1 use, the useful, and public utility · PDF file1 • use, the useful, and public utility ... , composing waltzes must have felt to Ravel like making a frothy Viennese dessert

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1 • use, the useful, and public utilityA Theory of Musical Value

Itishardtoimaginetodaywhy,innineteenth-centuryFrance,usefulnesscameto mean something as all-encompassing and socially legitimizing as the publicgood,andhowtheartswereesteemedtotheextentthattheywereuseful.Withtheadventofmodernism,theavant-gardefromMauriceRaveltoPierreBoulezrespondedtothispervasiveconcernwithdisdain.Theirrhetoric,whichmanyofushavecometoshare,makestheusefulseembanalandpedestrian,conjuringupthenotionofsomethingsuitableormerelyadequate,efficient,perhaps,butonlymarginallybetterthanuselessandnotmeritingcloseattention.Why,then,istheconceptstilldeeplymeaningfulinFrance?

RavelandSatie’splayfulexperimentswiththeuseful,althoughcritical,produstotakethisseriously.Canwedisagreewiththeformer’sepigraphforhisValses nobles et sentimentales(1911),whichrefersto“thedeliciousandevernewpleasureofauselessoccupation”?1AfterhisbrilliantlysensualJeux d’eau,exoticallylyri-calShéhérazade,classicallyrestrainedSonatine,bizarrebutvirtuosoScarbo,andambitiouslyoriginalDaphnis et Chloé,composingwaltzesmusthavefelttoRavellike making a frothy Viennese dessert. If this was art for art’s sake, the musicwouldhave“asuperiorutilityinandofitself”servingthecultofbeautyortruth.2OrwasRavel’smusicaretorttoVincentd’Indy,wholinkedthemodernartist’susefulnesstoartisticprogressthat“assimilatestheloftymanifestationsofartfromalltimes”?3Ravelborrowsanoldergenretogiveitamoderntwist.Ascharmingmelodies,sensuallysoftenedbysuspensionsonmajorandminorseconds,alternate

1. From the preface of Henri de Régnier’s novel, Les Rencontres de M. de Bréot (1904).Michael Puri, in “Dandy, Interrupted: Sublimation, Repression, and Self-Portraiture inMauriceRavel’sDaphnis et Chloé(1909–1912),”Journal of the American Musicological Society60,2(Summer2007),connectsthisattitudetoRavel’sdandyism.

2. AdrienMithouard,“Déclaration,”L’Occident(February1902):120.“L’artestàluiseuluneutilitésupérieure....Labeautéestleseuldéterminantvéritabledel’œuvre.”

3. Vincentd’Indy,“L’Artistemoderne,”L’Occident,December1901,8;Monde musical,15January1903,3.

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54 . F o r m i n g P u b l i c S p i r i t a n d U s e f u l C i t i z e n s

4. MarcelMarnat,Maurice Ravel(Paris:Fayard,1986),298.ThepremieretookplaceataconcertoftheSociétémusicaleindépendanteon9May1911.Marnat’sthesismaybetrue,butitwascommonpracticeatthetimetouseepigraphswhensubmittingworksanonymouslyforcompetitions.Ravel’sepigraphcouldhavebeenusedfortheconcertandthuschosenbeforethework’spremiere.

5. MarcelProustwritesabout“uselesscomplexity”inGabrielFauré’smusic:“Doyouknowthatyoungmusicians[e.g.,ClaudeDebussyandPierredeBréville]arealmostunanimousinnotlikingFauré’sLa Bonne Chanson?Itseemsthatit’suselesslycomplicated,veryinferiortotheothers.”LettertoPierreLavallé,30September1894,inMarcelProust,Correspondance,ed.PhilipKolb(Paris:Plon,1970),1:338.

6. SeealsoSatie’sSonatine bureaucratique(1917),whichparodiesClementi’ssonatinas.7. ReproducedinRobertOrledge,Satie the Composer(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversity

Press,1990),319–20.

withsweetlylanguorouscadencesthatresolvetraditionally,Ravelbothcaressesthelistener’searandgivesthemindasenseofwell-being.Atthesametime,chordsusingasmanynotesasthepianisthasfingers,juxtaposedtonalities,andaccentsthatjar,interruptingtheliltingwaltz,challengeanyreductiontothe“noble”orthe“sentimental.”But,giventheassociationwithballroomdancingandlightenter-tainment,waltzeswerenotanobviouscontextforextendingthemusicallanguage.MarcelMarnatsuggeststhatRavelchosetheepigraphforthework’spublicationinresponsetolistenerswhocriticizedhimatitspremiereforusing“wrongnotesthatcreatedauselesspracticaljoke[mystification].”4Wasitthedisorientationtheyobjectedto,orwerethework’sharshdissonancesperceivedasnotaddinganythingmeaningfultotheexperience?5Ravelsuggestshismotivationwasjustpleasure.Perhapshealsoenjoyedbuckingexpectations.Theworkstartsoutfortissimoandmovesinagradualdecrescendo.Itwaspremieredataconcertofanonymousworksorganizedbyhisfriendsforanaudienceofconnoisseurs.Afterprotestsandboos,hegottowatchthesurpriseofthispublicwhenfewguesseditwasbyhim.

Erik Satie, who some thought was the composer of Ravel’s waltzes, wentfurtherinplayfullyquestioningtheutilityofmusic.InhisMusique d’ameublement (FurnitureMusic)(1920),heexpressesakindofgleeinshockingthroughbanal-ity.ComposedwithDariusMilhaud for the intermissionsofaMaxJacobplay,theworkincorporateswell-knownfragmentsfromtwopopularworks,AmbroiseThomas’soperaMignon(1866)andCamilleSaint-Saëns’stonepoemDanse maca-bre(1874).6Inthescore,however,Satienotesthatthismusic“replaces‘waltzes’and ‘operatic fantasias.’ Don’t be confused! It’s something else!!... It’s new, itdoesn’tupsetcustoms;itisn’ttiring;it’sFrench;itwon’twearout;itisn’tboring.”7Inaprospectus,SatieandMilhaudexpressedtheir ironic intentions:“Wewantto establish a music designed to satisfy ‘useful’ needs. Art has no part in suchneeds.Furnituremusiccreatesavibration;ithasnoothergoal;itfillsthesame


U s e , t h e U s e f u l , a n d P u b l i c U t i l i t y . 55

roleaslightandheat—ascomfortineveryform.”Withthisinmind,forthefirstperformancetheyexplained,“Weurgentlybegyounottoattachanyimportancetoitandtoactduringtheintermissionasifthemusicdidnotexist....Ithopestocontributetolifethewayacasualconversationdoes,orapictureinthegal-lery.”8SuchcommentssituateSatie’smusicbeyondartasitwasconceivedatthetime,beyondconcertperformancesinhushedhallsfulloflistenersattendingtoit seriously.Whocouldhaveknownat the timethat the functionlessrepetitionofthesamefewchordsinVexations(1893)orthemelodicfragmentsinMusique d’ameublement might both foreshadow elevator music and inspire John Cage,Fluxus, early minimalists, and Brian Eno, in concept if not sound?9 Ironically,somethingconceivedasartisticallyuselesscanturnartisticallyuseful.

Tounderstandwhat“useful”meanttotheFrenchandoftenstillmeanstoday,however,wemustgofurther.Whatistheuseofcomposingmusic?Cansomethingplayfulandpleasurablebesociallyuseful?Whatneedscanmusicsatisfy?Fortyyearslater,andfromaradicallydifferentperspective,Boulezmadesomesimilarassumptions.In1952,heclaimed,“anymusicianwhohasnotfeltthenecessityoftheseriallanguageisuseless.Allhisworksituatesitselfshortofthenecessitiesofhistimes.”10If“useless”heremeansnotrespondingtothedictatesofprogress,whatisuseful,Boulezimplies,istheextenttowhichcomposersandtheirmusicaddress “the necessities” of their times. Boulez’s mentor, Pierre Souvtchinsky,callsthis“historicalutility.”Forhim,the“greatcreator”isonewhoisusefultohistory,sheddinglighton“everythingaroundhim...thecloseandthedistant,whatliesaheadandwhatcamebeforehim.”11Ofcourse,sincehistoriesarerelative,dependentontheneedsanddesiresofthosewritingthem,soareclaimsofutility.“Useful”impliesavaluejudgment.Boulezdismissesonekindoftastetopromoteanother.Hisobjection tononserialcomposers isnot that they failed toachieve

8. Satie and Milhaud quoted in Roger Shattuck, The Banquet Years: The Origins of the Avant Garde in France, 1885 to World War I: Alfred Jarry, Henri Rousseau, Erik Satie, Guillaume Apollinaire(rev.ed.,NewYork:VintageBooks,1968),168–69.BiographershavepointedoutthepossibleinfluenceofMatissewho“dreamedofanartwithoutanydistractingsubjectmatterwhichmightbecomparedtoagoodarmchair”(Orledge,Satie,222).

9. The34chordsinVexationsaretoberepeated840times(seeex.23below).JohnCage,whose music was influenced by Satie, organized its American premiere in New York on 9September1963andperformedit,alternatingwithDavidTudor,ChristianWolff,andothers.SeeOrledge,Satie,143–44,277–78,aswellaschaps.11and12.

10. Pierre Boulez, Relèves d’apprenti (Paris: Seuil, 1966), 149. Boulez stresses the wordinutilebycapitalizingit.

11. PierreSouvtchinsky,“Ceuxdu‘Domainemusical’”(1963),in(Re)Lire Souvtchinski,ed.EricHumbertclaude(LaBresse:EricHumbertclaude,1990),253.ThankstoanintroductionbyFrançoisLesure,IgottoknowSouvtchinskyinParisinthelate1970s–early1980sandamgratefulforourmanyconversationsonStravinskyandFrenchmusicculture.



theirdesiredresults,butratherthattheirmusicwasfutilefromhisperspective:itdidnotcontributetohishopesanddesires.Now,fiftyyearslater,whatBoulezfounduseful,manyarefindingnolongerrelevanttotoday’s“necessities.”

InFrance, this isnot just semanticsandopinions,whetherhumorouslypro-vocativeordeadlyserious.NordoesitalwayscarrypejorativeconnotationsasinEnglish,whereutilityusuallyreferstothepracticalbenefitsofsomethinguseful,orissynonymouswith“utilitarian”(cf.utilitarianism,theethicaldoctrinepro-motedbyJeremyBenthamintheearlynineteenthcentury).Withvirtuebasedonutility,“utilitarian”referstothatwhichis“conducivetothehappinessandgoodofthegreatestnumber.”12InFrance,asRavel,Satie,andBoulezintimate,thereisfarmoretoit.

Theconceptofutility,astheFrenchuseit,hasalongtradition,stretchingbacktoPlato.RecognizingtheimportanceofmusicintheRepublic,Platoinsistedonitaspartoftheeducationofyoungcitizens.Becausemusicwaspowerfulenoughtobedangerous,however,hewouldadmitonlymusicalmodesthatwouldharmonizethesoul.13ManyculturesinEuropeandelsewherehavesincethenappreciatedthesocialutilityofmusic.Kings,dukes,andbishopshavelongcommissionedartworkfortheirowngreaterglory,anditsprestigehassometimesbeenlinkedwiththeirs.Inthenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies,GermansandAmericansalsousedtherhetoricofutilitytopromotethepubliccultureofmusic.

TheconcepttookonparticularsignificanceinFrance.Artandbeautyemergedasusefulwhen,aftercenturiesofmonarchyandasocietybasedon inequalities,Enlightenmentphilosophersbegantoconsiderwhatitwouldtakeforhumanbeingstolivetogetherasequals.Fromthiscametheradicallynewideathatpeoplehadneeds as a people and that a government should focus on them. Anything that

12. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language,2nded.,ed.StuartFlexner(NewYork:RandomHouse,1987),s.v.InEngland,utilitarianismflourishedfrom1820to1850.FortheoriginsoftheseideasandtheirrelationtoFrenchconcepts,seeElieHalévy,La Formation du radicalisme philosophique,3vols.(1901–4;rpt.,Paris:PressesuniversitairesdeFrance,1995).

13. InhisRepublic,Platoproposesthateducationshouldbeginwithmusic,thengymnas-tics (376e). Rejecting certain modes as “useless” because they are too “soft and convivial”to trainmenofwar,heprefers theDorianandPhrygian“because they imitate the tonesofmeninadversityandinprosperity, inamoderateandinacourageousmood”(399a–c).Heattaches“supremeimportancetoamusicaleducationbecauserhythmandharmonysinkmostdeeplyintotherecessesofthesoulandtakemostpowerfulholdofit,bringinggracefulnessintheirtrain”andbecause“hethathasbeendulynurturedthereinwillhavethekeenesteyefordefects...hewillrightlyblameandhateallshamefulobjects...andwhenreasoncomeshewillwelcomehermostcordially”(401d–e,403a).Musicimparts“notknowledge,butakindofharmoniousness”(522a).SeealsotheTimaeusonmusic’seffectontheharmonyofthesoulandtheLawsforconnectionsbetweenmusicandlegislation.



14. CharlesRollin,excerptfromTraité des études(1726–28),inA.Chaillot,Leçons élémen-taires de littérature, de style, et de composition spécialement écrites pour les pensionnats de demoiselles(Paris:Sarlit,1867),23.SeealsoShaftsburyasdiscussedinAnnieBecq,Genèse de l’esthétique française moderne, 1680–1814(Paris:AlbinMichel,1984),169–70.

15. ImprisonedundertheTerror,amemberoftheFiveHundredin1795,andclosefriendoftherepublicanpainterDavid,QuatremèredeQuincywaselecteddeputyfromParisin1791andagainin1820–22.BeginningwiththeRestoration,hebecameperpetualsecretaryoftheAcadémiedesbeaux-arts(1816–39)whereheexertedaconservativeinfluenceonthearts,resist-ingbothromanticismandthecommercialspirit.

16. Sylvia Lavin develops this thesis in her Quatremère de Quincy and the Invention of a Modern Language of Architecture(Cambridge,Mass.:MITPress,1992).

served those needs was considered useful. As people evaluated the hierarchy oftheirneeds,utilitybecameawayofnavigatingthetensionsbetweenindividualandcollectiveinterestsinFrance.Sincethelateeighteenthcentury,noothersocietyornationalgovernmenthasembracedandappliedtheprinciplesofpublicutility tosuchadegree,ormadeitacentral,organizingconceptthroughwhichbothtocon-structtheverynotionsofthestateandthenationandtolocatemusicwithinthem.

