Documents found
-
1.
-
6.More information
Using some examples of work related songs or protest songs borrowed from the French and Québécois repertoires, I will show in this article how links to work activities theoretically reinforce the transformations in the relationship between singers and songs themselves. I will first explain the symbolic and collective function of the song : its role as a vector, expanding the urge to resist while at the same time contributing to a healing process. Before the development of industrial and consumer society it was the folk performer who created songs in various contexts. Late nineteenth century transformations not only eliminated the trades mentioned in traditional songs, but eventually led to songs being appropriated by radio and other media. Singers participated in this media transformation, and songs left their original performance context, which came to be referred to negatively as « folklorique ». Looking at the two main components in the chansonnier repertoire, traditional songs and those of literary origin (meaning those whose author and composer are known), we see that the two types of songs are very different both in the nature of the performer and the function of his repertory. The differences between the two also increased during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the professional singer arrived on the scene at a time when folksongs were losing their original function. Thus, songs that accompanied work in the fields or on sailing ships were losing their purpose. The songs therefore moved from a private work related sphere to a public and commercial sphere. The folk performer who transmitted his repertoire from one generation to the next was then replaced by a media performer who approached working songs 'topics from a theatrical viewpoint, completely detached from the actual work activities involved in their texts. The phenomenon of traditional song then changed its modi operandi. In this article, I will give some examples of songs that characterize the relationship between work and oral traditions.