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SUMMARY:Sumptuous songs: Musical Values and the Medieval Romance Tradition
  - Emma Dillon (King’s College\, London)
DTSTART:20130306T170000Z
DTEND:20130306T180000Z
UID:TALK42893@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:30200
DESCRIPTION:From its inception\, romance had a sound-track. Whether it was
  the clamor of combat or the sweet strains of song that accompanied the co
 nspicuous demonstrations of courtly prestige and romantic engagement\, sou
 nd was a no less potent marker of the genre than the more familiar materia
 l and narrative emblems we associate with romance. This paper  examines th
 e sonic presence in romance with a particular focus on the Old French trad
 ition which\, in its heyday in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries\, w
 as famous for a highly idiosyncratic and imaginative use of song. Jean Ren
 art’s Roman de la Rose\, and Guillaume de Machaut’s Remede de Fortune 
 stand at the outer limits of a convention for inserting pre-existent and s
 ometimes newly composed songs into the text: in the mouths of characters\,
  offering insights into their motivations\, ambitions\, and inner thoughts
 \; as soundtrack and ambience in scenes of social interaction and display\
 , to name but a few examples.\nMy talk focuses on a peculiarly materialist
  theme in the treatment of song in romance. As has often been noted\, mate
 rial objects are a common currency in romance: samite fabrics\, chivalric 
 paraphernalia\, and a constant exchange of gifts\, all serve to connect ro
 mance to the real environments of its production\; and to invest romance w
 ith a carefully calibrated taxonomy of social and economic values. While s
 ong’s immateriality seems to be the antithesis to this environment of ta
 ngible ‘stuff’\, the materialist theme of romance interacts with song 
 in numerous ways. Songs are bestowed as gifts\, while lyrics often mirror 
 and the world of high materiality with imagery of luxury. On occasion\, a 
 curious affective relationship appears to exist between the sensual experi
 ence of fabrics and the act of singing\, and characters are prompted to ly
 ric expression by the touch or sight of beautiful fabrics. In pursuing suc
 h relationships\, romance offers a way to explore values of song: the read
 y-made taxonomies of value (social and economic) attached to ‘stuff’ i
 n romance afford us a way of ascribing value to song\, too. However\, it i
 s a reciprocal relationship. If song is understood as a luxury item\, what
  exactly is the source of its worth? Beyond its practical economies\, song
  taps into a more elusive history of medieval values\, those pertaining to
  expression\, feeling\, and something approaching aesthetics. Romance thus
  provides a rich terrain in which to explore aspects of emotional experien
 ce\; by the same token\, song may enrich the understanding of the function
  and experience of romance itself.
LOCATION:Recital Room\, Faculty of Music\, West Road
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