It was perhaps inevitable that, as groups like Canta
refined their musical skills, there was a shift away from
a concern for conservation and propagation of the musical
heritage towards an interest in generating new materials
with stress placed both on contemporary contexts and
socio-political concerns and on the creative development
of the individual artist. Canta had begun by seeing
itself as the apostle of a pure tradition
(Turchini, 1993:204), but as the group matured a
polarization became evident between the self-confessed
traditionalists and the
evolutionists, the latter represented, for
example, by Christophe Mac Daniel who felt that the
style was confined, cramped. It was necessary to
break out of it (quoted in Turchini
:1993:208). The success that some groups were later
to find in the international world music market led to
further professionalization and subsequent distancing
from insular structures, both aesthetic and operational. This
does not, however, mean that the evolutionist camp has
simply abandoned any connection with, or concern for,
traditional styles. On the contrary, for many it
remains a priority that they should both justify and
safeguard their position as worthy heirs to the ancestral
heritage and as overseas ambassadors for Corsican
culture. In the words of Benedettu Sarocchi of Voce
di Corsica, the challenge is to produce something
original, while at the same time remaining within the
tradition (interview, 1995).
The central concern with retaining a
traditional or at least specifically Corsican
identity is witnessed by the regularity with which groups
define themselves in their disc notes and public
statements as being rooted in the tradition. The
way in which this relationship operates in practical
terms, however, can occur at many different points along
a continuum and in some cases the assertion appears to
function largely as a statement of a philosophical, moral
or political stance with respect to the debate focusing
on what Salini (1996:197) characterizes as the
ambiguity of the relationship (between) tradition and
creation. Central to this debate are such
questions as: what is the tradition? how is it best
served? what expression of the tradition is
appropriate to the present age? what is the role of
the contemporary artist?
The different positions adopted by the various
protagonists in the tradition-creation debate
are intimately related to their understanding or
rationalization of the concept of tradition itself.
The main positions adopted can be summarized by the
following characterizations (with the understanding that
there is inevitably a certain overlap from one position
to another and that no one artist can necessarily be
expected to fit exactly into any one category):
- At the most conservative end of the scale,
tradition is viewed as something that
remains relatively constant and is endowed with a
timeless and superior authority: as such, it
occupies a sacrosanct position shared also by the
ancestors or ancients. Both the
origins of the repertoire and the secrets of
vocal technique belong to la nuit des
temps or the proverbial mists of time: they
are sited in the impersonal and inscrutable realm
of cosmology. This perception might be
developed into the notion that the tradition must
remain unchanged if its integrity is to be
preserved and that any departure from the
tradition is either inauthentic or a
betrayal - a stance that
is most likely to be adopted by those who are not
themselves active at group level and who
criticize the groups for having changed the
tradition. Many group members would
nevertheless subscribe to the general sentiment,
whilst simultaneously pursuing a more liberal
path as far as their own practice is
concerned.
- Among those adopting a more progressive approach,
the tradition is portrayed as something which
should relate to the present rather than the
past, an organic process with change or evolution
as an integral part of its nature as opposed to a
fixed entity which, from their perspective,
cannot avoid eventual ossification. This
standpoint allows for the notion of tradition as
something that is generated by individuals and
their responses to a changing socio-cultural
climate, rather than something which pre-exists
as a product of some mythical collective
folk. The concept of
authenticity here embraces the notion of being
faithful to ones own time and experience.
- A compromise between these two positions suggests
that the traditions handed down by the elders
should be valued and the integrity of the
cultural heritage respected, but that at the same
time the tradition needs to find ways of moving
forward and developing contemporary forms of
expression if it is to remain a living
thing. This is the viewpoint most
commonly subscribed to by todays groups and
repeated, in various guises, in media accounts of
the groups activities. (A newspaper
report of a concert given by the group I Chjami
Aghjalesi in 1995, for example, stated: The
vocal group Chjami Aghjalesi ... represents both
a solid anchorage in the ancestral tradition and
an indispensable evolution, because movement is
life and art should not be frozen.
Corse Matin, 27.6.95)
- A position slightly apart is occupied by those
who are clear that they are simply doing
what they want to do, rejecting any idea
that they might be under a moral obligation to
serve the traditional cause.
Others have come to accept that there is a place
for new work which springs from an
individuals artistic inspiration alongside
more consciously traditionalist endeavours.
Jean-Claude Acquaviva of the group A Filetta, for
example, was quoted in the 21.8.01 edition of
Corse-Matin as saying: While composing the
songs for Mèdée, I was caught up for a long
time with the fear of deforming, of betraying the
heritage that we carry, and the music finally
came in accepting this transgression.
The second, third and fourth positions
described above, which can all be classified as being
more or less progressive, can assume a range of
guises. Statements made by different groups or
individuals in their attempts to justify what might be
seen as changes or innovations for which they are
responsible - whether in their original
compositions or in their interpretations of traditional
material - tend to be articulated around a
number of key concepts for which the following quotations
serve as examples.