TENSIONSBETWEENTHEUSEFUL ANDTHEBEAUTIFUL

Indebatesoverthenatureandrelativemeritsoftheuseful,Frenchphilosophersandartistshaveoftendisagreedaboutwhethertheusefulisnecessarilypleasing,orthepleasingnecessarilyuseful,andhowbothoftheserelatetothetrue,thegood,andthebeautiful.Intheseventeenthandeighteenthcenturies,Frenchphiloso-pherslinkedtheusefulandthebeautiful.Somebelievedthat,inartasinnature,true beauty, defined by symmetry, proportion, and arrangement of parts of awhole,inevitablyhasutility.14AswehaveseenwiththecityofParis,theusefulcanindeedbebeautifulandthebeautifuluseful.Antoine-ChrysostomeQuatremèredeQuincy(1755–1849),anarchitectandsculptoraswellasmagistrate,andtheParisdeputymostconcernedwithmakingthecityattractiveduringandaftertheRevolution,waspassionateabout“composing”Paris,asonemightaworkofart.15Hethoughtitshouldserveasanexample.Notonlyshouldthecityfunctionwell,Quatremèrewanteditsbeautytobepartofitsutility.Thatis,conceivingarchitec-tureasaformoflanguage,hesawitsbuildingsandurbandesignasservingneedsof the imagination.16UnlikeChateaubriand,who enjoyed losing himself in thetinyalleysoftheCité,orVictorHugo,whopreferredhisNotreDamesurroundedbystreetsandboutiques,Quatremère,inspiredbywhathesawinItaly,preferredspace around major buildings in order to show off the harmony of their parts.



17. RenéSchneider,Quatremère de Quincy et son intervention dans les arts (1788–1850)(Paris:Hachette,1910),20–28,63–65.

18. InhisLes Beaux Arts réduits à un même principe,ed.Jean-RémyMantion(1746;rpt.,Paris:Amateursdelivres,1989),CharlesBatteuxarguesforthreekindsofart:thosethatusenatureasitisandwhoseobjectisservingman’sneeds(themechanicalarts);thosethatarisefromfeelingsthatproduceabundanceandtranquility,thatimitatenature,andwhoseobjectispleasure(thefinearts);andthosegeneratedbyneed,thattasteperfects,andwhoseobjectisbothutilityandpleasure(architectureandrhetoric)(82).

19. QuatremèredeQuincywasinterestedinarchitecturethatwasnotmerelyusefulandincidentallybeautiful(andtherebyexcludedbyKantfromthefineartsonthegroundsofitsutility),butratherarchitecturethatwasfundamentallyusefulandbeautifuland,assuch,themodel for a conceptual synthesis of utility and beauty. I’m grateful to Evan Bonds for thisclarification.

20. InhisPoèmes diverses: Edition à l’usage des classes(Paris:Maradan,1818),Marie-JosephChéniertranslateslines343–44inHoraceas“L’arttoutentier,c’estd’instruireetdeplaire/Al’agrémentquejointl’utilité.”J.-P.-A.Lalanne,inhisArt poétique d’Horace(Paris:GedalgeJeune,1887),offersthisprosetranslation:“Ouinstruireouplaire,voilàlebutdespoètes;oubienilsveulenttoutàlafoispeindrecequiestagréableetutiledanslavie”(44).IamgratefultoAnnegretFauserforencouragingmetoexamineHorace’simportanceinnineteenth-centuryFrance.

21. InhisBeaux Arts,Batteuxarguesthatmusicanddancetoomusthavemeaningassignsinpartbecausetheyareconstantlycomparedwithnature.Withoutthiscapacity,theartscanonlybecomparedtoprisms,thingsthatamusethesensationsbutborethemind.

“Accessories”toowereimportanttohim.ThebeautyoftheTuileriesPalace,hepointedout,wassetoffbytheavenuesandgardenssurroundingit.City“acces-sories”withsymbolicpower,suchasstatuesoftheking,hadtobereplaced;newones,suchasfountains,wereaddedforembellishment.17Quatremère,likeothersatthetime,thusunderstoodthatsomearts,suchasarchitecture,couldembracebothutilité, construedasservingneeds, andagrément,pleasingwiththeircharm.18Indeed, itwashowthearchitectureofParissynthesizedbeautyandutilitythatmadeitacompellingmodel.19

Many French philosophers, artists, and teachers throughout the nineteenthcenturylookedtoHorace’sArs poetica forargumentsastowhytheotherarts—music, painting, sculpture, and dance—should, like poetry, embody both theuseful and the pleasurable.20 From Boileau and translations by Voltaire to themanynineteenth-centuryproseversionsofhisworkscompiledforschoolchildren,includingonebytherevolutionarypoetMarie-JosephChénier(AndréChénier’syoungerbrother),HoracehadasignificantinfluenceonFrenchthinkingaboutart.Frenchtheoristsappreciatedhow,inreiteratingtheAristotelianidealofartastheimitationofnatureandthenotionofmusicastheimitationoffeeling,heelevatesnatureastheuniqueprincipleandmodelofart.Fromsuchideas,theyconcludedthat if art imitates, it isnecessarilyuseful as a sign.21 Stillmore importantwasanotherkindofutilitytowhichHoracepointed.Construingartasthemostperfect



22. InhisConsidérations morales,QuatremèredeQuincydefinesthemoralastheoppositeofthematerialandthesensual.Artshaveamoralutility,hewrites,onlyiftheyresultinenlargingthemind,evokingnoblefeelings(18).

23. SeeJ.-F.Marmontel,“Essaisurlesromans,”inid.,Œuvres complètes(Paris:Verdière,1818–20),10:287,andBecq,Genèse de l’esthétique française moderne,595.

24. MichelNoiraysuggeststhatargumentsinferringamoralpurposeformusicmayalsohaveariseninresponsetothedebatesaboutreligion.Musicatthetimewasassociatedwithsen-suoustemptationsandseenasdistinctfromthesacred,thoughpeoplewenttochurchservicesinpartforthepleasuremusicaffordedthemthere(privateconversation,Paris,September1997).

25. Theseideascomeupparticularlyinessaysonthesocialfunctionoftheaterandfiction.Someassumedthatifanartworksupportedorpromotedasocialideal,ifitaddressedthesoci-ety’sperceivedneedsanddesires,itcouldnothaveabstract,universalvalue,i.e.,beauty,andviceversa.RousseaucommentsonthisinhisLettre à d’Alembert sur les spectacles(1758),“Itisnecessarilythepleasuretheyafford,andnottheirutility....Topleasepeople,oneneedsspec-taclesthatreinforcetheirtendenciesinsteadofthosethatwouldmoderatethem....Thegeneraleffectofthespectacleistoreinforcenationalcharacter,toaugmentnaturalinclinations,andtogivenewenergytoallthepassions....[insum]toexaggerateandnottochangeestablishedmorals.”Ofcourse,Rousseau’snotionofusingart to“reinforcenationalcharacter” impliesjust as explicit a socialutilityas themoralizingkindhe is arguingagainst. Inhis response,d’AlembertagreedwithRousseau’sstatementthat“anauthorwhowantstogoagainstgeneraltastewillsoonwriteforhimselfalone....Theprincipalgoalofplaywrightsistoplease.”But,hecounters,“beingusefulisatleasttheirsecondgoal.Whatdoesitmatterthenifitistheirfirstorsecondpurposeiftheyare,ineffect,useful?”(app.3inthe1889rpt.,300–33).SeealsoWatelet,“Art,”inDictionnaire des arts de peinture, sculpture, et gravure(Paris:Prault,1792),106,andBecq,Genèse de l’esthétique française,595,599.

formofthought,hestressesthecapacityoftheartstoinstruct.Withthis,theartscanaddressamoralneed.Elicitingamoraljouissance,adelightofthemind,theycanhavemoralutility.22

Thisnotionofmoralutilityas thehighestpurposeof literatureand theartsresonatedwidelyfromtheseventeenththroughthenineteenthcenturiesinpartbecauseoftheperceivedconnectionbetweenmoralsandvirtues.23Descartessawthismoralpotentialasrootedinthebeliefthattherecanbeamechanicalconnec-tionbetweenthearts,particularlymusic,andone’sbodyandsoul.Notonlydoesone experience sensual pleasure from music, one can learn from it and use thepracticeofmusictodemonstrateinnervirtuestotheworld.Assuch,musicandtheotherartscaninstillmoralvaluesandsuggestmodelsforbehavior,providingbenefitstotheindividualaswellasthecommunity.24Eighteenth-centurytheoristswhofocusedonthemoralutilityoftheartsconsideredusefulnessanalternativeartisticgoal topleasureor fantasy.They looked to theuseful toextricate fromthe pleasurable a more elevated sense of beauty, and thus a significant role forthe arts.25 These perspectives influenced thinking about the arts in France forcenturiestocome.

ManyFrenchthinkersalsofocusedontheimportanceHoraceassignedtocharm,


60. F o r m i n g P u b l i c S p i r i t a n d U s e f u l C i t i z e n s

26. Horace, Ars poetica;Batteux,Beaux Arts,167–69.27. Rollin,Traité des études,21–22.SeealsoBecq,Genèse de l’esthétique française,65.28. Inhis“Etude”inŒuvres complètes d’Horace,ed.FélixLemaistre(1866;Paris:Garnier

frères,1885),HippolyteRigaultpointsoutthatifHoracewasaconservative,heneverpromotedmonarchyorrejectedtherepublicanfriendsofhisyouth.TheanonymousauthorofVirgile et Horace, leur vie et leurs ouvrages: Notes d’un professeur(Paris:Crouille-Morant,1892)noteshowmuchhispoorfathersacrificedforHorace(anexampleofpaternallove)andwhatagoodfriendHoracewastohispatron.

29. As François Gouin points out in Essai sur une réforme des méthodes d’enseignement: Nouveau procédé pour étudier les classiques: Horace, L’Art poétique (Paris: Fischbacher, 1880),republicanscontinuedtoteachtheclassicsinLatinandGreekasawaytoenrichstudents’moraland intellectualcapacities.OtherHoracestudieswrittenforuse inschools includeChénier,Poèmes diverses;Lalanne,Art poétique d’Horace; Virgile et Horace, leur vie et leurs ouvrages. Notes d’un professeur(Paris:Crouille-Morant,1892).SeealsoAntoineCampaux,De la critique du texte d’Horace au XIXe siècle(Paris:Berger-Levrault,1889).

30. Rigault,“Etude,”xlviii.31. “RapportdeM.Saint-Saëns”inMinistredel’Instructionpublique,Rapports sur l’enseigne -

ment du chant dans les écoles primaires(Paris:Imprimerienationale,1881),5.

aconceptdearnotonlytoAncienRégimearistocratsbutalsotonineteenth-centuryrepublicans.Pleasingandseducing,heargued,encouragesattachment:innatureasinart,thingstouchusinproportiontotherelationshipwehavewiththem.26Whenweareattachedtosomething,welistenmoreeasilytoitslessons.Inthissense,util-ityisarelationshipwedevelopwithsomethingencouragedbythepleasureitbrings.FrenchthinkersbuiltonHorace,proposingthattheprincipalpurposeofwritingwastoconvinceandtouchandthat“pleasurehelpspersuasion.”Theadditionofagréments, or what Charles Rollin calls ornaments, simultaneously satisfied themindandtheimagination,turningthepleasurableintoanauxiliaryoftheuseful.27

Inthelatenineteenthcentury,republicanswhofocusedoncivicinstructionintheschoolstookcaretoportrayHoraceasasympatheticcharacter.AlthoughhehadworkedtoglorifytheRomanemperor,theypointedtohisstudiesinAthensandearlyembraceofrepublicanvalues.28ThisallowedthemtouseHorace’stextsasmodelsofclarityandaccessibility,textsthatshowedhowthinkingwellleadstowritingwell,lessonsformingthemoralfiberoftheyoungandpromotingleisureasmorethanamusement.29Horacecontinuedtobetranslated,taught,analyzed,andreadbyoldmagistratesandschoolchildrenalike.In1895,hewasconsideredbysometobethe“liveliestwriterfromantiquity.”30

Thediscourseaboutbeauty’sutility,particularlythrougheducation,hadgreatcurrency up through 1900. Music remained a central part of this. In an 1880reportarguingforobligatorymusiceducationinthecountry’sprimaryschools,Saint-Saënspointsout,“Thedevelopmentofamusiccultureisasureindexofasuperiorcivilization.”31TheeducatorandscholarJulienTiersotechoedthiswhen



32. JullienTiersot,Programme d’un recueil de chant à l’usage des écoles primaires de France(Paris:Hachette,1893),v–vi.

33. Rollin,Traité des études,23.34. “Kant’sattackonutilityasacriterionofthebeautifulcomesfromhisneedtolocate

purposivenessinternallytoanentity(e.g.,art)ratherthanexternally(whichiswhathethinksutilitytobe),”TracyStrongnotes(personalcommunication).SeeKant’sCritique of the Power of Judgment.

35. HenriTronchonpointsoutinhis“UneScienceàsesdébutsenFrance:L’Esthétique,”Revue du mois,10July1912,thattheFrenchAcadémieprettymuchignoredthenewdisciplineofaestheticsuntil1838,eventhoughd’AlemberthadcitedSulzerintheEncyclopédiein1776andVictorCousinlecturedattheSorbonneonthebeautifulasearlyas1818(37–64).Inhis“Music,Beauty,andtheParadoxofRationalism,”inFrench Musical Thought, 1600–1800,ed.GeorgiaCowart(AnnArbor,Mich.:UMIResearchPress,1989),CharlesDillpositsthatJean-PierredeCrousaz’sTraité du beau(1715),anearlyFrenchtreatiseonaesthetics,usesmusictotestthelimitsofrationalism(201,206).InherGenèse de l’esthétique française,BecqagreesthatCrousazsawaestheticsasawaytotransformtheideaofreason(305).

hecalledchoralsingingan“incomparableagentofmoralcivilizationandnationaleducation.”Ifclassescouldonlystartthedaywithsinging,whenstudentswereattentiveandreceptive,henoted,musiccould“turnschool’smoral influenceintoa living reality.”32 However, not everyone associated beauty with utility. BothabroadandwithinFrance,therewerecounterdiscourses,somerootedinpoliticalconservatismandAncienRégimevalues.

InGermany,whereaesthetics,thestudyofthebeautiful,emergedasadisci-plineinthelateeighteenthcentury,philosophersdisentangledthetwoconcepts.WhileFrenchmensuchasRollinbelievedthat“whathasthemostutilityusuallyhasdignityandgrace”andtherefore“truebeautyisneverseparatefromitsutil-ity,”33in1755,theSwissJ.G.Sulzer,focusingonform,proposedthatthebeautifulisdistinctfromboththeusefulandtheperfect.ImmanuelKantagreedthatwhatispleasurablesatisfies someneed,butbelieved that theusefulpleasesonlyasameans.Beautyissimplywhatpleases.34TasteinFrancehadbeentiedtologicand,withjudgment,waspartofrationalreflection.35ButforKant,itwassubjective.Hethoughtthatbeautywasgraspedimmediatelyandspontaneously.Mysteriousandineffable,itisakindofideal,autonomousofexternalconcernsandhavingnoneedforaconnectiontouseorpleasure.Whenreleasedfromthenecessityofimitatingnature,beautyleavesasideitspotentialforutilityasasign.Assuch,Kantsawitsperceptionasdisinterested.

