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Music and the Fight against C onfederation in 1860s M ontréal
Author(s) -
Thompson Brian C.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/sena.12036
Subject(s) - newspaper , musical , nationalism , criticism , identity (music) , politics , promotion (chess) , composition (language) , sociology , media studies , advertising , political science , art , literature , law , aesthetics , business
In this article, I examine how music was used as an expression of F rench‐ C anadian identity in nineteenth‐century M ontréal. Focusing on the 1860s and a group of musicians and intellectuals opposed to C onfederation, I explore their efforts to use performance, criticism, and composition in the (re)construction of F rench‐ C anadian identity. My main sources of information are la Presse and l'Union nationale , two newspapers of the time that were strongly opposed to C onfederation and which were vigorous in the promotion of musical events. Through an examination of the musical and political activities advertised and reviewed in the pages of these and other newspapers, we shall see how culture was used as a means to strengthen F rench‐ C anadian nationalism. At the same time, while the musicians themselves may have sought an independent Q uébec, they remained open to other cultures and through their collaboration with non‐francophones articulated a form of civic nationalism.