{"id":139,"date":"2020-02-24T20:01:25","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T02:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/?p=139"},"modified":"2020-02-24T20:04:14","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T02:04:14","slug":"maurice-ravels-case-for-national-conciousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/2020\/02\/24\/maurice-ravels-case-for-national-conciousness\/","title":{"rendered":"Maurice Ravel&#8217;s case for National Conciousness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Understanding musical identity is a fraught conversation between idealized perceptions about shared values, and constructed sonic markers interpreted by the whims of composers, musicians, writers, and the public. For French musical figures and writes between 1870 and 1920, some major forces at play in these conversations were lingering tensions with the German empire, and eventually the advent of WW!, or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">la premiere guerre mondial<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">e.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For Maurice Ravel<a class=\"sdfootnoteanc\" href=\"#sdfootnote1sym\" name=\"sdfootnote1anc\"><sup>1<\/sup><\/a>, this understanding of a musical identity was shaped by his notions of national consciousness, a force shaped by personal reaction, sensitiveness, emotion, an ultimate source of inspiration. In a speech<a class=\"sdfootnoteanc\" href=\"#sdfootnote1sym\" name=\"sdfootnote1anc\"><sup>2<\/sup><\/a> at Rice University in 1928, Ravel argues \u201cthe national consciousness of musicians distinctly German is expansive, while our French consciousness is one of reserve.\u201d This statement stems from Ravel\u2019s own subtle distaste of a style in contrast with his national identity, German, and his admiration for a French compositional style. Ravel\u2019s 1918 composition, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tombeau de Couperin <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">echoes this investment in a sound of \u201creserve\u201d while referencing the European tragedy and horror that was WW1.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Maurice Ravel - &quot;Le tombeau de Couperin&quot; by Angela Hewitt\" width=\"580\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1Mgw8pV4iPM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While war may not currently loom large in the American consciousness, despite the fact that we have been at war since 2001, these questions about what institutions and issues determine American identity ask many of the same questions as Ravel in 1928.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-148 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1254\/2020\/02\/Maurice_Ravel_1925-1-226x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"226\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1254\/2020\/02\/Maurice_Ravel_1925-1-226x300.jpg 226w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1254\/2020\/02\/Maurice_Ravel_1925-1-113x150.jpg 113w, https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1254\/2020\/02\/Maurice_Ravel_1925-1.jpg 457w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 226px) 100vw, 226px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">An American institution that is deeply focused on individualism and national identity is the movie industry. One of the traditional markers of progress and identity is the Academy Awards show, the ultimate declaration of what the movie establishment considers relevant and valuable. In past years the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite was made in response to an overwhelmingly white nominee list and voting committee. This year\u2019s Best Picture, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rottentomatoes.com\/m\/parasite_2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parasite <\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">directed by Bong Joon Ho which also took 5 other awards, encapsulates the uneasiness about not only if the Academy Awards are an international project, but how we sort art into categories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/02\/10\/world\/asia\/Parasite-Oscar-bong-joon-ho.html?action=click&amp;module=RelatedLinks&amp;pgtype=Article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">interview<\/a>, Bong Joon Ho remarked \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Oscars are not an international film festival. They\u2019re very local\u201d in response to a question about the precedent for the Academy Awards when it comes to Korean films. A college professor in Seoul made the important point,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cPeople around the world could relate to the polarization it describes,\u201d said Huh Eun, a retired college professor in Seoul and a fan of Mr. Bong\u2019s films. \u201cThe film was an extended metaphor for how the deepening rich-poor gap in advanced capitalist societies breeds blind hatred and crimes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Parasite - Official Trailer (2019) Bong Joon Ho Film\" width=\"580\" height=\"326\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5xH0HfJHsaY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parasite <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is undoubtedly a Korean film, its powerful depiction of the horrors of capitalism were instantly recognizable by viewers around the world, a distinct response that questions the distinct characteristics of nations in the face of capitalism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That the debate around <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Parasite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> echo the debates around French musical identity should come as no surprise. Emotion inspires, even if it is the product of huge ideologies or projects such as capitalism or war.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"sdfootnote1\">\n<p class=\"sdfootnote\"><a class=\"sdfootnotesym\" href=\"#sdfootnote1anc\" name=\"sdfootnote1sym\">1<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Barbara <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kelly, \u201cHistory and Homage,\u201d in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cambridge Companion to Ravel<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, ed. Deborah Mawer (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 17-26.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"sdfootnote1\">\n<p class=\"sdfootnote\"><a class=\"sdfootnotesym\" href=\"#sdfootnote1anc\" name=\"sdfootnote1sym\">2<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Maurice Ravel, \u201cContemporary Music,\u201d Lecture given at Rice Institute, April 7 1928, reprinted in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Revue de Musicologie<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 50, No. 129 (December 1964), 208-221.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Understanding musical identity is a fraught conversation between idealized perceptions about shared values, and constructed sonic markers interpreted by the whims of composers, musicians, writers, and the public. For French musical figures and writes between 1870 and 1920, some major forces at play in these conversations were lingering tensions with the German empire, and eventually [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3054,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5,2,4,3],"class_list":["post-139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-consciousness","tag-maurice-ravel","tag-nationalism","tag-parasite"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139","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\/3054"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":151,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139\/revisions\/151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}