Out of such propositions emerged the romantics’ fascination with the sub-lime—theincomparablygreat—andartforart’ssake.FrenchromanticsfollowedtheGermansinexploringsubjectivefeeling,andtheEnglishintheirtasteforthepicturesque.TheyalsolookedtoRousseau,whoaccordedmuchimportancetopas-sionandthelogicofvariousfeelings.However,inhisprefacetohisplayCromwell



36. VictorHugo,“Préface,”inid.,Cromwell(Paris:Garnier-Flammarion,1968),91,and“Introduction”byAnnieUbersfeld,44–45;VictorHugo,Les Rayons et les ombres(Paris:Hetzel,1840),13,18–19.SeealsoAlfreddeVigny’spoem“LaBouteilleàlamer.”I’mgratefultoJean-LouisMorhangeforthesereferences.

37. QuatremèredeQuincy,Considérations morales,45.38. VictorCousin,Cours de philosophie professé à la Faculté des Lettres pendant l’année 1818 . . .

d’après les meilleures rédactions de ce cour par M. Adolphe Garnier(Paris:Hachette,1836).39. Whenitcametoart,intheeighteenthandearlynineteenthcenturies,Quatremèreand

othersargued that if theartshad reachedperfection inancientGreece, itwasbecause theyaddressedpeople’sprincipalneeds.SeeA.-C.QuatremèredeQuincy,Considérations morales sur la destination des ouvrages de l’art ou de l’Influence de leur emploi sur le génie et le goût de ceux qui les produisent ou qui les jugent, et sur le sentiment de ceux qui en jouissent et en reçoivent les impressions(1815;rpt.,Paris:Fayard,1989),9–10,andBatteux,Beaux Arts,81.

(1827), Victor Hugo argues against the notion of absolute beauty and insteadencouragespoetstolookfor“thecharacteristic,”thatwhichrootsadramainitsowntime.Forhim,literatureisanexpressionofsociety,theevolutionofartandartisticgenrelinkedtotheevolutionofhumanity.Frenchromanticpoetstendedtobepreoccupiedwiththesocialandpoliticalresponsibilitiesoftheartist.Theysawthemselvesasprophetsandcontinuedtoseeartasusefulininfluencingmorality.Hugorepresentedthebestofthistraditionthroughoutthenineteenthcentury.Inhis“TheFunctionofthePoet”(1839),hewrites,“Peuple!écoutezlepoète!...Luiseulalefrontéclairé.”Thepoetshouldbeavisionaryaswellasguardianofthepast,onewhounderstoodthemysteriesoftheworldandcouldunveilitstruths:Fromthepoet’sthought“abettersociety”wouldcome.36TheseideasresonatedwithThirdRepublicstatesmenandHugobecameoneoftheirheroes.

OtherFrench,however,followedtheGermansinrejectingtheassociationofbeautywithutility.Whereasclassicists likeQuatremèredeQuincyhad tofindartworksuseful tofind thembeautiful,37 theFrenchphilosopherVictorCousincametodifferentconclusionsinpartafterstudyingKant,Schelling,andHegelandspendingtimeinGermany.Althoughstillfocusedonmorals,in1818,heexplained,“Theformofthebeautifulisdistinctfromtheformofthegood;ifartproducesa moral perfection, it does not seek this or see it as its purpose.... Art servesneitherreligionandmoralsnorthepleasantandtheuseful.”38Cousin’sLectures on the True, the Beautiful and the Good(1815–54)reflectthetensioninFrancethatcrystallizedaroundthenotionofusefulnessinbothaestheticsandpolitics.Cousinseestheusefulmorenarrowlyas“theagreeablegeneralized,”although,likehispredecessors,helinksitwithvirtue,“thatwisdomwhichdiscernswhatistrulyusefulandsurelyleadstohappiness.”Butwhenjudgingthebeautiful,likeKant,he emphasizes beauty’s disinterested nature. Whereas Quatremère and Batteuxunderstoodthepurposeoftheartsasaddressingpeople’sneeds,39Cousinthought



40. ThecitationsintheseparagraphscomefromVictorCousin,Lectures on the True, the Beautiful and the Good,trans.O.W.Wight(NewYork:Appleton,1854),131,142–46,154,157,162–74,230,234–36,338.

41. Meyerbeer embraced Cousin’s eclecticism in his music. In her Music Criticism in Nineteenth-Century France (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), Katharine EllisdiscussestheinfluenceofCousinonFrançois-JosephFétis’sunderstandingofmusicalbeautyofthepast,histeleologicalapproachtomusichistory,andhisdistasteforprogrammusic(36–43).

42. Ibid.,170–73.

fineartsshould“producethedisinterestedemotionofbeautywithoutregardtotheutilityeitherofthespectatorortheartist.”ForCousin,“need”wasapejorative.Itgivesrisetodesire,andthis“presupposesinhimwhoexperiencesitawant,adefect,and,toacertainextent,suffering.”UnlikeQuatremèreandtherevolution-aries,whoattachedgreatimportancetodevelopingloveandpassioninapeople,Cousinconsiderspassion,theculminationofdesire,assomethingpassivelimitingourfreewill.Beautyisimportantbecauseitis“freefromalldesire.”Itdoesnothavetoaddressneedsorotherwisebeuseful.Itcanbe“itsownsatisfaction.”Inthissense,Cousinconsideredartautonomous.

Yet,Cousinnotes that thesentimentof thebeautifulcanservea function: it“purifiesandelevatesthesoulbytheaffinitybetweenthebeautifulandthegood,andbytherelationofidealbeautytoitsprinciple,whichisGod.”Inthissense,art is, ideally, “the expression of moral beauty by the aid of physical beauty.”AlthoughhedifferswithKantonthenatureofthesublime,givingitmoresub-stance,Cousin,likeKantandothers,seesidealbeautyassimilartothesublimeinthatit“awakensinusthesentimentoftheinfinite.”Artworkstoo“mayhavethecharmoftheinfinite.”Becauseofthis,Cousinseesartasfulfillingareligiouspurpose:nurturinghopefortheimmortalityofoursouls.40

MusicheldaspecialplaceforCousin.Seeingitsdomainassentimentanditsmodeasexpression,hesharedmuchwithmusiciansofhisgeneration,especiallyMeyerbeer.41ButunlikeHectorBerlioz,Cousinobjectedtoprogrammaticmusicandmusicstimulatingmentalimages.Seeing“itspeculiarcharm”aselevating“thesoultowardtheinfinite”morethananyotherart,hebelievedmusiccouldbringusclosesttoidealbeauty.42Insomeways,hisworkintersectswithEduardHanslick’sVom Musikalisch-Schönen(TheBeautifulinMusic)(1854),whicharguesthatonlyinthe“purecontemplation”ofitsformandthroughourimaginationcanwetrulyappreciatethebeautyofmusic.ForCousin,however,allbeautysharesa“spiritualbeauty”moresacredandreligiousthanHanslick’sGeist.

Cousin’sconcernwiththespiritualderivednotonlyfromhisfascinationwithGermanphilosophyandhis religiousorientation,butalso fromhispolitics.Assomeonewhotooksideswiththeroyalistsin1814–15,Cousinmayhavereduced



43. Cousinmayhavebeeninfluencedbynineteenth-centuryFrenchpoliticaleconomistswhodefinedutilityasthe“propertyofanobjectorahumanactiontosatisfyourneeds,nottheobjectoractionitself”andbelievedthat,becausetheutilityofsomethingcanrenderitdesir-able,utilitycanalsorepresentthe“abilitytosatisfyeconomicdesires.”SeePaul-EmileLittré,Dictionnaire de la langue française, vol. 6 (Paris: Hachette, 1873), and LéonSay and JosephChailley,Nouveau dictionnaire d’économie politique(Paris:Guillaumin,1892),2:1140.

44. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, ed. and trans. Harvey Mansfield andDelbaWinthrop(1835;rpt.,Chicago:UniversityofChicagoPress,2000),439.

45. Cousin,Lectures,10–11.46. InhisbookVictor Cousin(Paris:Hachette,1887),therepublicanministerJulesSimon

stresses Cousin’s working-class background and plays down his royalist sympathies callinghima“simplespectateurdela lutte,”liketheducdeBroglie,whohadfriendsonbothsidesandacceptedtheRevolutionwhenitbecameafaitaccompli(26–28).Inexplaininghispoli-tics,SimonpointstoCousin’spreferenceforunitywithinvariety—notvarietywithoutunity(anarchy)orunitywithoutvariety(despotism)(44).OnSimon’sdifferenceswithCousinonthesubjectofduty,seep.47.

needstodesiresanddesirestopassionsbecauseheassociatedsuchconcernswithbourgeoisindustrialists,intentonsocialmobilityandtheacquisitionofwealth.43HemayalsohavebeenrespondingtoAlexisdeTocqueville,who,inDemocracy in America(1835),hadproposedthatdemocraticnationswithanabsenceofsuperflu-ouswealth“willcultivatetheartsthatservetorenderlifeconvenientinpreferencetothosewhoseobjectistoembellishit.”Inotherwords,the“universaldesireforwell-beingandtheconstanteffortsinwhicheachengagestoprocureitforhimself,makethetastefortheusefulpredominateovertheloveofthebeautiful”andmakepeople“wantthebeautifultobeuseful.”44IntheprefacetohisLectures,addressedtothe“seriousyouthoftheRestoration”as“theseedandthehopeofthefuture,”Cousin’spoliticsarefrontandcenter.Hehopedthathisphilosophywouldconduct“humansocietiestothetruerepublic,thatdreamofallgeneroussoulsinwhichourtimescanberealizedinEuropeonlybyconstitutionalmonarchy.”Democracy,hebelieved,would“alwaystraverseliberty,bringallrightintodisorder,andthroughdisorder into dictatorship.”45 Such comments suggest that there were politicalimplicationsassociatedwiththeidealshewaspromoting,includingtheautonomyof art, as if it belonged with the leisured practices of the aristocracy. Cousin’sidealismmayhaveservedasaneededbalancetotheera’smaterialistpositivism,promotedbyAugusteComte.HismoralprinciplesinfluencedmajorleadersoftheThirdRepublic.However, republicansdifferedwithCousinover thenatureofdutyandsacrifice,crucialtothenation’sneedsfromitspeople.46

Afterthefailuresofthe1848revolution,FrenchpoetslikeThéophileGautierandCharlesBaudelaireembracedartforart’ssakemoredecisivelythanCousin.Theirintensedistasteforthebourgeoisie’srisingpowerledsometowithdrawfromsocietyratherthantrytochangeit;theysoughtrefugeinthetranscendenceofbeautyin



47. ThéophileGautier,PrefacetoAlbertus(1832),inid.,Emaux et camées(Paris:Gallimard,1981),and“Dubeaudansl’art,”inL’Art moderne(1856).

48. CharlesBaudelaire,“LesDramesetlesromanshonnêtes(1851)”and“NotesnouvellessurEdgarPoe(1859),”inid.,Œuvres complètes,ed.MarcelRuff(Paris:Seuil,1968),297–99and346–53.In“LesDrames,”Baudelairealsomakesfunofvirtueas“theconditionsinequanonofsuccess”andrejectsacademicprizesasencouraginghypocrisy.

49. IntheirNouveau dictionnaire d’économie politique,SayandChailleydefinevalueasutilité produite(2:1143).Earlier,Condillachaddefinedthevalueofsomethingasdeterminedbyitsutility,andwhatsatisfiesaneedasthatwhichhasvalue.Intheearlynineteenthcentury,Jean-BaptisteSayandDestuttdeTracydebatedwhetherutilityorlaborconstitutedthemeasureofvalue.SeeCherylWelch,Liberty and Utility: The French Idéologues and the Transformation of

art.Gautierprepared for this in thepreface toAlbertus (1836), claiming,“Whensomethingbecomesuseful, it ceasesbeingbeautiful.... It isno longer freedom,luxury,theblossomingofthesoulinidleness.”Althoughheadmittedthatartcanreflectartists’feelingsandtheirlives,twentyyearslater,heechoedCousininhold-ingthatartshouldnotbeameans,butanend.47Rejectingthepreeminenceofnatureandconsideringallvirtueartificial,Baudelaire, too,consideredutilitytobe“theideathemosthostiletobeauty”andenseignement,particularlytheuseofpoetrytoteachmorals,aheresy.Poetry,heargued,shouldhavenoothergoalthanitself.“Isartuseful?Yes.Why?”heasks.Notaspropaganda,butbecause“itisart.”48Poetrycanelevatepeopleabovetheirvulgarinterests,butifapoetpursuesamoralgoal,itwilldiminishhispoeticstrength.BeautyforBaudelaireismysteriousandbizarre.Thisexplains its individualnature.HeforeshadowsRavelandHenrideRégnierinproposingthatnopoemwillbesogreat,sonoble,asthatwrittenuniquelyforthepleasureofwritingit.LikeCousin,Baudelaireseestheprincipleofpoetryas“humanaspirationtowardasuperiorbeauty.”Butspiritualityforhimwasanendinitself,notaformofreligion.Later,thesymbolists,whoalsorejectedbourgeoispreoccupations, likewise foundtheneedforart toservesomemoralorreligiouspurposetooconstraining.Theyalsowishedtomakeartwithnofunctionotherthanitsownbeauty.Republicansforthemostpartdidnotagreewiththeseconclusions.

SATISFYINGSOCIALNEEDS ANDCREATINGTHENATION

Ifcertainmajorphilosophersandpoetsdisdainedthenotionofutilitysostrongly,whatkeptitaviableconcept,especiallyinthearts?Utilityhasremainedcompel-lingfor theFrencheventoday,essentiallybecauseovertimeitdevelopedfromsimplytheconceptofthatwhichservessomethingintoatheoryofvalue.49ThiswasinherentinthefirstuseofthewordinFrench(utele)inthePsautier d’Oxfordof1120whereitreferredtothatwhichsatisfiesnotjustanyneed,butalegitimate



Liberalism(NewYork:ColumbiaUniversityPress,1984),76–77.MichelFoucaultalsodiscussesutilityasatheoryofvalueinhisLes Mots et les choses(Paris:Gallimard,1966),209–14,wherehearguesthatthevalueofthingsistiedtotheirexchange.Althoughthesediscussionsrefertoeconomicvalue,thetermutilité, asusedintheThirdRepublic,isnotrestrictedtothisdomain.

50. InFrance,utilité alsohasother connotations. In legal andadministrativecontexts ithasbeensynonymouswith“effective”(suchasinproducingalegalresult)orsufficient(suchasen temps utile,asufficientordeterminateamountoftimeneededtoexecutecontracts).InhisVocabulaire juridique,Cornunotesthattheuseful“presentsaninterestdifferentthanthevolup-taire[expensesforluxury,pleasure,orfantasy]andlargerthanthenecessary”(831–32).Inthetheater,itreferstosecondaryrolesorcharacters.

