The Theme of Childhood in French 19th-Century Music: a First-Time Overview
Abstract
The paper describes piano and vocal music of the 19th-century French composers – Ch. Alkan, Ch. Gounod, J. Bizet, and G. Fauré. The research does not focus that much on the analysis of musical language of selected works, rather, it explores their historical and cultural context as well as some of the reasons for their appearance.
The theme of childhood in the 19th-century French musical culture has a special role. It naturally follows from the general attention to childhood demonstrated by philosophers, educators, and writers of the 18th-19th centuries, and has several ideas behind. Firstly, an idea of educating a music lover. The Biedermeier style (in its French version) and the fashion for domestic music-making created a demand for easy and convenient pieces for solo and ensemble performance. The priority was given to piano four-hands and songs for voice and piano. Secondly, the opening of Paris Conservatory, numerous other music education institutions as well as private music classes required the development of educational material for beginner musicians of different ages. Thirdly, this is a special vision of composers that combined naivety, humor and nostalgia. This mix does not only shape the imagery of selected works, but also the composer’s preference for certain genres, forms and systems of expressive means.
To conclude it should be noted that the theme of childhood in the 19th- century French music is a remarkable phenomenon worthy of further consideration.
Keywords: French chamber music, theme of childhood, Hausmusik, teaching repertoire, naïvestyle
For citation: Zakharbekova I. S. The Theme of Childhood in French 19th-Century Music: a First-Time Overview [Electronic source]. In: Sovremennye problemy muzykoznaniya / Contemporary Musicology, 2019, no. 4, pp.3–32. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.56620/2587-9731-2019-4-003-032
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.56620/2587-9731-2019-4-003-032
Copyright (c) 2019 Irina S. Zakharbekova
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