaid. Reading between the lines, if you will, or saying the quiet part out loud!