51. See Rousseau’s early Discours, Diderot’s Observations sur le Nakaz, Antoine-ProsperLottin’sDiscours contre le luxe(1783),andJean-BaptisteSay’sTraité d’économie politique(1803),Discours préliminaire.Pointingoutthatthedebatesaboutluxurydidnotendin1789,butcon-tinuedthroughoutthenineteenthcentury,JeremyJenningsdiscussestheseinhis“TheDebateaboutLuxuryinEighteenth-andNineteenth-CenturyFrenchPoliticalThought,”Journal of the History of Ideas68,1(January2007):79–105.

need,particularlyasocialone.Whereasduringtheclassicalerautilealsomeantthepracticaladvantagethatsomethingprovided,utilitéinFrancemaintainedthissenseofthewordassatisfyingsocialneeds.50UnderlyingusefulnessfortheFrenchisnotonlyanexplanationofeconomicexchange,butalsoasocialrelationship,anethicalposition,andapoliticalbeliefthat,throughaddressingsharedneeds,onecanbuildsharedinterests.Assuch,ithelpsthosewhoespousedemocracytoaddresssociety’sneedsandrespondtotheminadynamicfashion.

Theconceptofutilitygrewinimportanceintheeighteenthcenturyasawaytoconceiveofsocietyasmorethanthedomainofprivilegedelitesusingluxuryto signal their status and distinction. Luxury was generally synonymous withfrivolity, that is, excessive or superfluous consumption, consumption that wasnotstrictlynecessary.However,thedebatesaboutitbeginningintheeighteenthcenturywererarelyneutralandconcernedfarmorethantasteorfashion.Diderotdistinguishedbetweengoodandbadluxury,theformerhavingsocialutilitywhenitproducedwealthandprosperityforall.Rousseaublamedluxuryforcorruptingmorals and lashed out at the decadence of court life. He associated it not onlywithprivilegedelites,butalsowithwomen,effeminacy,andthedeclineof“truecourage”and“militaryvirtues.”Drawingonbroaderissues,suchasthenatureandsourcesofsocialinequality,theattackonluxurycrystallizedcriticismoftheAncienRégime.During theRevolution, someconsideredcombating luxuryas“themostimportantandpatrioticofsubjects.”Inthenineteenthcentury,repub-lican political economists continued to lambaste luxuryas a symptom of socialinequalityandaformofostentatious,unproductiveconsumptionthatdiscouragedhardwork.Theypreferredtodefinewealthbycapitalaccumulationandinvest-mentratherthanexpenditureonluxury.51Thenotableexceptiontothiswasstate



52. InhisManuel républicain de l’homme et du citoyen (1848;Paris:Colin,1904),CharlesRenouvierconsideredlibraries,theaters,andmuseumsasexpressionsoffraternityandciviceducation.Renouvieralsobelievedthat“nothingisbeautiful,nothingisnoblethatisnotalsouseful”(278).SeeJennings,“DebateaboutLuxury.”

53. “C’estproprementnevaloirrienqueden’êtreutileàpersonne.”CitedinGuilbertandLagane,Grand Larousse.

54. Littré’s Dictionnaire, s.v. utile, cites inter alia Voltaire’s remark about “douze millesujetsduroitrèsutiles,enchaînésparvingtchanoinestrèsinutiles”(twelvethousandveryuse-fulsubjectsoftheking,enslavedbytwentyutterlyuselesscanons).Underutilité, LittrécitesDiderot’sassertionthat“generalutility[utilitégénérale]andcommonconsentmustbethetwogreatrulesofouractions.”

55. Pierre-AugustinCarondeBeaumarchais,introductiontohislibrettoforSalieri’sTarare,citedinJamesH.Johnson,Listening in Paris: A Cultural History(Berkeley:UniversityofCali-forniaPress,1995),52.

spendingonopera,whicheveryFrenchgovernmentsincetheeighteenthcenturyhascontinuedtosupportdespiteitsenormouscost.Operawasamongthose“col-lectiveluxuries”52thatcouldproveusefultothestateinavarietyofways.

Astheyofferedawaytoboththeorizeandmoralizeinanalternativesocialmodediametricallyopposedtoself-indulgentluxury,questionsofutilityalsocreatedacounterdiscoursethat,ininterrogatingthepurposesofsociety,wenthandinhandwiththeemergenceofanewpoliticalsystem.ThisisalreadyevidentinDescartes’sDiscourse on Method(1637),whichexpandstheabovedefinitionstomeanakindofrelationshipbetweenpeople:“Oneisworthnothingifoneisnotusefultosome-one.”53Intoday’sterms,thismeanshavingacapacityorpursuinganactivitythatisbeneficialtoothers.Assuch,utilitybecomesakindofjudgment.VoltaireandDiderot,indebatesaboutthesocialfunctionofvariousaspectsoflife,employtheconcepttoreflectapointofviewandanethicalstandarddistinctfromthoseoftheking.54TotheextentthattheEnlightenment“madeeverymanfeelhecanbebetter,”asBeaumarchaispointedoutin1784,utilitybecameassociatedwithanindividual’scontributionstosocialprogress:“Iseeineachclassawishtobeuseful,tosucceed,toenlarge its ideas, its learning, itspleasures,whichcanonlywork touniversaladvantage,forthisishowallwillgrow,prosper,andimprovethemselves.”55

French monarchists, revolutionaries, and their republican successors all em-bracedthe ideaofservingothers.ItunderliesFrenchnotionsofduty—dutytoGod,religion,andcountry.Itcharacterizesaristocraticloyalties,Catholicpreoc-cupations,andrepublicancivicresponsibilities.Assuch,onecouldinvokeutilitytomakeappealsthatgobeyondpoliticaldifferences,particularlywhenrelatedtothenational interest.Butwhereasmonarchists thoughtof theking’ssubjectsasusefulintheeconomicsense,revolutionariessawusefulnessintheformofdutyasanethicalrequisiteofcitizenship.DutywaswhatFrenchmenweresupposed



56. Robert Derathé, Jean-Jacques Rousseau et la science politique de son temps (1950; rpt.,Paris:Vrin,1995),354.TracyStrongexplainsthatinRousseau’sconceptofthe“generalwill,”the“common”is“whatdesignateswhat[humans]experiencewhentheyexperiencethenaturalineachother”or

whatoccurswhennotensionisexperiencedinmovementbetweenthefirstpersonsingularandthepluralforthesameactivity....Thegeneralwillhasthecommonasitsobjectandspringsfromawillthatiscommon....Thecommonself,andbyextensionthegeneralwill,istheabilitytoparticipateinacertainkindofinteraction.Itiscertainlynottobethoughtofassomekindofcollectivemind....Thegeneralwillisthentheexpressionofmycommonself,thatis,oftheselfthatIfind,asthesameselfinmyselfandinothers....Farfrombeingtheexpressionofasingle,unitaryoverarchingcollectiveconsciousness,thegeneralwillisinfacttheexpressionofthemultiplicityandmutabilityofmybeing....[it]isthethoughtofthehumannessofthehumanbeing,ontologicalratherthan(merely)moral...whatIseewhenIseemyselfinyou,youinme,andmeinmyself....Whenactingonthegeneralwill,IthenencountermyselfaswhatIsharewithothers,ashuman.Thisiswhatismeantbypoliticalsociety.(Strong,Jean-Jacques Rousseau: The Politics of the Ordinary[1994],2nded.[Lanham,Md.:Rowman&Littlefield,2002],34,79–85)

RichardVernonexplainstheideaofthegeneralwillinRousseau’sSocial Contractsomewhatdifferently:

while“will”introducesthenotionofvoluntaryobedience,theassentofautonomousindi-vidualstorulesofassociationandbehavior,“generality”introduces,rather,areminiscenceofclassicalvirtue,ofcohesivenessandpublicdevotion,andofthethoroughabsorptionoftheindividualbyanadmiredcommunity.Asthebearerofwilltheindividualobeystherequirementsofcitizenship;asabearerofthespiritofgenerality,heisacitizen,andcon-formity(ratherthanobedience)toacommongoodissimplythemediuminwhichhelives.(Vernon,Citizenship and Order: Studies in French Political Thought[Toronto:UniversityofTorontoPress,1986],49)

57. Thedefinitions ofutilitépublique in this chapter come from(1)historical studies, esp.JeanBelin,La Notion d’utilité publique en droit administratif français(Paris:Dalloz,1933)andLa Logique d’une idée-force: L’Idée d’utilité sociale pendant la Révolution française (1789–1792)(Paris:

toshare,a“commoninterest”thatcouldformabasisfor“thegeneralwill.”56Inthissense,anassociationofthecommonwiththeusefuldoesnotcomefromthebanal,thepractical,ortheuniversal.Utilityhereconnotesfindingself-interestinthecollectiveinterest.

The Concept of Utilité Publique

The idea of utilité publique (public utility) helps clarify what people value as anationandtherelative importancetheyattachtoawiderangeofactivitiesandinstitutions.57 It derives its power from the fact that, for the most part, manyFrench since the Revolution have historically accepted the role of the state in



Hermann,1939);andDerathé,Jean-Jacques Rousseau;(2)legalsources,suchasGérardCornu,Vocabulaire juridique (Paris:PressesuniversitairesdeFrance,1996);AndrédeLaubadèreetal.,Traîté de droit administratif(Paris:Librairiegénéralededroitetdejurisprudence,1988);andJuris-Classeur administratif,5thed.(Paris:Editionstechniques,1997);and(3)dictionaries,includingLouisGuilbertandRenéLagane,Grand Larousse de la langue française,vol.7(Paris:Larousse,1978);AlainRey,ed.,Dictionnaire historique de la langue française (Paris:Robert,1993);andTrésor de la langue française,vol.16(Paris:Gallimard,1994).

58. WhileAnglo-Saxonstendtoassumethattheindividualpreexiststhecommunityandthatthesourceoflegitimacyliesprimarilyintheindividual,Frenchrepublicanshaveconceivedofthestateaspreexistingitsmembers,therebygivingitcertainpowersaswellasdutiestoservethenation’sneeds.

Inthischapter,Iusetheterm“publicgood”(bien public;alsoknownasthe“commongood”)tomeanacountry’sgoods,services,andresourcesthatservethegeneralinterestofthepeople,usually a product of political decision-making. This ideal and the Anglo-Saxon concept ofpublicgoods,morespecificallyeconomicinnature,haveincommonthecharacteristicsofnon-excludability/nonexclusivity(thatis,thebenefitsareavailabletoall)andnonrivalry(consump-tionbyonepersondoesnotprecludeconsumptionbyanother).Althoughmostpublicgoodsstopshortoftheseideals(and,assuch,areimpurepublicgoods),thetermrefersonlytogoodsandserviceswithpositiveutilityandpositiveexternalities.Withthepublicgoodandpublicgoods(likenationaldefenseandcleanair),politicaldecisionscanleadtoexceptionstothelogicofthemarket.Somepublicgoods,suchasknowledgeandmusic,arenotnecessarilyfinancedorcontrolledbythestate.Forfullerexplanationofpublicgoods,aconceptfirsttheorizedbyPaulSamuelsonin1954,seeIngeKaul,IsabelleGrunberg,andMarcStern,“DefiningGlobalPublicGoods,”andIsmailSerageldin,“CulturalHeritageasPublicGood:EconomicAnalysisAppliedtoHistoricCities,”inGlobal Public Goods: International Cooperation in the 21st Century,ed.Kaul,Grunberg,andStern(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1999),3–6,254–55.I’mgratefultoRobLempertforpointingmetothisbook.

59. Strong,Jean-Jacques Rousseau,85.

negotiatingtheconflictingdesiresofitscitizensandinpursuingthepublicgoodas well as the public interest, as determined by principles such as equality andfreedom.58Undertheaegisofpublicutility,latenineteenth-centuryrepublicans,building on the ideas of Cicero, Helvétius, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and others,empoweredthestatetoclaimauthorityandjustifyitsactionsinmanydomains,fromHaussmann’sexpropriationoflandtothesupportofmusic,therebyhelpingtoformanewsociety.Inthisway,publicutilitybecameapersistentandsignificantforceinFrenchculture(tables1and2).

This focusonutilityhascreateda logicunderlyingpublic institutionsandameansofholdingthemaccountable.Cicero,buildingonGreekideas,believedthatalllawsshouldhaveutilitasreipublicaeastheirgoal,andthatpublicinstitutionsshouldbeappreciatedbecauseof theirpublicutility.Since1677,utilité publique hasdescribedaspecifickindofrelationshipbetweenindividualsandtheirsocietyinscribed inFrench law.In the law,“theactivityof thegeneralwill,”59it isnotneedsthatareaddressedsomuchasinterests.Utilité publiquereferstotheroleof



government,whoseduty(andutility) lie inservingthegeneral interests(intérêt général)ofthoseotherwisedividedbyclass,politics,region,profession,religion,andtemperament.TheideathatthesocialutilityofgoodsandservicesshouldtakepriorityovertheirpersonalutilityprovidesakeytounderstandingFrenchnotionsofgovernmentuptothepresent.Colbert,LouisXIV’sprimeminister,believedthatitisincumbentuponsocietytoaccomplishwhatindividualscannot.Thatis,thestateshouldtakeinitiativesforthecommongoodwhenindividuals’effortsareinsufficient.Bymakingitpartofthecommonlaw,utilité publiquecouldserveasalegitimatingtactic,justifyingthegovernment’sactionsevenifonlyforthesakeofappearances,suchaswhenthestatetookoverthetapestryandmirror-makingcompanies. Asserting that the state’s interests take precedence over individualinterests, it could also be used to surmount any opposition and to appease thebourgeoisiewhoownedthesecompanies.Thissignalsatransitionawayfromtheabsolutepowerandauthorityoftheking,whowasthoughttoembodythewillofGod,andwhosemotivesnoonewouldquestion.

Table 1. Usefulness

Objects,actions,organizations

→ Usefulrelationship(serves,satisfiesneedsand/ordesires;communicatesvalue,importance,wealth)

→ Needsand/ordesiresofindividualsorsociety

Table 2. PublicUtility

Privateinterestsofindividualsororganizations

↓Moralpersonalityofacollectivebody(people’ssharedinterests,whatthecommunityvalues)

↓Commonwill → Publicutility

(definesandshapes,containsorlimitsgeneralinterest,distinguishingitfromprivateinterests)

→ Generalinterest,publicgood



60. SeeTurgot’sEncyclopédiearticleof1757.61. Discussed in Halévy, Formation du radicalisme philosophique, vol. 1: La Jeunesse de

Bentham, 1776–1789,27–31,andPierreRosanvallon,“L’Utilitarismefrançaisetlesambiguïtésdelaculturepolitiqueprérévolutionnaire(positiond’unproblème),”inThe French Revolution and the Creation of Modern Political Culture,vol.1:The Political Culture of the Old Regime,ed.KeithBaker(Oxford:PergamonPress,1987),435–40.RosanvallonnotesthatthistextwasoneofthemostoftenreadinthethirtyyearsbeforetheRevolution.

