French Exotic Music and the Musical Construction of Spain
Location
King Building 123
Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
4-27-2018 2:00 PM
End Date
4-27-2018 3:20 PM
Abstract
In the 19th and 20th centuries, French exotic music composers, such as Debussy, played an important role in the musical construction of an exoticized Spain. These exotic compositions influenced Spanish composers, such as Manuel de Falla, who created a Spain similar to the French “Spain” in his own works. To explore the idea of auto-exoticization, I will examine the first movement, “En el Generalife”, from Falla’s Noches en los jardines de España and identify passages influenced by the French conception of Spain. By focusing on this movement of Falla’s work, I will observe the ways in which exoticization ironically played a part in a Spanish composer’s conception of his own country.
Keywords:
French exotic music, Spanish auto-exoticization, music, Manuel de Falla
Recommended Citation
Chen, Monica, "French Exotic Music and the Musical Construction of Spain" (04/27/18). Senior Symposium. 43.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/seniorsymp/2018/presentations/43
Major
Musical Studies
Advisor(s)
Andrew Pau, Music Theory
Project Mentor(s)
Andrew Pau, Music Theory
Kathryn Metz, Ethnomusicology
April 2018
French Exotic Music and the Musical Construction of Spain
King Building 123
In the 19th and 20th centuries, French exotic music composers, such as Debussy, played an important role in the musical construction of an exoticized Spain. These exotic compositions influenced Spanish composers, such as Manuel de Falla, who created a Spain similar to the French “Spain” in his own works. To explore the idea of auto-exoticization, I will examine the first movement, “En el Generalife”, from Falla’s Noches en los jardines de España and identify passages influenced by the French conception of Spain. By focusing on this movement of Falla’s work, I will observe the ways in which exoticization ironically played a part in a Spanish composer’s conception of his own country.
Notes
Session IV, Panel 11 - Modern | Europe
Moderator: Leonard Smith, Frederick B. Artz Professor of History