CLEFNI · The choral life in the cities of Bern and Fribourg in the long nineteenth century
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2019-09-01 → 2023-06-03
- EU contribution
- €304,724
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
The choral life in the cities of Bern and Fribourg in the long nineteenth century
The 19th century saw a rise of many choral societies in Europe and the development of a choral movement that promoted not only community singing but also patriotism. In Switzerland, men’s choirs in particular had a strong patriotic character. However, unlike in neighbouring nations, patriotism in Switzerland could not be based on linguistic or cultural unity. Instead, it called for a sense of togetherness that united the different cultures that make up the country. Togetherness and national unity were promoted at national festivals, such as the Swiss Singing, Shooting, and Gymnastics Festivals. Historical documents of the Federal Singing Association describe how patriotic speeches during the festivals promoted a sense of belonging regardless of linguistic, cultural, or religious differences. These festivals were attended by few choirs, however. Little is known about whether this promotion of national unity was part of the everyday life of the participating choirs and whether it reached choirs that did not participate. The Swiss choral tradition has been largely absent from recent international publications. Particularly lacking are in-depth studies that shed light on the everyday life of choirs and compare choral activities in different linguistic and religious parts of Switzerland. This leads to a general lack of systematic understanding of how the 19th-century choral movement contributed to multicultural understanding in Switzerland. The CLEFNI project has addressed these research gaps by comparing choral life in the cities of Bern and Fribourg during the long 19th century (1789-1914). Bern is a predominantly Protestant and German-speaking city, while Fribourg is predominantly Catholic and French-speaking. CLEFNI has illuminated the historical circumstances and specific conditions that made multicultural understanding possible in Switzerland, with a view to discussing issues that are relevant not only to this country, but to the whole of Europe.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
During the 19th century, several music and choral societies arose in Europe, giving rise to a choral movement that fostered not only communal singing, but also patriotic feelings. In Switzerland, this movement involved several men’s choirs that had a strong liberal and patriotic character. This patriotism, however, could not be based on cultural, linguistic or ethnic unity, but called for the integration of the four cultures that make up Switzerland. With its songs and festivals, the Swiss choral movement became a crucial element in this integration process. Yet despite its significance, this movement remains largely ignored by recent scholarship. There is a lack of research on the movement as a whole and principally of specific knowledge about the choral life in different places. The cities of Bern and Fribourg for example have different languages, religions and traditions. To what extent did their choral life differ from or resemble one another? By answering this question, CLEFNI aims to understand how choral activities influenced the social and political life in these cities and contributed to the integration of the Swiss peoples. The objective is to better understand the historical circumstances and the specific conditions that allowed integration and multicultural understanding. CLEFNI is designed as an archival research and will critically analyse sources in archives of 19th-century choral societies in terms of their musical, social and political contexts and of their gender dimensions. Findings will then be discussed in view of existing research on the 19th-century choral movement, on musicology and on related disciplines like sociology and history. Considering that multicultural understanding continues to be a challenge in Europe, CLEFNI’s value goes beyond the Swiss borders, providing new knowledge that contributes to understanding how cultural movements like choral singing may lead to multicultural understanding and integration of cultural minorities.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITAET BERN · BernCoordinatorSwitzerland
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union