62. SayandChailley,“Helvétius,”Nouveau dictionnaire (Paris:Guillaumin,1891),1:1127.63. For the same reason, Helvétius and many of his followers believed that inequalities

ascribed to women were a result of social conditioning rather than physiology and as suchcouldbechanged.Halévy,Jeunesse de Bentham,30.NotethatinthesectionofhisMémoires, ou Essais sur la musique(NewYork:DaCapo,1971),ontheinfluenceofthephysicalonthemoral(3:83–86),thecomposerAndré-Ernest-ModestGrétrytakesissuewithHelvétius’sDe l’esprit.HethinksthatHelvétiusoverestimatedthepowerofeducationtochangeaperson,especiallyhisorherhealth.

By the eighteenth century, utilité publique had become “the supreme law,” acriterion for judging anything involving the public domain.60 The philosopherHelvétiusmadetheconceptfashionableinhispopularDe l’esprit(1758),inwhichheusedittocriticizedespotismandtoarguefora“public”ornotionofthestateseparatefromthepersonoftheking.61Histhesisrevolvedaroundtheideathat“interest” dictates our judgment. It determines whether one values or scornsactionsorideas.LikesomeofhisEnglishcontemporariesandJeremyBenthamafterhim,hehopedtoconceiveofawaytolinkindividualinterestswiththoseofsocietyasawhole.IfperfectionforHelvétiusmeantharmonizingourpersonalpleasureasfullyaspossiblewiththeinterestsofothers,then(echoingDescartes)to be virtuous meant being useful to others.62 Because Helvétius believed thatman is a product of social and therefore changeable circumstances more thanfixed or geographical ones,63 he thought that education could accomplish thisfusionofindividualandgeneralinterests.AlongwithBentham,CesareBeccaria,andothersinspiredbythelatter,hesawlegislatorsaspotentialpedagogues,andmoralityandlegislationas“oneandthesamescience.”Ideally, theprincipleofpublicutilitywouldensurethatgovernmentalactions,howevervaguelydefined,benefitedthegoodofthegreatestnumber.

As the definition of general interest and the collective needs of the nationevolved,theseparationofpublicandprivaterealmsbecameincreasinglyambigu-ous.Theconceptofutilité publique playedacritical role inhelpingwritersandpoliticiansnegotiatethisevolutionandreconceivetheirsociety.ExtendingsomebasicideasinHelvétius,Jean-JacquesRousseaumadeitanintegralpartofhisnewpoliticaltheory.InbothhisessayonthepoliticaleconomyandhisSocial Contract,heconceptualizedacloserelationshipbetweenutilité publiqueandwhathecalls



64. “Thesovereignpowerthathasthecommongood[intérêtgénéral ]asitsobjecthasnolimitsexceptthoseofpublicutility....Publicutilityrendersthesacrificesthatpublicpowersrequireofindividualsbothlegitimateandobligatory.”CitedinDerathé,Jean-Jacques Rousseau,344–51.

65. Seen.56above.66. Thisconstitutionpositsthatfortherightsofmenandcitizenstobeguaranteed,there

needstobea“forcepublique”institutedfortheadvantageofall,notthe“utilitéparticulière”ofthoseincharge.Itspurposeistoexpressthecommonwill(volontégénérale).SeeBelin,Logique d’une idée-forceandE.Halévy,La Formation du radicalisme philosophique: La Révolution et la doctrine d’utilité (1789–1815)(Paris:Alcan,1900).

67. Jean-JacquesRousseau,Les Confessions, in id.,Œuvres complètes (Dijon:Darantière,1959),1:404–5.

the sovereign power.64 For him, utilité publique both contains sovereign power,establishing its limits in the public domain, and articulates the border betweenpublicandprivate,providingarationaleforprivate“sacrifices”orencroachmentsintotheprivatedomain.

Analogously,Rousseaubelievedthatlawsshouldnotreflectaspecificleader’swill,butthatofthepeople.Sovereigntythusresidesnotinoneindividual(i.e.,anall-powerfulking),butinthecommonwill(volontégénérale)(seetable2).Thecommonwillresultsfromthesharedvaluesandinterestsofthecollectivebody—orwhathecallsits“moralpersonality.”InRousseau’stheory,then,commonwillbothdetermineswhatisinthegeneralinterestofthepeopleandunitesthemintoa political entity. It also helps produce the feeling of social solidarity.65 Such asystemhastheadvantageofjoiningpeoplewithoutforcingthemtogiveuptheirrights;however,itsdependenceonthecountry’sleadersandtheirdeterminationofthepublicinterestcontainsafundamentalweakness,whichRousseauwasnottosolve.

TheRevolutionbuiltontheseideas,andtheConstitutionof3September1791accustomed people to reflecting on social phenomena.66 This document allowsforsocialdistinctionsamongfreeandequalmen,butonlybasedontheirutilitécommune, thatis,theirvirtuesandtalents.Thisbeliefunderliesthecriticalrolecompetitionshaveplayedinanythingregulatedbythestatesincethen(seechapter4below).InspiredbyRousseau,revolutionaryleaderschargedtheirgovernmentto“formapeoplethatisthemostvirtuous,themostenlightened,thewisest.”67Utilitybecameoneoftheirmosteffectiveargumentsfortakingaction.Virtuallyallrevolutionarylawswerewrittenwiththeintérêtgénéralofthepeopleastheirgoalandpurpose.Theyinvokedutilitésocialetopressfororexplainawiderangeofdecisions,expenses,andactivities,includingtheprotectionofforests,thefreeflowofcapital,theseparationofadministrativeandjudiciaryresponsibilities,the



68. Inhis“AppliedNaturalHistoryandUtilitarianIdeals:‘JacobeanScience’attheMuséumd’HistoireNaturelle,1789–1870,”inRe-creating Authority in Revolutionary France,ed.BryantRaganJr.andElizabethWilliams(NewBrunswick,N.J.:RutgersUniversityPress),129–43,MichaelOsborneexplainsthat“forasubstantialbodyofrevolutionaryscientists,‘utile’wassomethingthatdemarcatedtheirownsciencefromromanticmisconceptionslikeMesmerismandthusfreedhumanityofitsprejudices”(130).

69. SeeSarrette’s“PetitionfortheCreationofaNationalInstituteofMusic”readtotheConventionon8November1793,reprintedinConstantPierre,ed.,Le Conservatoire national de musique et de déclamation: Documents historiques et administratifs (Paris:Imprimerienationale,1900),88–90.TheInstitutbecametheConservatoireon3August1795.

70. Thiswassignificantbecausesince1791,whenallassociationsofpeoplefromthesameclass(état)wereabolished,therehadbeenafearofcollectiveorganizations.

defenseofborders, theNationalGuard,and the importanceofart.Utilityalsoemergedasawayofdefendingsciencebecauseitofferedeitherpowerovernatureorsomethingtoimprovedailylife.68Arguingformusic’sutilitépubliquein“pro-ducingagoodeffectonthenationalcharacter,”in1793,revolutionarystatesmenapprovedthecreationofthefirstnationalconservatoryofmusic.69

The vague, malleable qualities underlying utility thus allowed leaders torespondtochangingcircumstancesandpoliticalideologiesevenif,aftertheyearXII(1803–4), thegeneralwillandutilitépubliqueweredeterminedbyconcretecases,notbyanygeneralformula.Becauseoftheirutilitépublique, thegovernmentcouldtakechargeofareaslefttotheprivatedomainundertheAncienRégime,including religion and education. One of the most significant developments inthehistoryofthisconceptwasarticle649ofthe1804CivilCode(andtheopinionrenderedbytheConseild’Etat,17June1806).Thisarticleestablishedtherangeofutilitépublique’sinfluenceandtheextentofitscontrolsandlimitsontheexerciseofstatepower.Bothtorecognizeandtocontrolprivateorganizationswhoseexis-tencethestatewishedtosupport,thislawgrantedthemadéclarationorreconnais-sanced’utilitépublique.70Towinthisstatus,groupshadtodemonstratethattheyfulfilledapublicneedandcontributedtothepublicgood(bien public).Inreturn,theyreceivedlegalbenefits,butwerealsosubjecttosupervisionandtherulesofcommonlaw.Thefirstrequestforthisdesignationcamefromawomen’scharitableorganization in 1809. In 1901, another law made utilité publique consubstantialwiththenotionofanassociation.

As the public domain expanded, leaders increasingly invoked the notion ofutilitépublique.Itwasespeciallyusefulindeterminingtheboundariesofthepri-vatedomain.Forexample,whereasan1838lawrecognizedaFrenchman’srighttoownproperty,an1841lawlimiteditinthecaseof“expropriationpourcaused’utilitépublique”(stateappropriationorcompulsorypublicpurchaseforreasons



71. IntheUnitedStates,thisiscalledthelawofeminentdomain.InhisLe Droit de l’expropriation pour cause d’utilité publique(Bordeaux:Delmas,n.d.),GeorgesFerrièrepointstoearlyexamplesofthispracticebyPhilipleBelin1303andHenriIVin1607(22–23).Forhowthisconceptwasunderstoodinnineteenth-centuryFrance,seeGustaveSabatier,Traité de l’expropriation pour cause d’utilité publique(1859),EdmondPicard,Traité général de l’expropriation pour utilité publique(Paris:Larcier,1875),andPierreAvril,Les Origines des établissements publics et des établissements d’utilité publique (Paris:Rousseau,1900);forhowthislawisappliedtoday,seeDenisLévy,“Réflexionssurlanotiond’utilitépublique,”in Service public et libertés: Mélanges offerts au professeur Robert-Edouard Charlier(Paris:Editionsdel’Universitéetdel’enseignementmoderne,1981),195–204,andConseild’Etat,L’Utilité publique aujourd’hui(Paris:Documentationfrançaise,1999).

72. Belin,Logique d’une idée-force,367;AndrédeLaubadèreetal.,Traité de droit adminis-tratif.SeealsoJ.Chevalier,Le Service public(Paris:PressesuniversitairesdeFrance,2003),andRénéRizzardo,“Enquoil’enseignementmusicalspécialisérelève-t-il(oupas)delanotiondeservicepublic?”inEnseigner la musique,no.4:L’Avenir de l’enseignement spécialisé de la musique(2000):27–32andthediscussionthatfollows,33–43.

73. AsClaudeNicoletpointsoutinhisLa République en France(Paris:Seuil,1992),teach-ers,asgovernmentemployees,arenotatthe“service”oftheirstudents,butofthestate,orthegeneralinterest(68).

74. ThisrecallstheLatinsourceoftheword“minister,”meaningsomeonewhoserves.

ofpublicutility).71Accordingly,thestatecouldtakepossessionofprivatepropertyforthegreatersocialgoodifthecollectiveinterestswerenottemporarybutlong-lasting, and if the state paid the property’s owners, property being consideredsince1791ausefulthing,butnotaright.Inthenineteenthcentury,perhapsthemostsignificantapplicationofthislawresultedinHaussmann’sreconfigurationofParis.Appealingtoan1850lawaboutunhealthybuildingsandanotherfrom1852allowingforexpropriationforpublicworks,HaussmannhadonlytoborrowmoneyandanswerhisnumerouscriticstofulfillhisandNapoléonIII’sdreamofanewParisthatwaseasiertocontrol.

Aspublicbecamesynonymouswithpublicinterest,thestatebroughtunderitsaegisanyenterprisehavingutilitépublique.Fromthisprinciple,thenotionofpublicserviceemerged.Lawspassedin1873establishedpublicserviceasacentralpartoftheadministration.Anactivitycouldbecomeapublicservicewhenitsatisfiedaneed involving thegeneral interest.72 In this spirit, thegovernment tookoverFrenchminesin1880andthetransportationindustriessomewhatlater(pavingthewayforthemetropolitansubwaysystembeginningin1898).Asthestatelookedformorecontroloverorganizedreligion,itcreatedapositionofministerofreligiouscults.Afterlawspassedinthe1880sruledthatallchildrenmustgotoschool,andthatsecularpublicschoolswouldbefree,educationbecameapublicservice.73

Anyorganizationoractivitythatcouldarguefor itseducationalvaluecouldreceivesupportfromthestate.Whentheartswereformallyplacedunderthejuris-dictionoftheministerofpublicinstructionin1870,theyenteredthedomainofapublicservice.74Withthisinmind,asartsadministratorGustaveLarroumetnotes,



75. GustaveLarroumet,L’Art et l’Etat(Paris:Hachette,1895),291–92.76. Ibid.,264.77. Toobtainthisstatus,theprocessbeganwithaninvestigationandformalreportsreviewed

bytheConseilmunicipal,theprefectofpolice,theprefectoftheSeine,andtheministeroftheinterior.Theorganizationhadtoprovethatithadexistedforatleastthreeyears,sothatitsprevi-ousactivitiescouldbeexaminedfortheirutility,andthatitsresourcesweresufficienttoallowittocontinue.TheSociéténationalewasrequiredtopresentahistoryofitsorganization,itsgoals,founders,statutes,financialresources,andactivities.InadocumentsignedbyFranck,Fauré,Vidal,Tiersot,andChabrier,theSociétéarguedthatithadbeenan“artisticandpatrioticfoun-dation”forseventeenyears,duringwhichtimeithadpresentedsixhundredpremieresofnewFrenchworks.Assuch,itfunctionedas“akindofexperimentalmusicschool[école d’application

“thestatepurchasedartworksasitpurchasedbooks,formedmuseumsasitformedlibraries,andtaughttheartsasittaughtliteratureandthesciences.”75Thegovern-mentalsosupportedmusic.Declaringtheconstructionofanewoperahouse,thePalaisGarnier,ofutilitépubliqueon29September1860wasnecessarybeforeanarchitectcouldbeselectedandgroundbroken.EachyearinthebudgetdiscussionsoftheAssembléenationaleinthelastquarterofthenineteenthcentury,deputiescitedtheirutilitépubliqueasthemainreasonforcontinuingtheannualsubsidiesof theOpéraandOpéra-Comique.Larroumetexplains:“The truth is thatourdramaticandmusicalheritageispartofthenation’swealthandthatwithoutthestate’sprotection,thisheritagefromthepastwouldweakenandnotgrowinthepresent.Theaterssupplyacertainkindofteachingintherealmofthearts,andsubsidizingthemamountstoprovidingapublicservice.”76

This way of thinking also applied to individual initiatives addressing socialneeds. In 1795, citing their utilité publique, the Convention created the HôpitalSaint-AntoineforthepooranddisadvantagedandrecognizedEtienneGeoffroySaint-Hilaire’s zoological Ménagerie for observing animals. The state likewiseacknowledgedsmallerorganizations—publicbaths,municipalgymnasiums,andespeciallygroupsadvocatingsomethingitwishedtoencourage.TheserangedfromgeographicalsocietiestotheAlliancefrançaiseandvariousassociationspromot-ingeducation,science,agriculture,andcommerce.Overtheyears,numerousartsorganizationshavesoughtthisstatus,includingtheSociétédesartistesfrançais,startedin1882andrecognizedin1883foritsannualexhibitionsofFrenchart.

