{"id":576,"date":"2020-04-22T10:53:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T15:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/?p=576"},"modified":"2020-04-22T10:53:37","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T15:53:37","slug":"coronavirus-smackdown-moore-vs-dorf-or-an-examination-of-queerness-in-1920s-parisian-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/2020\/04\/22\/coronavirus-smackdown-moore-vs-dorf-or-an-examination-of-queerness-in-1920s-parisian-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus Smackdown: Moore vs. Dorf or An Examination of Queerness in 1920s Parisian Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think it is undeniable that Satie\u2019s Socrate <\/em>and some of Poulenc\u2019s ballets\u2014such as Les Biches <\/em>and Aubade<\/em>\u2014are better understood through a queer reading. From my readings, I find that Moore\u2019s analysis of camp in Poulenc\u2019s early ballets makes a stronger argument than Dorf. I agree with Dorf in that a queer reading of Socrate <\/em>helps understand its style, but it also inadvertently makes excellent points about the influence of patronage in composition.<\/p>\n

In my understanding, Dorf is essentially positing that though Satie\u2019s Socrate <\/em><\/a>can\u2019t readily be classified in terms of style it can be better understood by looking at Satie and the Princesse de Polignac\u2019s ideas of queerness and the setting for which the piece was originally presented.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Princesse de Polignac<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I agree with Dorf that a queer reading sheds some light on the nature of the piece, but I do think the article potentially overstates the importance of it. In general, I think that Dorf proved well that the Princesse de Polignac had extraordinary influence on the piece\u2019s composition. He cites many biographies, and it is salient that he depicts an accurate representation of their persons. However, in my estimation he seems to come up short in fully supporting his statement about the piece\u2019s nature. He uses evidence that is believable, such as Sappho\u2019s non-erotic poems and the idea of women reading Greek being inherently Sapphonic. Yet, this evidence is somewhat tangential in my mind, but definitely not invalid. I just feel he neglected to explore some other avenues in what influenced Satie\u2019s compositional style and didn\u2019t provide enough evidence to remove my doubts about the numerous other cultural factors that could affect his compositional style.<\/p>\n

Moore\u2019s analysis of camp in Poulenc\u2019s early ballets makes a strong case.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Francis Poulenc (1922)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He distinctly proves through many primary sources Poulenc\u2019s sexuality and expression and provides a clear connection to how Poulenc depicted them in his ballets. He also provided great analysis of the ballets and specifically how Poulenc both subverted and confirmed heteronormative expectations. I didn\u2019t find much to disagree with in this paper, as it was well sourced and discussed, but rather I would be interested to see potentially more research in how camp was depicted in Poulenc\u2019s other compositions. The article left me wondering if Poulenc maintained some of his subterfuge in less salient pieces. Because I agree with Moore that camp is essential to these ballet\u2019s identities in the way Poulenc conceived them. Here’s a production of Poulenc’s\u00a0Les Biches:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W5_iYhXAFa4<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking at the two articles, I think Moore was more successful, but I do believe he was also more set up for success. I find it commendable that Dorf found and used a relatively new musicological lens to examine a complex and distinctly unflamboyant piece to shed new light on it. I think there is a lot more evidence to prove Poulenc\u2019s queer identity shaped his ballets over proving the influence of patronage and the patron\u2019s sapphonic<\/em> aesthetic. So, even though I felt Dorf\u2019s article lacked a proper thesis and the evidence felt narrow, I do think he raised a lot of excellent points and helped me appreciate the piece in a new way.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, while imperfect, in my estimation both Moore and Dorf provided sound evidence that one should take into account an individual\u2019s identity and their music.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Sources<\/h2>\n

Samuel Dorf, \u201c\u2018<\/span>\u00c9trange, n\u2019est-ce pas?<\/span><\/i>\u2019 The Princesse Edmond de Polignac, Erik Satie\u2019s <\/span>Socrate<\/span><\/i>, and a Lesbian Aesthetic of Music?\u201d <\/span>FLS: Queer Sexualities in French and Francophone Literature and Film<\/span><\/i> 34 (2007), 87-99.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christopher Moore, \u201cCamp in Francis Poulenc\u2019s Early Ballets,\u201d <\/span>Musical Quarterly<\/span><\/i> 95 (Summer-Fall 2012), 299-342.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Wood, \u201cSapphonics,\u201d in <\/span>Queering the Pitch: The New Lesbian and Gay Musicology<\/span><\/i> (New York: Routledge, 2006), 27-37.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think it is undeniable that Satie\u2019s Socrate and some of Poulenc\u2019s ballets\u2014such as Les Biches and Aubade\u2014are better understood through a queer reading. From my readings, I find that Moore\u2019s analysis of camp in Poulenc\u2019s early ballets makes a stronger argument than Dorf. I agree with Dorf in that a queer reading of Socrate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3114,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-576","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\/576","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\/3114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":584,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/576\/revisions\/584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/performinghistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}