Due to the decline of religion within the state and the limited music that was popular with the public, many musicians had to search desperately for work, and find a new means of recapturing the public’s attention. Without any spiritual guidance for the masses, musicians began to think of themselves as spiritual leaders, and started to try to tackle important themes within their compositions. The ‘Brotherhood of man’ was a particularly eminent concept, as was the idea of artists being heroic, and equally people wanted the inception of a national identity, what with hostilities growing between countries such as Italy and Germany. This idea is in a stark contrast with contemporary music; most music does not explore any significant theme, nor does it pose any challenges to the political situation or injustices of the world. The Punk era provided intelligent, thought-provoking and satirical compositions, however, there does not seem to be a ‘need’ for it in today’s society. The majority of popular music is devoid of meaningful lyrics, but rather relies on a catchy hook or dance beat for its success. In that sense, musicianship is easier, but arguably less worthwhile. Again, in the current climate, artists are given almost entirely free expression upon what music they release, clearly something not seen in the revolutionary period. A prime example would Beethoven, who only narrowly avoided imprisonment. Famously, he was forced to change the name of one of his most important works, now known as ‘Ode to Joy,’ Beethoven’s original title was ‘Ode to Freedom,’ but the regime was weary of the public acquiring notions of freedom and libertarianism, and were aware of Beethoven’s popularity and therefore his subsequent authority, and as such, ordered the censorship. In a way, it is tragic that despite the freedom in the modern age, artists are not exploiting this to bring about social change, though, it does make the musicians of the revolution all the more admirable; they possessed no creative freedom, but fought to make drastic social and political changes regardless of the consequences.
One prime example of the resistance of the musicians to the regime was though Opera. Opera was in fact very clearly monitored, as it was easy to do so; it was simple to read the plots and check for any messages of rebellion, uprising, or reaching for freedom. Yet, musicians found a way to manipulate this medium of expression that continuously grew in popularity; the revolution saw the rise of the Opera concert hall. So in order to make a commentary upon the current social state, musicians turned to the past; ‘Political and social circumstances encouraged the exploitation of national myth and legend.’ Great historical romances were used, neo-classicism being borne into opera, with intricate Greek and Roman myths being reimagined and local legends retold, all to avoid any possibly contemporary meanings. A more recent example of the use of allegory to convey social commentary would be Arthur Miller’s reputed play, ‘The Crucible,’ where he was able to criticize McCarthyism through the allegory of the witch trials in 17th century Salem, without being arrested for suspected Communism. Some musicians were lucky enough to have not only a patron, but an enlightened patron, who would as such, allow them much greater creative freedom, so it was therefore easier for them to express their thoughts and feelings upon the social and political state of the country. Mozart for example, was lucky enough to have experienced this, and was able to compose quite controversial operas whilst remaining unscathed.
In spite of the many struggles facing musicians and composers during the French revolution, there were some aspects of redemption. The main source of salvation for the newly amassed unemployed musicians was that of private tuition. There was now a growing demand for music lessons; everyone desired to learn an instrument, and there were plenty still with enough money to afford such tuition. People did not simply want to hear someone play the piano at a concert, they wanted to be able to play the music themselves. As such, the demand was not only for teachers, but for the composition of new pieces that could readily be taught to amateurs; after all, not everyone was capable of mastering a Beethoven sonata. Mozart for example, composed sonatas alongside other pieces with the primary purpose of being able to teach them to his students. Today, music tuition is still a primary source of income for a lot of musicians. All demographics of people want to learn instruments, and teachers can offer lessons privately at their homes, or they can offer peripatetic lessons, travelling to schools for example.
The publishing of musicians’ works presented one further challenge. Yes, it may have increased the popularity of a composer, as the work was readily available, but by making something readily available, one could argue that the value is somewhat diminished. The rise of people learning instruments created the demand for access to the music, and now people had it, the music became almost commonplace, and the musicians themselves were paid very little for the distribution of their works. A parallel situation in today’s musical situation would be that of downloads and streaming. Many companies offer unlimited streaming services, allowing people to pay a small fee to listen to artists as much as they like, which inevitably results in artists receiving very little for the music they have provided. Equally, now we can download music in seconds, often people don’t think twice about downloading something for free on the internet that someone has shared, again depriving the musician of their payment.
Overall, I think that there are a fairly equal amount of challenges that faced the musicians of the time of the French revolution, and that face today’s musicians. The plight of the 18th century musicians was certainly far more serious, as their failure to abide to censorships could result in death, and it was incredibly difficult to circulate your work and earn a reputation if you did not have a patron, or did not follow the acclaimed musical style of the time. However, with our ever advancing technology, music is to an extent losing its meaning. It is too easily accessible, and not only that, but with social media such as youtube, literally anyone can distribute their own musical offerings, regardless of talent, whereas to perform in revolutionary times, you were expected to be at the level of a virtuoso. Undeniably, it is easier to achieve fame in the modern era, but only for those befitting of the current trends; a complete mirroring of the 18th century scenario. Ultimately, I believe contemporary musicians should look back to the composers of the 18th century and prior to that; they should exploit the freedom granted to them that earlier musicians never had, and use it to create music to actually affect change. It is a wonderful thing that music is so readily available to everyone, but we must learn from the mistakes of the revolution, and not do anything to devalue musicians’ work, such as downloading works for free, and nor should have such set ideas of the popular style of music; if more genres were embraced, we could have the same quality of the works from the 18th century, rather than relying on appearances and no substance.
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