In themusicalworld,obtainingofficialapproval throughadéclarationd’utilitépubliqueespeciallyhelpedconcertorganizations.OneoftheearliestsuchgroupswastheSociétédesconcertsdechantclassique(FondationBeaulieu),foundedin1860andrecognizedin1867,notonlyforitscontributionstomusicians’retirements,butalsoforitsconcertsofvocalmusicbydeceasedcomposers.In1888,eventheprivatecomposers’ organization, the Société nationale de musique, asked to be declaredanétablissement d’utilité publique.77Today,fortheverysamereason,theConcerts



musicale]helpingitscomposerstoperfecttheirart.”PlayingintotherepublicaninterestsoftheConseilmunicipal,whowouldhavenotedthequasi-privatenatureoftheirconcerts,theynotedthatinthefuturetheSociétéwouldliketobringitsmusicto“popularaudiences”sothattheytoo“canjudgetheprogressofnationalart.”Bibliothèquenationale,Musique,RésF.994(D.13,21).

78. Othermorerecentorganizationsreceivinga“déclarationd’utilitépublique”fortheirmusicalcontributionsincludetheFondationSinger-Polignac(1928),LesAmisdeLiliBoulanger(1971),theFondationCziffra(1975),theAcadémieinternationaledemusiqueMauriceRavelinCibourre(1975),andtheSociétémusicalerusseenFrance(1983).

Pasdeloupreceivesastatesubsidyforperformingorchestralmusic(fig.16).78Suchrecognitionhasalsobeengiventocharitablefoundationsandprofessionalsociet-iesprovidingretirementsfundsandcareforworkersinthecaseofsickness.Twosuchgroups,theAssociationdesartistesmusiciens,foundedin1843,andasimilarorganizationforpainters,sculptors,andothervisualartists,foundedin1840,were

Fig. 16 Concerts Pasdeloup program,1998–99.

The text on the brochure announcingtheir1998–99seasonreads:“Associationrecognized for its public utility, subsi-dized by the Ministry of Culture andtheCityofParis.”This indication stillappearedonthecoveroftheirbrochuresin2007.



79. Cousin,Lectures,238,265–68.Onp.307,hetakesonHelvétius’sethicsdirectly.

recognizedfortheirpublicutilityin1876and1881,respectively.Thecrucialrequire-menthasbeenconvincingstateadministratorsthat,whilecarryingoutitsmissionintheprivatedomain,theorganizationisvoluntarilyfulfillingagenuinesocialneed.

Organizationsofutilitépubliquecollaborateaspartnersintheadministrationofpublicservices.Thestatecangivethemmoney,butitdoesnotassumetheirdebts.Althoughadéclarationmakessuchorganizationsaccountabletothestateinsomeway,theyremainprivate,responsiblefortheirownartisticandbudgetarydeci-sions.Becausethestaterecognizedanincreasingnumberofassociationsinlatenineteenth-centuryFrance,peoplewereinevitablyawarethattheprivatedomaincouldbenefitbyservingpublicneeds.Thiscontributedtobuildingastrongfoun-dationfordemocracy,withpublicandprivateeffortsalikeservingthepublicinter-estandthepublicgood.However,theseinstitutionsalsohelpedthestatemaintainitspowerandsetthecontextforbothrisingsocialismandreactionaryresistance.

The Power of Utilité Publique

TheideaofutilityhasthusservedtheFrenchwelloverthecenturies.Becauseitdependsontheperceptionofthecountry’sneeds,itcouldprotectthestatusquo.Moreoftenitwasinvokedtopromotechange.Whereasintheeighteenthcentury,itledpeopletoreevaluatetherelationshipofpleasuretohappinessandgoodness,italsoforcedrevolutionaries tocometogripswithneedsthestatehadtoserveinreplacingtheChurch,particularlyinprimaryeducation.IfCousincriticizedtheprincipleofgeneralinterestbypointingoutthatitcouldalso“producegreatcrimes,”ifheworriedabout“asingleclassofduties,dutiestowardsothers”withno“dutiestowardsourselves,”andifhepointedoutthatutilityisneverthe“solemeasureofthegoodnessofactions,”79nonethelesstheseideashelpedsetthetermsfor a revolution in values—the liberty, equality, and fraternity that made thepeople,theworkingclasses,animportantpartofthenation.

SincetheRevolution,whenthisconceptbegantodominateallFrenchadminis-trativelaw,manyFrenchpoliticiansandpublicadministratorshaveconstruedtheirprincipalpurposeasthefulfillmentofutilité publique.Forthoseincontrol,ithashelpeddeterminewhatlawswerenecessaryand,increasinglyovertheyears,howtobalancethevariouslegitimate,albeitconflicting,needsofsociety.Atthesametime,itaidedinthegrowthandcentralizationofthestateandprovidedawaytoexplain(orrationalize)stateinitiativesorforaysintotheprivatedomain.Privateorganizations,too,haveinvokedtheconcept,especiallywhensolicitingrecogni-



80. CategoriesstudiedinLes Lieux de mémoire, ed.PierreNora,7vols.(Paris:Gallimard,1984–92).

81. Belin,Logique d’une idée-force,293.82. Fustel de Coulanges, “L’Alsace est-elle allemande ou française?” (1870) and Ernest

Renan ina lectureat theSorbonne,“Qu’est-cequ’unenation?”(1882)reproduced inRaoulGirardet,Le Nationalisme français(Paris:Colin,1966),62–67.

tionfortheireffortsatservingthepublicinterest.Inthenineteenthcentury,inparticular,whenthepublicandprivatewereconstantlybeingreevaluated,utilitydefinedtheterrainwherethetwospheresmetandsometimesoverlapped.Underthe aegis of public utility, both state administrators and private groups couldarticulateandjustifytheirfunctionalneedsanddesires—money,buildings,andland—as well as their symbolic ones—official recognition or public approval,preservation of tradition or promotion of progress, patriotic pride or nationalidentity.Bothcouldassertthatcertainactionswererespectableandinthecoun-try’sgeneralinterestandthatotherswerenot.Utilitépubliquethusarticulatedthesiteofcontentionwheretheirconflictinginterestsinevitablyclashed,thespaceofnegotiationforeverythingpolitical.

Thesignificanceofutilité publiquecomesinpartfromhow,totheextentthatitaddressedthecollectiveinterestsoftheFrenchpeople,ithelpedcreatethenation.Revolutionariesunderstoodthenationasmorethanitsterritory,theinheritanceofitsmonumentsandmuseums,itslawsandsymbols,itsmilitaryvictories,anditslanguage.80Toreplacetheking,intheir1791Constitution,theymadethenationthe“principleofsovereignty.”Rousseauhadunderstoodthatthiswasnotbasedonunity,butonsharedneedsanddesires translated inthecommonwill.Fromtherevolutionaries’perspective,“theonlytitlesoneneededweretheloveofthepublicgoodandthedesiretobeusefultothecountry.”81AfterthelossofAlsaceand Lorraine, the French returned to this utopian notion of what determines anation.As thehistory professor FusteldeCoulanges put it in 1870,more thanrace and language, what makes a country is “a community of ideas, interests,feelings,memories,andhopes.”Thesedefinethepresent,whileraceandhistoryrepresentthepast.Inhis1882essay“WhatIsaNation?”ErnestRenanlikewisepointstotheimportanceofhavinga“sharedprogramtorealize”—hisversionofRousseau’s“commonwill”thatmakesanationintoa“moralpersonality.”Renanalso sees shared sufferingas imposingduties“requiringaneffort incommon”:“Tohavesuffered,rejoiced,hopedtogether—theseareworthmorethancommoncustoms and borders, these are what one understands in spite of diversity inraceandlanguage.”82Throughitsorientationtothepublicgoodandthepublicinterest, asarticulatedby thecountry’s sharedneedsanddesires, thenotionof



83. AlbertDuruy,L’Instruction publique et la démocratie, 1877–1886(Paris:Hachette,1886),312.

84. Numeroushistorianshavepointedoutthesocialandeconomicinequitiesnotaccountedforintherevolutionaryconceptofthecitizenandintheeventualdominationofthestatebythebourgeoisie.

85. IagreewiththecriticMaxSilvermanwho,inhisFacing Postmodernity: Contemporary French Thought on Culture and Society(London:Routledge,1999),pointsoutthatthenation-stateshouldnotbetheprimarycontextforconsiderationofcitizenship.

utilitépubliquewasassociatedwithboththefatherland(patrie)—servingwhatoneloved—andthehappinessorwell-being(bonheur)thatresultedfromhavingone’sneedssatisfied.

Utilitywasavaluabletoolinthediscourseaboutthenation.Likethenation,util-ityrepresentedhopes,desires,andemotionalneedsaswellasanideologycreatedtoaddressthem.Justaslegitimatingaconceptasthenation,itlinkedsocietyandthestate,allowingthetwotobeperceivedas“thesame,”theformer“mergingandbeingabsorbed”inthelatter83—anideawithresonanceinFranceasfarbackasthereignofHenriIVandpossiblytheGallo-Romanperiod.Satisfyingneedsisnotthesameascontrollingthem,butasinanyrelationshipbetweentwocloselyidentifiedentities,manipulationcangobothways.Utility,then,isnotjustdescriptiveofhowthecommonwillshoulddeterminethegeneralinterest.Itcanalsobeprescriptiveofhowdesirescanbeeducatedandneedsconstructedtoconstitutethegeneralinter-est.Inthissense,itcanbepowerfullynormalizing.Inotherwords,ifthestatecanrespondtotheneedsofamajorityofthepeople,itcanalsohelpshapethedesiresofthesepeoplesothattheyagreeontheirneeds.Totheextentthatthestatecanincreaseappreciation(andthereforedesire)formusicthroughteachingsinginginschool, encouraging participation in amateur choruses, rewarding performancethroughcompetitions,andsubsidizingoperaandorchestralconcertsforthelowerclasses, it can promote music as a shared interest of diverse people. This is theessenceofthetop-downtheoryofculturalhegemony,whichincludestheculturalpaternalismunderlyingsupportfororphéonsandthebirthofconcerts populaires.

Likethenation,however,utilityisproblematicinitsclaimsatgeneralrepresen-tation.Beliefinthecommonwillandinpeople’sabilitytocomprehenditprobablymotivatedthestatemorethantherealitybehindtheseconcepts.84Still,sinceutilityimpliesitsowncontingencies,itallowsustorethinkcitizenshipandthenationashavingcontingenciesandfluctuatingidentitiesthataredependentonadiversityofneedsanddesires.Fromthisperspective,Frenchnotionsofcitizenshiparenotabsoluteortheoreticalbutrootedinhistory,subjecttotheneedsanddesiresofthosealiveatanyonetime.85

Totheextentthatittoleratesdiverseneedsanddesires,theconceptofutilité



86. “LaSociétédesgrandesauditions,”Art musical,15April1890,51.87. RobertTombs,prefacetoNationhood and Nationalism in France: From Boulangism to the

Great War, 1889–1918,ed.id.(London:HarperCollins,1991),xi.88. “Principesgénéralesetutilitédesexpositionsuniverselles,”Moniteur de l’Exposition de

1889,21April1889.

publiquealsoallowsustoexplorethelimitationsofthistop-downperspective.Incertaincontexts,forexample,privatemusicorganizationstookontheroleofthestateandsoughttopromoteverydifferentinterests.Inthe1890s,frustratedwiththelackofrenewalinthenationaltheaters,thearistocraticSociétédesgrandesauditionsmusicalesdeFrancehadtheconnectionsandthemoneytoproducesomeofthefirststagedperformancesofBerlioz’sandWagner’soperasinFrancewellinadvanceofthestate’sproductionsatthePalaisGarnier.Becausetheseproductionsprovidedanidealofwhatsomethoughtartandthepublicgoodshouldbe,somecriticspraisedthesocietyas“eminentlyuseful”andaccusedsubsidizedtheatersof being “useless” to the cause of art because of their apathy and bureaucraticstructures.86The taste for artmusic thus sometimes“trickledup” fromprivateorganizationstoinfluencestate-supportedinstitutions.

ThispointstohowtheconceptofutilityaddressedthechallengesofthenationinauniquelyFrenchway.Frenchofallpoliticalpersuasionsclaimedtobeservingutilité publiqueinthelivelyandongoingdebatesoverwhoseinterestswouldbeseenassociety’sinterests,whosevaluesthestatewouldembraceandsupport.Whenthepoliticianswhocalledthemselvesopportunistrepublicans(républicains opportunistes)rosetopowerinthelate1870s,butprovedunabletomeetsociety’sneeds,debatesoverwhatwasinthegeneralinterestofthepeoplegaveriseinthelate1880stonewantirepublicannationalism,alongsiderepublicannationalism,andintheearly1890stopoliticalalliancesbetweenconservativerepublicansandroyalists.Nationalism,orinvokingthegeneralinterestsofthenation,functionedasadomesticpoliticalweapontoattackbothopponentsofthestateand,bytheendofthecentury,theRepublicitself.87Fromtheperspectiveofutilité publique,however,theonlyreal“enemy”wasanyonewhowishedtospendpublicresourcesonunnecessaryluxuries.

Thesignificanceofutilité publique alsoderives from its functionasa signofsocialgoodness.Thismadeitabasisforcomparison,akindofstandard.Insomecontexts,italsobecameacriterionforjudgment,forassertingvalueinthecommu-nity.Indescribingthe“principlesandutilityofthe1889Exhibition,”forexample,organizerssawtheeventas“useful”totheextentthatitdemonstrated“Frenchsuperiority”inawiderangeofproducts,areflectionof“thetasteandtalentof[France’s]manufacturers.”88Withpublicconcernsinflectingthoseofprivateindi-vidualsinthenineteenthcentury,peopleincreasinglyinvokedtheusefultoattract



89. See,e.g.,La Vie de famille(1898).90. L’Album musical de la famille,advertisedinLa Famille,12October1879,210.91. Album musical,August–September1906.

attentiontowhatshouldbevaluedfromsmallandalmostinsignificantobjectsandactionstogreatandimportantones.Assuch,utilitywasalsoconsideredaformofknowledge.

Inthisregard,“useful”wasoftenlinkednotto“pleasurable,”asithadbeenfor Horace and eighteenth-century philosophers, but to “interesting”—inter-est being a criterion (since Helvétius) for determining whether something wasworthyofone’sattention.Forexample,feedingtheirreaders’desireforcontinuingeducation, monthly magazines advertised “useful and interesting complementsto their arid studies in the past.”89 While many family magazines reproducedormadeavailable totheirsubscribersmusicalscoreswhose“attractivenessandutilitywillbeappreciated,”90reciprocallymusicmagazinestendedtohaveshortbiographiesandportraitsofpeopleinthenews,aswellassummariesofcurrentevents.Bythecentury’send,thetastefor“indispensablesavoir-faire”ledLa Vie de familletopublisharegularsection,“UsefulKnowledge”(Connaissancesutiles).Thisincludedmedicaladvice,travelinformation,sciencegames,andtipsforthehomemaker—suchashowtogetgreaseoutofsheetsandrestoreoldpaintings.JustlikeLa FamilleandLa Vie de famille,theAlbum musical,amonthlycollec-tion of musical scores, included a “Financial Conversation” its editors thoughtwouldbe“usefultotheirreaders”and“interestthem”becauseitdiscussedstockmarketfluctuations.91Anyinformationaddressingalegitimateneedwasconsid-ered“useful”—ausefulreform,usefulwork,usefulinitiative,usefulexplanations.Usefulnesswasunderstoodnotmerelyintermsofhelpingsatisfyaneed;theneedinquestionhadtobejustifiableandpotentiallysharedwithothers.

