Abstracts
Abstract
During World War ii, French music found itself in a unique position in the United States. As the sonic embodiment of an Allied nation, it was nonetheless subjected to musical identity politics that drew on stereotypes of France as an elegant, cosmopolitan, and even effeminate culture whose products needed the transformation of US reception to toughen themselves up for the global war, fought both on the battlefield and through propaganda. I focus on three aspects of this complex story of cultural mediation: the reception and adaptation of Claude Debussy’s music, especially Pelléas et Mélisande; American cultural artifacts representing France, such as the 1943 motion picture Casablanca; and the role of French composers and performers in the United States during the war.
Résumé
Pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, la musique française se trouvait dans une position unique aux États-Unis. Bien qu’elle donnât corps sonore à une nation alliée, elle était néanmoins sujette à une politique d’identité musicale influencée par des stéréotypes qui associaient la France à une culture élégante, cosmopolite et même efféminée dont les produits avaient besoin de la transformation apportée par leur réception américaine, afin de les endurcir pour une guerre globale qui se passait autant sur le champ de bataille que celui de la propagande. Je me concentre sur trois aspects de cette histoire complexe de médiation culturelle : la réception et l’adaptation de la musique de Claude Debussy, surtout son opéra Pelléas et Mélisande ; la production culturelle américaine représentant la France telle que le film de 1943, Casablanca ; et le rôle de compositeurs et musiciens français aux États-Unis pendant la guerre.
Appendices
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