The theme that cropped up most prominently in my assignments this semester is nationalism. From the way that French politics directed composers’ musical choices, I have concluded that nationalism often caused the other class themes of racism, gender, and sexuality. The politics of power balances between nations applies, in the most basic way, to all […]
Overall, I find research itself intriguing, as my curiosity can be strung along down rabbit holes of uncovering mysteries. What I specifically enjoy about research is the magical feeling when I find the exact source or information that I am looking for, especially if I find a secret trove of archived primary sources. I particularly […]
Scholars Samuel N. Dorf and Christopher Moore both present valid arguments that the music commissioned or composed by 1920s French artists, Polignac and Poulenc, served as an expression of their queer identities and a means of communicating with their respective queer communities. The most convincing pieces of evidence for such arguments are primary sources that […]
The question of whether Parisians truly loved, respected, and celebrated African American artists requires delving into the specific definitions of these three verbs as well as “Parisians” and “African American artists.” First, it is difficult and probably inaccurate to define, nevertheless assign a fully-mutual sentiment to, every member of a large group of people. For […]
Many of our class sources that have discussed national and cultural identities in music have served as extremely applicable to my understanding of Ida Rubinstein’s contributions to “French” music during her career. The most recent and idea-striking reading I have encountered so far is James Parakilas’ “How Spain Got a Soul,” in which he asserts […]
In comparing French debates over their country’s musical identity between 1870-1920, I see similarities between Cocteau’s style of writing – in which he uses seemingly disjunct metaphors and fragments of explanations – and certain styles of pop music today in which artists often convey their beliefs in brief musical phrases and perhaps metaphorical lyrics. In […]