1 THE MUSICAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE NATION. MUSIC, POLITICS AND STATE IN COLOMBIA 1848 ─ 1910 A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2014 Alejandra Isaza Velásquez School of Arts, Languages and Cultures 2 Contents LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................... 6 DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... 8 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT...................................................................................................................... 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 10 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Importance of this research ................................................................................................................ 14 Research questions and objectives ................................................................................................... 17 Method and Concepts ......................................................................................................................... 20 Sources .................................................................................................................................................. 21 Chapter structure .................................................................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER 1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW .............................................................................................. 25 Population and territory ....................................................................................................................... 25 Regional fragmentation ................................................................................................................... 25 Urban society .................................................................................................................................... 29 Politics and Economics ....................................................................................................................... 33 Political conflicts and the search for prosperity ........................................................................... 33 The war of a Thousand Days (1899-1902) and its aftermath .................................................... 37 Cultural process .................................................................................................................................... 39 Elite culture and its projection as “national culture” .................................................................... 39 Unified “national culture” ................................................................................................................. 42 Subaltern cultures ............................................................................................................................ 43 CHAPTER 2: MUSIC AND EDUCATION IN COLOMBIA .................................................................. 45 Educating Colombians ......................................................................................................................... 45 3 Music education for Colombians ........................................................................................................ 48 Retretas: music education for all? ..................................................................................................... 55 Can everybody learn art music? ─ Or learn to appreciate it? ....................................................... 57 Educating Colombian musicians ........................................................................................................ 63 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 67 CHAPTER 3: MUSIC OF THE PEOPLE (ACCORDING TO THE ELITES).................................... 69 The people ............................................................................................................................................ 69 Music of the people .............................................................................................................................. 71 “Bulla” and bambuco ........................................................................................................................ 72 Folklore .................................................................................................................................................. 78 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................... 83 CHAPTER 4: MUSICIANS AND NATION ............................................................................................ 86 The beginnings of an urban musical culture, 1848 – 1863 ............................................................ 88 Living and working as a musician I .................................................................................................... 96 The Olimpo Radical (1863 – 1880): the flourishing of urban music ........................................... 100 The Regeneración .............................................................................................................................. 103 Living and working as a musician II ................................................................................................. 106 The war of a Thousand Days and the new century (1899–1910) ............................................... 108 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 111 CHAPTER 5 THE PLEASURES OF MUSIC (I) Concerts and Opera............................................ 114 Concerts .............................................................................................................................................. 114 Tuning .............................................................................................................................................. 114 Repertoire ........................................................................................................................................ 127 Music for a “noble purpose” and feminine talent ....................................................................... 129 Opera ................................................................................................................................................... 132 4 The price of arias ............................................................................................................................ 137 “¡Viva la libertad de oído!” (¡Long live the free ear!) ................................................................ 140 “Vamos a la opera”? ...................................................................................................................... 144 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 148 CHAPTER 6. THE PLEASURES OF MUSIC (II) THE PIANO AND SCORES ........................... 150 The piano ............................................................................................................................................. 150 To sit at the piano ........................................................................................................................... 158 The piano students ......................................................................................................................... 164 The scores ........................................................................................................................................... 166 First-sight reading ........................................................................................................................... 166 The scores market ......................................................................................................................... 174 Musical texts: scores and musical criticism ................................................................................ 179 Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................... 186 CHAPTER 7: MUSIC OF THE NATION ............................................................................................. 188 A cause for celebration ...................................................................................................................... 188 Music to celebrate .............................................................................................................................. 191 Festive music: the music military bands ......................................................................................... 193 The music of the Centenary ............................................................................................................. 201 And the band played on ...................................................................................................................