{"id":118,"date":"2020-02-24T14:16:39","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T20:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/?p=118"},"modified":"2020-04-29T23:58:15","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T04:58:15","slug":"118","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/2020\/02\/24\/118\/","title":{"rendered":"A Strikingly Familiar Debate on National Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

Surprisingly, the French debates over national musical identity are not that unfamiliar. In a world that often feels politically and culturally insecure today, it seems that America is seeking to redefine itself and its culture just as composers and musicians sought to establish a musical identity that was uniquely French.<\/p>\n

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University of Washington’s Gamelan Ensemble<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Efforts made to define national identity served as a central influence to many French composers of the early twentieth century. Musical characteristics that individuals identified as \u201cuniquely French\u201d were infrequently the sole product of French ideas and innovation. They often took inspiration from other existing music in an attempt to escape the domination of German and Russian-centric musical structures and harmonies.[1]<\/sup><\/a> Satie\u2019s Parade<\/em><\/a> (1917) represents the \u201cotherness\u201d of American identity in the Ragtime du paquebot<\/em> by referencing Irving Berlin\u2019s That Mysterious Rag<\/em><\/a> (1911). <\/em>Many of Claude Debussy\u2019s works were inspired by the Javanese Gamelan<\/a> that he first heard at the 1889 World\u2019s Fair. Maurice Ravel was drawn to Ancient Greek topics in his compositions, while Darius Milhaud took inspiration from a variety of global musical ideas.[2]<\/sup><\/a> Yet, one common thread runs between all of these composers; they each worked to define French identity through music. In their definitions, the concise exclusion and inclusion of certain musical influences alludes to strong, nationalistic tendencies. To author Ernest Gellner, defining nation and nationalism mandates a separation of what a nation is, but also what it is not.[3]<\/sup><\/a> Overall, this inclusion and exclusion is an aspect of the relationship between music and identity that I am most comfortable with. I can frequently see attempts at defining culture in my own life and, more broadly, in the United States. Often, we see our government and its constituents in conflict and conversation over what ideals America should represent and what should be excluded in our perpetual discourse over defining Americanness through art.<\/p>\n

One of the least comprehensible aspects of debates over French musical identity, for me, lies in conflicts rooted in cultural criticism towards others\u2019 musical compositions and stylistic choices. I often think of the experience of writing music as an inward conversation between existing compositions and individual consciousness. Darius Milhaud most eloquently describes this thinking in his work, The Evolution of Modern Music in Paris and Vienna. <\/em>He says that, \u201cWhat gives life to a work, what makes it true, will never be its characteristics, polytonal or atonal, but rather, its essential melody. <\/em>Thence springs its real power, because it comes straight from the heart of the musician.\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

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Camille Saint-Sa\u00ebns<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The conflict that arose between many prominent art figures is almost inconceivable to me. Jean Cocteau\u2019s Cock and Harlequin <\/em>highlights the evident disdain that he held for German and Russian composers as well as Debussy\u2019s works.[5]<\/sup><\/a> The Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Nationale de Musique <\/em>developed with a desire to found a national art form.[6]<\/sup><\/a> Its most well-known members and leadership included Gabriel Faur\u00e9, C\u00e9sar Franck, and Camille Saint-Sa\u00ebns.[7]<\/sup><\/a> Yet, the next, younger generation formed the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Musicale Ind\u00e9pendante <\/em>because they believed that the Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Nationale <\/em>became too conservative.[8]<\/sup><\/a> These conflicts are rooted in the different conceptions of French identity composers had through music. Further, it is evident to me that composing music expanded beyond the self and had a broader, political purpose. I have never really considered this idea a possible motivation for musical composition.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I think that the debates about French music and identity are extremely complex. While I feel like I have a strong grasp of many of the cultural and musical factors at play in the search for French musical identity, many still remain foreign. The start of the semester has been fascinating, and I am excited to continue to explore and enhance my understanding of all that I have yet to fully comprehend.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/sup><\/a> Cocteau, Jean. Cock and Harlequin. Notes Concerning Music.<\/em> London: Egoist Press, 1921., Milhaud, Darius. \u201cThe Evolution of Modern Music in Paris and Vienna.\u201d The North American Review<\/em>, April 1923, 544., Ravel, Maurice. \u201cUne Conf\u00e9rence de Maurice Ravel.\u201d Revue De Musicologie<\/em>. (December 1964): 208\u201321.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/sup><\/a> Milhaud, \u201cThe Evolution of Modern Music in Paris and Vienna\u201d, 544., Ravel, \u201cUne Conf\u00e9rence de Maurice Ravel.\u201d, 2018-21.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/sup><\/a> Gellner, Ernest. Nations and Nationalism<\/em>. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2013.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/sup><\/a> Milhaud, \u201cThe Evolution of Modern Music in Paris and Vienna\u201d, 544<\/p>\n

[5]<\/sup><\/a> Cocteau, Cock and Harlequin. Notes Concerning Music. <\/em><\/p>\n

[6]<\/sup><\/a> Bauer, Marion. \u201cNationalism in France: \u2018La Societe Nationale De Music,” Cesar Franck and His Followers.\u201d In Twentieth Century Music: How It Developed. How to Listen to It.<\/em> 74-84. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid<\/em>. <\/em><\/p>\n

[8]<\/sup><\/a> Ibid<\/em>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Surprisingly, the French debates over national musical identity are not that unfamiliar. In a world that often feels politically and culturally insecure today, it seems that America is seeking to redefine itself and its culture just as composers and musicians sought to establish a musical identity that was uniquely French. Efforts made to define national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3518,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118\/revisions\/787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}