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| Format | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Author, Analytic | Ahlquist, Karen |
| Title, Analytic | Musical Assimilation and 'the German Element' at the Cincinnati Saengerfest, 1879 |
| Journal Title | Musical Quarterly |
| Date of Publication | Fall 2011 |
| Volume ID | 94 |
| Issue ID | 3 |
| Location in Work | 381-416 |
| View Online | |
| Abstract | "This essay uses the 1879 Sängerfest to uncover, at least in part, the complex nature of European influence on American musical life in the post-Civil War era . . . [exploring] questions of repertoire choice for large, high-profile artistic events. More broadly, an examination of the features of the Sängerfest shows how language, religion, beliefs about the purpose of public culture, and assertions of ownership of cultural tradition each played a part in debates of the character and acceptability of the [Nordamerikanischer Sänger] Bund's huge effort." Ahlquist finds that Cincinnati's "American" population did not approve of the German chauvinism, nor the mixture of "high-brow" and "low-brow" culture on display at the Sängerfest. The 1879 Sängerfest's "failed assertion of social and cultural power furthered [Cincinnati Germans'] adaptation to an Anglo-based model of 'serious' musical life." |
| Call Number | Digital file |
| MKI Terms | Music festivals -- Ohio -- Cincinnati -- 1879/ German Americans -- Cultural influence/ Societies, etc./ Nordamerikanischer Sängerbund/ Assimilation/ Ethnic identity |