Simplyarguingthatsomethingwasusefulinthenineteenthcentury,however,shouldneverbetakenatfacevalue,forrarelywereassertionsofutilityoruse-fulness neutral. Brandishing these words could shield a group or interest fromscrutinywhentherewerecompetingpolitical,economic,orsocialagendas.Utilité publique could parade as negotiating competitive interests while serving onlyone.Moreover,iteasilyimpliedrenderingorevaluatingaservicethatthepublicshoulddesireorneed,notnecessarilyonethatmanyagreedwasinthecommoninterest.Thishasoftenbeenaproblemwithsocialpolicydictatedfromonhigh.It also could mask market forces, conformism, and habits capable of influenc-ingpeople’sperceptionoftheirneedsanddesires.Whenitcametothearts,theadvantagebroughtbysomethingusefulcouldgobothways.Thestate,likeartiststhemselves,couldbenefitfromcertainactions,suchasthosethatreinforcedthe



92. ForanexcellentessayonGebrauchsmusik,seeStephenHinton’sentryinThe New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,2nded.,ed.StanleySadieetal. (NewYork:Grove,2001).Unlikethescholarswhopromotedthisterm,Hintonpointsoutthatmusic’suse-valueanditsautonomyarenotnecessarilymutuallyexclusive.WhencriticssuchasAdornoclaimedthattheonlyusemusiccanserveincapitalistsocietyisthatofacommodity,theywereshowinghowlimitedtheirconceptoftheusefulwas.

In his The Anthropology of Music (Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press, 1964),

statusquoratherthanquestionedit.Determiningthepublicinterestisproblematicwhentheutility,orthelogicforinvokingit,iscircular.Utilité publique,conceivedinthisway,sometimesreflectsacertainimpotenceorinsularityinthesystemsthatinvokeit.Inallsituationsconcerningutilité publique, then,weshouldascertainwhichpublicitaddressesandwhatkindofsocialsignificanceitsproponentsseektoachieve.

Consequently,weshouldnotdismissthiscrucialconceptinEuropeancultureorassumeweunderstanditatfacevalue.Usefulnessisbroadinitscapacitytosignify,andeffectiveinhelpingusbettertounderstandthedemocraticforcesoftheThirdRepublicandFrenchculture since then.Dependingonone’sperspective,at itsextremes,utilité publique could implya stiflingaction,calling for thesurrenderofindividualintereststothecommonwill,asinthecaseofexpropriatingprivateproperty.Butitcouldalsoprotectandempowerthecommunitytodefenditselffromtheunduepowerofcertainindividuals.Utilitylegitimatestheconceptofthesocialandsocialneedswithoutrelyingontheassumptionofnaturaldifferencesbetweensocialclasses.InFrance,itharksbacktorevolutionaryidealsthatpointtodifferenceasamatterofaccesstoresourcesandexperienceratherthaninnateprivilege. Utilité publique provides a way to conceive of a broader sense of theFrenchpeopleandtounderstandmorethantheneedsanddesiresoftheirelites.Thisisparticularlyrelevantinstudyingmusic,especiallyifwearetogetbeyondtheprejudicethathistorianshavelongimbuedinusthatartmusicis,fundamen-tally,ofandforelites.

MUSICASUTILITé PUBLIQUE

IfFrenchmusicianshaveescapedthekindofvitriolicattackthatHindemith,forexample,metwithinGermanyinthe1920s,itisinpartbecauseofhowmusic’sutility has been construed in France. Whereas German scholars, writing in atraditionthatvaluesmetaphysics,developedthetermGebrauchsmusik todescribemusicthatservessocialfunctionsorengagespeoplethroughactiveparticipationmore thanaestheticcontemplation,92 theFrenchhaveneedednosuchcategory.FewFrenchhavegoneasfarastheSecondVienneseSchoolcomposersintheir



AlanMerriamdistinguishesbetweenuseandfunction,theformerreferringto“thesituationinwhichmusicisemployedinhumanaction,”thelatterto“thereasonsforitsemploymentandparticularlythebroaderpurposethatitserves”(210).Itendtoagreewiththecognitiveneuro-scientistStevenBrownwho,indiscussingthese,arguesthatuseemanatesfromfunctioninhis“Introduction:‘HowDoesMusicWork?’TowardaPragmaticsofMusicalCommunication,”inMusic and Manipulation: On the Social Uses and Social Control of Music(NewYork:Berghahn2006),ed.id.andUlrikVolgsten,1–25.Thisstimulatingvolumeexploresthenegativeaswellasthepositivesocialusesofmusicinourtime.

93. InhisLectures,Cousinunderstoodthisrelationshiptobewithoutthe“servitudeofart”(163).

94. Claude Lefort, Essais sur le politique, XIXe–XXe siècles (Paris: Seuil, 1986), 9.Tocquevilleexplainsmoresas“thedifferentnotionsthatmenpossess,thevariousopinionsthatarecurrentintheirmidst,andthesumofideasofwhichthehabitsofthemindareformed,”inotherwords,“thewholemoralandintellectualstateofapeople”(Democracy in America,275).

95. Tocqueville,Democracy in America,3,485.

claimsaboutautonomousconcertmusic,againstwhichGebrauchsmusikcomposerswerereacting.ArtisticvalueinFranceisnotaslinkedtomusicalautonomy.OperahashistoricallybeenthemosthighlysupportedartinFrance,andcertainkindsofmusique d’occasion,suchasthatwrittenforrevolutionaryfestivals,havebeenbroadlyappreciated.Generallyspeaking, inFrance,theuseful inmusiciswhatlinkssoundtosociety,musictothecommunity.

Astheyenvisagedbringingtogetherrepublicangovernmentanddemocracy,leaders of the Third Republic looked to ancient Greece and Renaissance Italyfor“triumphantexamplesofwhattheallianceofart,religion,andthestatecando.”93Theysoughtanexplicitrelationshipbetweenmusicandthestate,thebasisofitsutilité publique.Democracies,asTocquevillepointedout,arenotjustaformofgovernment,aregimeofreason,orasetoflaws,but,aboveall,awayoflife.Theyhavetheirownmœurs(fromtheLatinmores),thehabits,attitudes,orimplicitnormsthatdeterminewhatisconsideredjustorunjust,goodorevil,desirableorundesirable,94distinctfromthoseofaristocracies.Whatcharacterizesdemocra-cies,aboveall,is“theequalityofconditions,”evenif“equalityplacesmenbesideoneanotherwithoutacommonbond tohold them.”95Frenchrepublicanswerelookingforwaystobothshapedemocraticmœursinthecountryandbuildsuchbonds.Theyunderstoodmusic—anart,aformofsensibility,akindofknowledge,andapractice—asabletocontributetothemise en formeandthemise en scèneofthenewsociety.Inthissense,musiccouldbepoliticallyuseful, especiallyifthepoliti-cal meansanensembleofprinciplesthatgeneraterelationshipsamongpeople.Thisdoesnotmeanthatitwasreducedtoitsutilité publique,justasforPlato,educationwasnotreducibletoitspoliticalfunction.Criticscontinuedtoforegroundmusic’saesthetic qualities. But, in engaging and reflecting individual as well as public



96. MyconceptofpoliticshereisindebtedtoLefort’sEssais sur le politique,7–14,112,andFrançoisFuret,Penser la Révolution française(Paris:Gallimard,1978).

97. FélixPécaut,L’Education publique et la vie nationale(Paris:Hachette,1897),126–27.98. Thisisthefirstdefinitionofcivility,orcivicvirtue,inPhilipPettit,Republicanism: A

Theory of Freedom and Government(Oxford:ClarendonPress,1997),281.99. Adolphe Le Doulcet, marquis de Pontécoulant, Les Phénomènes de la musique, ou,

L’ influence du son sur les êtres animés(Paris:Librairieinternationale,1868).100. Ianalyzetheseinmynextbook.101. Anearlynineteenth-centuryreportstressingmusic’scapacity“tomakepeople love

virtue,calmthepassions,softenmanners,andcivilizepeople”isM.-H.BoulaydelaMeurthe,Rapport au Conseil municipal de Paris sur l’ introduction de l’enseignement du chant dans les écoles primaires communales, 6 mars 1835. InhisHigh-Minded and Low-Down: Music in the Lives of Americans, 1800–1861(Boston:NortheasternUniversityPress,2000),NicolasTawa,inasec-tionentitled,“ToServeaUsefulPurpose”(25–29),explainshowAmericans,too,understoodmusicasservingtosatisfyvariousbiological,social,andimaginativeneeds.

tasteandhavingpersonalaswellassocialmeaning,musicsupportedthedualitycharacteristicofdemocracies,individualfreedomtogetherwithcollectiveaction.Forasocietythatconsideredideologyandcultureasintegralaspectsofpolitics,96after1871,certainaspectsofmusicandmusicalpractices,asweshallsee,arguablyborethe“imprint”ofpolitics.

The founders of liberal democracy recognized that universal suffrage was abold,difficult,anduncertainproject.Ithadbeentriedbeforeandfailed.97LeadersoftheThirdRepubliclookedtomusictocontributetoitssuccessinfourprincipalways.

1. Music could discipline private desires and internalize public virtues.98Frenchwhounderstood the ear as the “intellectual faculty”99 regarded music as a mode oflearningandassimilatingvalues.Listeningcouldinvolverationalprocesseslikediscrimination and empirical comparison and call on the imagination for theinterpretation of meaning. Germany offered important models for how to usemusictocultivatevirtues,especiallythroughmusiceducation.Germansingingmanualswereadmired throughout thenineteenthcenturybecause theyofferednotonlyasystematicpedagogy,butalsotextspromotingvalueslikewiseesteemedinFrance(loveofwork,devotion tocountry, thegreatnessofGod).After theFranco-Prussianwar,FrenchmusiceducatorscontinuedtoborrowGermansongs(e.g.,byAbt,Gläser,Nägeli,andSilcher)andteachthemintheschools.100LiketheirEuropeanandAmericancounterparts,Frenchofficialsrecognizedmusic’sintellectual,moral,andphysicalfunctions:whilebringinguspleasure,itenlivensthe intellectandmemory,affectsourmood,and, insinging it, strengthensourlungsandothervitalorgans.101Theyacknowledgeditscapacitytofurthercauses



andencouragepatriotismaswellasrevealthe“uniquecharacterofapeopleofanation.”102After1871,Frenchleadersofallkindslookedtomusicforitspotentialinrevitalizingpeople.

However, thereweredifferences inwhatwassought frommusicalpractices.In the nineteenth century, both German and French educators recognized thatteaching music by imitation and rote memorization had its limits and neededreform. But whereas in Germany, new approaches focused on the connectionbetweenhearing, listening,andobeying, the“basiccommongroundofeduca-tion”beingwhatDavidGramithascalledan“internalizationofobedience,”inThirdRepublicFrance,musiceducation,likeotherkindsofeducation,wasseenasaway to formcitizens.103Aspolitical scientistshavepointedout,citizenshipmeansmorethanobediencetorules.Acitizencannotbe“acreaturewhoobeysacreaturewhowills”asMontesquieuputit.Citizenshiprefersmoretothepersonthantheprescriptionsandimpliesanattitudethatleadscitizenstorelyontheirownjudgmentandtoidentifywithwhatrulesencodebecausetheymakesense.104Frencheducatorssawmoraldisciplineasnurturingthehealthofthesoul,helpingonetoorderone’sinstinctsandimpulses.Yettheyconsideredteachersintellectual“liberators”morethandisciplinarians,peoplewhotaughtjudgmentsothatciti-zenswouldthenbefreeto“constructtheirowndestiny.”105Republicanslookedtoeducationto“transformtheobscure,anonymous,unconscious,andinstinctivemultitudeintoapeoplecapableofexaminingandreflecting”andthus“governingthemselves.”106Thegoaloftheireducationthuswas“formingvigorouscharacter

102. David Gramit, Cultivating Music: The Aspirations, Interests, and Limits of German Musical Culture, 1770–1848(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,2002).GramitstressestheimportantofHerderandSchellinginthisregard(41–45).

103. Ibid.,118.AsGramitexplains,referringto“disciplinarypracticeinFoucault’ssense,”intheearlynineteenthcentury“Nägeli’sconstantuseofbrief,frequentlyrepeatedexercisesratherthanlargermusicalpiecesandhisdesiretobanishevaluativeaestheticlanguagefrompreliminaryinstructionlikewiseattesttothedisciplinarycharacteroftheGesangbildungslehre”(25,108).Gramitseesthe“largerEnlightenmentgoalofpopularpedagogy”aspartoftheneedfor“rationalizedandregulatedformsofinteractionassociatedwithcapitalistrelationsofpro-duction”(20).InFrance,obedienceandbeliefwereassociatedwiththeauthorityoftheCatholicChurch,whichrepublicanswishedtoreplacewithindividualjudgment.Seechapters3and5below.SeealsoNoémiLefebvre,“EducationmusicaleetidentiténationaleenAllemagneetenFrance”(PhDdiss.,UniversitédeGrenoble,1994).

104. Seen.56aboveonRousseau’snotionofthegeneralwill,Vernon,Citizenship and Order,2–3,andDescartesasdiscussedbyTocquevilleinDemocracy in America.

105. Pécaut,Education publique,xvi.Inhis“Coursd’histoiregénéraledelamusique,séanced’ouverture,” Ménestrel, 1 December 1878, L.-A. Bourgault-Ducoudray also asserted thatinstructionturnedpeopleinto“realmen”by“renderingtheirjudgmentfree”(2).

106. Pécaut,Education publique,viii–ix.



107. Cf.FélixPécaut,“LaMusiqueou le chant choral à l’école (1880), in id.,Education publique,117,andtheGermanattitudesdiscussedinGramit,Cultivating Music,117–18.

108. Pécaut,“Musiqueoulechantchoral,”118–19;Rapport au Conseil municipal de Paris sur l’ introduction de l’enseignement du chant dans les écoles primaires communales, 2 avril 1843,12,and“MémoireadresséàM.Gréard,directeurdel’enseignementprimairedudépartementde laSeine,enNovembre1878parM.A.Dupaigne,” inMinistrede l’Instructionpublique,Rapports,68,75.