- Evolution and identity; evolution as a natural
process. Patrizia Gattaceca of Les
Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses evokes the
notion of evolution in drawing an analogy with
the way in which languages evolve:
Its like a language. A language
evolves, but it is still a language. Song
evolves, its still the song of a
country (interview, 1994). In a
lighter vein, Jean-François Bernardini of the
group I Muvrini, arguing that some people
refuse to accept in music the type of change that
they happily accept in other areas of life,
comments that girls who wear jeans are still
Corsican: they have simply adapted to changing
times and fashions (interview, 1995).
- The tradition as a living entity. Patrizia
Poli (Les Nouvelles Polyphonies) states
unequivocally that the tradition is a
living thing and, as such, is something
which renews itself (interview,
1995). Polyphony in particular has been
harnessed by groups like A Filetta
... in order to give voice to a culture in
movement, in the manner of a living people
(promotional literature, 1994).
- The need for music to reflect contemporary
experience; the need for relevance.
Patrizia Poli says, we sing polyphony as we
feel it today (interview, 1995),
while Jean-François Bernardini claims that
people want a music that belongs to
today, to now (interview, 1995).
Speaking from the perspective of the performer,
he introduces the notions of right and
duty: Personally, I have both respect
and disrespect for the tradition, because we have
the right and the duty to bear witness to our own
experience. He goes on to say:
We have to invent our language, a new
language, within the language which already
exists, thats our mission. In a
similar spirit, the disc notes to the album A
Capella by the group Tavagna, after
presenting the group as the memory of those
who no longer have a voice, include the
comment: But because this group
wishes to see itself equally as the voice of
life, its members compose and interpret on this
same disc some very beautiful new
songs. The members of E Voce di u
Cumune, meanwhile, aim to bequeath to future
generations a Corsican music of the end of
the 20th century (quoted in de Zerbi &
Diani, 1992:96).
- The right to individual creativity and the
inevitability of new creations.
Jean-François Bernardini again speaks from the
standpoint of the artist when he says that:
My mission is not only to search in
my attic to see what is there. My
mission is also to search here (tapping his
head), in my imagination, in my creativity, to
see what is there, in my individuality, and to
share it with others. (interview,
1995) As an artist, he has both his own
destiny to fulfil and a recognized role within
society. Artistic creativity is not even a
matter of choice: Its a spring. ...
It emerges naturally. For Ghjuvaní
Petru Godinat of the group Cinqui Sú, it
is important ... to do whatever one
wants to do ... people must be left free to their
desire to express themselves (interview,
1995). This is qualified by the
assertion: Its not
calculated. Its just how it
happens. It doesnt result from a
specific intention. Iviu Pasquali
talks of how a group of singers will sometimes
experiment with new effects simply for fun,
to give ourselves pleasure (interview,
1994). It is possible, he explains, to
become saturated if they restrict themselves to
the same limited repertoire and manner of
interpretation. In his view, such
experimentation is natural and a form of
evolution.
- Tradition is a process. Jean-François
Bernardini counters any suggestion of betraying
the tradition by arguing that it has always
absorbed foreign and innovatory elements:
People ... have integrated, have
appropriated things and with time, with talent,
with force, that can become traditional in the
sense that it can be shared by the greater
number, it can be integrated. And I believe
that today, with different instruments, we are
doing exactly the same thing. ... Musics are not
born traditional, they become traditional, with
time. ... Today, are we in the process of
creating the traditional Corsican music of
tomorrow, of three hundred years from now?
That's the dialectic that we are trying to bring
to life quite naturally. (interview,
1995)
While many of the above formulations are valid both
with respect to the nature of tradition and as arguments
in support of the creative artist, they are in essence
more philosophical than practical and allusions to the
tradition itself remain largely imprecise and
unqualified. Fundamentally, they evade the question
as to how exactly any new development might be seen as a
natural and logical evolution of what has gone
before. Analogies such as those quoted under the
theme evolution and identity can be
formulated very liberally and fail to emphasize that the
present must nevertheless be seen to be related to the
past if it is to lay claim to such ancestry: the core or
deep structure must be recognizable beneath the
surface. The view expressed on one occasion that
roots are no good to trees if there are no
flowers might perhaps be qualified with the
reminder that it makes little sense to simply graft on a
flower that bears no relation to the tree itself: one
might just as well plant another tree elsewhere.
Hence Salinis words of caution: ...
while there is no question of impeding progress, the
fallout should certainly not be underestimated. ... [A
culture] can of course take part in todays world,
adopt a new language, a new instrumentarium, different
forms of writing, but it is indispensable that its
archetypes should remain. (Salini,
1996:207)
Singers at the more cautious end of the
tradition-creation debate stress the importance of
absorbing the traditional indigenous musical language and
then using this as the basis upon which new compositions
can be built. As Iviu Pasquali expresses it,
in order to create a polyphony, it is necessary
first of all to be anchored, rooted in the old, old
polyphony. (interview, 1994) Thereafter, one
must periodically return to the wellspring of the
tradition so that any new development will be a
logical continuation. For Mighele Paoli (one
of the longest standing members of Canta u Populu Corsu),
whatever form new music takes, it is important that it
should be in some way representative: it is
important that people can identify with this music: if
not, ... its not worth the bother, its
failed (interview, 1995).
|