109. ThisideaharksbacktoRousseau.SeeStrong,Jean-Jacques Rousseau,74–77.110. Pécaut,Education publique,126–29.111. QuatremèredeQuincy,Considérations morales,76.Seealso52–54.

andfreeconscience.”107Musiccouldcontributetothiseffort.Notonlywassing-ingbelievedtoattractchildrentoschoolandmakethemlovedisciplineandstudy,butmusicalperformancewasalsoperceivedasenhancingaperson’sdignityandself-respect. Music touches and moves “the common foundation of all virtues,thespontaneousenergyofbeing,andthelivelystrengthofthesoul...theplacewhere physical and moral life have common roots.”108 Listening to as well asperformingmusic,theybelieved,alsotaughtjudgment,acriticalrequirementofcitizens,whichhelpedgivethem“thesentimentof[their]ownexistence”aswellastheirexistenceincommonwithothers.109Assuch,musicwaspartofthepoliticaleducationthatbegan inprimaryschool.Alongwith literature,history,andtherest,itwouldhelp“theintellectualandmoraldispositionsoftheyoungbecomepartoftheesprit publicofafreestate.”110Republicansthuswishedtoengagemusic’seducationalcapacitytogivepeopleaccesstonew,productiveidentitiesthatwouldhelpbuilddemocracy.

2. Music connected people to one another despite their heterogeneity.InFrance,musichasoftenbeenconsideredsomethingcooperative.WhileQuatremèredeQuincywroteofmusic’scapacityto“arouseimpressions,paintthepassions,move,andplease,”hestressedtheroleofthelistener’simaginationinitsperception:“Musicmaytakeusonthepathtopleasure,butwestillneedtowalktowardit;itdoesnotpresentuswith ready-made images; itmakes us realize themwithinourselves;wepaintalongwithit;wecollaboratewithit;weareactorsinitsactionandonlyreceivethepleasureitprovidesusbycontributingtoit,whichistosaythatmusichasnoeffectuponthosewhodonotcooperatewithit.”111

ThusthepowerofbeautyforQuatremèreresidednot just informs,butalsointhecapacityoftheperson“whoreceivestheimpressions.”Fromthisidea,hepointed to the “correspondences” between art and the imagination, “withoutwhichthemusicallanguageisreducedtosounds,”andbetweenthepropertiesofoneartandthoseofanother—aconceptBaudelairewaslatertodevelopintoan



112. Ibid.,76–80.113. Pécaut,“Musiqueoulechantchoral,”118–19.114. MansfieldandWinthrop,IntroductiontoTocqueville,Democracy in America,lxviii.115. Pécaut,“Musiqueou lechantchoral,”118.Tocquevillepointsout thatwhilepeople

within the same class tend to “consider themselves all as children of the same family” andthus “feel a continual and active sympathy for one another,” this is not the same “for thedifferent classes vis-à-vis one another” in a democracy, who “cannot understand well whatthe others might feel” (Democracy in America, 535). In his “Rapport de M. Bourgault-Ducoudray” in Ministre de l’Instruction publique, Rapports, Bourgault-Ducoudray,advocating for universal musical education, suggests that music can mitigate these per-ceived differences: “Just as there is only one sun for the poor and the rich, there shouldonly be one truth and one art. If feelings are common to all classes, then art expressingthem should be practiced by all classes. From this will arise not only a community of per-ceived feelings, but also a community of manifested feelings. Nothing exalts or revives afeeling inourheartsmore than tohear it expressedaroundusby thosewho share it” (26).

116. ThisistheseconddefinitionofcivilityinPettit,Republicanism,281.

aestheticprinciple.Dependenton“thelawsofsympathie”(empathy,oracertainconnectionbetweenmusicandlistener),musicisthusmorethanmetaphysicsand“abstractknowledge.”LikeFrenchcomposersandcriticswhowerepreoccupiedwith music’s capacity to charm, that is, penetrate people’s hearts, minds, andbodies,bothQuatremèreandrepublicansfocusedonmusic’sabilityto“moveus”andwhatthatconnotedtothem.112Asonelatenineteenth-centuryeducatorputit,“theharmonyofitssoundsawakeninus,likeaninvoluntaryecho,thesenseofmoralharmony,order,agreement,andthusperfection,thatis,ourdreamandourdestiny.”113Fromthisperspective,symphoniesandmusicwithouttextornarrative,too,couldhaveutilité publique.

Whenanaudienceattendstoamusicalperformance,theysharesomethingbasicwhethertheyaresimilarlymovedornot.Theexperiencemitigatestheirsenseofisolation.Ideally,itcanleadtocompassion,amoralbondTocquevilleassociateswithdemocraticcitizens.114Whatconcernedlatenineteenth-centuryrepublicanswashowmusiccanhelppeopleofdifferentclasses,not justthesameclass,feel“solidarity,”forgingbondsoffraternitythroughsharedexperiencesanddevelop-ingsharedtastes.115Thiswouldencouragethemtoidentifywithlargergroups,andwiththenationasawhole,despitetheirsocial,economic,religious,andpoliticaldifferences.116Sharedmusicalexperiencesbuildacommunityoffeelingsalongsidethecommunityof ideas,engenderingapalpable senseofwhat itmeans tobeapublic.Fromapoliticalperspective,totheextentthatmusicleadspeopletorespectandlovethesamethings,itencouragesthemtoholdtothecommonlaw.

Fraternitywasencouraged,notonlybylisteningwithothers,butespeciallybyperformingwiththem.Choralmusicwasparticularlyimportanttorepublicans,bothbecauseitcouldbeeasilytaughtandbecauseitmadepeoplewanttocome



117. MansfieldandWinthrop,IntroductiontoTocqueville,Democracy in America, lxxii–lxxiii.Tocquevilleconsideredvoluntaryassociations“anindispensablesupplementtogovern-mentinademocracy.”

118. Pécaut,“Musiqueoulechantchoral,”118–19.119. “RapportdeM.Bourgault-Ducoudray,”17.120. Vernon,Citizenship and Order,23.121. Gramit,Cultivating Music,117.122. Pécaut,“Musiqueoulechantchoral,”116.

together in voluntary association. There, in “mutual but partial dependence,”peopleinfluenceoneanother:“theheartisenlargedandthehumanmindisdevel-oped.”117LikeGermansandGermanAmericans,whohad longunderstood thevalueofchoralsingingasacooperativemodelofinteraction,Frenchrepublicansbelieved that, asagroupeffort, choral singing instills“solidarity, communion,and collective harmony, which are among the most important [attributes] todevelop.”118Louis-AlbertBourgault-Ducoudray,bothacomposerandaneduca-tor,feltthatchoralmusicalonecouldproduce“thatwarmthofsoulandspiritofcohesion”associatedwithrepublican“fraternity.”119Moreover,choralsingingisapalpablemetaphorforcitizenship,inthatsingersparticipateina“sharedsituationthatrepresentsmorethanthetriumphofonewilloveranother.”Singingalsogivespeopleopportunitiestoshowhowtheymight“graspandadapttheiractions”tosomemutuallyagreed-uponorder.120Thekeyconcepthereistheorderempoweredbyfraternity,somethinginmusicmorefeltthananalyzed,aphysicalexperienceaswellasamodelforthedemocraticideal.Theconceptwaspowerfullynormativebutalso,throughitsconnectiontotheorderofmusic,construedasnatural.

Frenchrepublicanswentmuch further thanGermancriticsandeducators ininsisting that all classes of society have access to such experiences. Unlike innineteenth-centuryGermanywhere,accordingtoGramit,thecultivationofmusicservedtwodistinctgoals—“producingobedient,productivesubjectsamongthelowerclassesandcapable,broadlyeducatedadministratorsamongthecultivatedmiddleclasses,”andwherethenotionof“allclasses”oftenmeantonlytheculti-vated classes121—in the Third Republic, republicans were determined to breakdownthedifferencesbetween“utilitarianeducationforthepeople”and“liberaleducationfortherichclasses.”Theythrewintoquestiontheideathat“thepeople”donothavethetimeortheinclinationto“wanderintheuselesssplendorsoftheideal.”122 Seriousmusic did not have to be a luxury associated only with elites;republicans wanted all citizens to have access to the kind of deep experiencesmusiccanstimulate.“Iftherearefeelingscommontoalltheclasses,”Bourgault-Ducoudraywrites,thenthereshouldbeanartaswell.Inthisway,theyhopeda



123. “RapportdeM.Bourgault-Ducoudray,”26.124. Seeesp.LawrenceLevine,Highbrow, Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in

America(Cambridge,Mass.:HarvardUniversityPress,1988),andPaulDiMaggio,“CulturalEntrepreneurshipinNineteenth-centuryBoston:TheCreationofanOrganizationalBaseforHighCultureinAmerica,”inMedia, Culture, and Society4(1982):33–50and303–22.

unionwouldresultfrom“thecommunityofnotonlyfeelingsexperienced,butalsofeelingsexpressed.”123Thusmusic’ssocialutilitywasnotaboutdividingandregu-lating,objectifyingrelationsbetweentheclassesandreinforcinghierarchiesasinGermanyandtheUnitedStates.124Rather,itwasvaluedforbringingtheclassesclosertogether,givingthemwaystobridgetheirinequalitiesofbackground,and,insodoing,helpsolvethe“socialproblem.”

3. Given that the Third Republic itself was the result of a compromise, perhaps not surprisingly, republicans also looked to music to help people negotiate conflict and imagine new identities.Conflictandcompetitionarecharacteristicofdemocracies.In the Third Republic, citizens had to come to grips with both the inevitableideologicalcontradictionsoftheRepublic’sdoubleheritage(theRevolutionandthe Ancien Régime) and the social antagonisms between its conservative andprogressive forces. Certainly, music helped people celebrate and affirm theirbeliefs, but it also offered a means of confronting these differences, as well asanyunderlyingambiguities, ironies,andparadoxes.Throughmusic,onecouldresist both the weight of past traditions and the dominance of contemporaryconventions.Throughmusic,onecouldexplorenewkindsofbeingandimaginenewfuturesforoneselfandsociety.Forexample,scholarshaveoftennotedhowrepressive bourgeois values felt to many in late nineteenth-century France. Asfrustrationwithpositivist, secularrationalismgrew,anumberof“movements”ineliteandpopularcultureemergedthatwerecriticaloftheartisticagendasofrepublicanism. Wagner’s music inspired symbolist poets and composers suchasDebussy to focuson the innerexperience it stimulated, the transcendence itencouraged.Wagneriansusedmusicasaformofcontemplationthatstimulatedself-growth for its own sake. But for those from theworking class involved inamateurchoralsocietiesorwindbands,musicalperformancerepresentednotonlythepossibilityofsocialsolidarity,self-improvement,andescapefromthebanalityofeverydaylife,butalsoliberationfromtheprejudicescommonlyassociatedwiththemasses.When,inanannualcompetitionofhundredsofchoruses,aworking-classensemblefromBellevillewonoverbourgeoischorusesfromwealthierpartsofParis,Tocqueville’s“equalityofconditions,”createdthroughthecompetitions,



125. Le Doulcet, Les Phénomènes de la musique, excerpt reprinted on the back cover ofJoaquínNin,Idées et commentaires(Paris:Fischbacher,1912).

126. GustaveChouquet,Histoire de la musique dramatique en France(Paris:FirminDidot,1873),xv;EugeneSolenière,Cent Années de musique française: Aperçu historique(Paris:Pugno,1901).

127. Larroumet,Art et l’Etat,92.128. Lalanne,Art poétique d’Horace,44,84.

madeavailabletothepreviouslydisenfranchisedtheprestigeandsocialbenefitsassociatedwithartmusic.

4. Music encouraged consensus amid uncertainty.InhisLes Phénomènes de la musique, ou, L’ influence du son sur les êtres animés(1868),echoingRousseau,L.-P.-A.LeDoulcetdePontécoulant, anaristocraticmusic lover, seesmusic as“analogoustoclimate,language,customs,thecharactersandhabitsofanation.”125Music,aspartofthecountry’sheritageandamodeinwhichtounderstandFrenchculture,records the country’s collective memory, especially important in a democracy,a form of society that is always changing. As Third Republic music historiansputit,thehistoryofthefineartsis“necessarilyrelatedtothegeneralhistoryofpeople”andconstitutes“themostattractiveandpoetic”partofthishistory.Or,more precisely, “the history of French music in the nineteenth century is, to amuchgreaterextentthanpoliticalhistoryandatleastasmuchassocialhistory,amoralrevelationandanaccountofourdiversityandourevolution.”126PointingtotheexampleofCharlemagne,whoimposedacommonchanttraditionthroughoutFrance,republicanscalledonmusictohelp“knittogetherorknitbacktogetheridentityandnationalunity.”127TohelpFrenchcitizensimagineacommonidentity,however,theyneededtoreconceivetheirhistory,decontextualizeandrecontex-tualizetheirmonarchistandrevolutionarypasts,andtraceanevolutionarypathfromthepasttothepresent.Thismeantwritingnewmusichistories.TheFrenchalsoneededtofeelrenewedprideintheirheritage.Musicalgenres,suchasopéra-comique,toutedas“quintessentiallyFrench”intheAssembléenationale,andmusi-calorganizations,suchastheSociéténationale,foundedtopromotecontemporaryFrenchmusicafter1871,wereoftenpraisedfortheirutilityinthisregard.

The public played an important role in articulating consensus. Horace hadtaughtthatartists,whilerisingaboveallcommercialism,shouldconsultthetasteandopinionofthepublic.Theyshouldhavearelationshipwiththosewhomartistssoughtto“instructandplease”andshouldlistentothem:“publicapprovalshouldbetheirgoal.”128Republicans,seekingtobuildaconsensusthatwouldrepresentthegeneralinterestofthepeopleandlegitimatethedemocracy,largelyconcurred.As Bourgault-Ducoudray put it: “The public is the majority, and the majority



129. Bourgault-Ducoudray,“Coursd’histoiregénéraledelamusique,”2–3.130. Lefort,Essais,25,29.131. InherMusic in Everyday Life(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2000),Tia

DeNoranotes that scholarshaveoftenpointedoutwhat they think themusicconnotes,butrarelylocatedthe“mechanism”thatpermitsthemtomaketheseclaims(30–31).IagreewiththesuggestionofRousseauandWittgensteinthatuseoftenteachesthemeaningofsomething.SeeStrong,Jean-Jacques Rousseau,24.

makesthelaw.Onecansaythatpublictasteisatouchstonethatpermitsevalua-tionofthevalueandstrengthoftheproductionofaperiodoftime....Thepublicmakesartandtheartistswhattheyare.Nothingismoreusefulintheinterestofartthantoseethepublic’stasteriseanditsaspirationsgrow.”129

Inthe1870s,whenroyalistshopedtorestoremonarchyandrepublicanswerestrugglingtowinamajority,muchwasatstakeinforgingaconsensus.Concertsthatplacedla musique ancienne et moderneindialoguegavelistenersopportunitiestocometogripswithandseevalueinconflictingideals.MusicandconcertsthuscouldprovideargumentsfortoleranceandreconciliationoverthenatureofFrenchidentity.Inthissense,addressingthepublicdidnotmeanjustpleasing,butalsochallengingaudiencesandmakingthemthink.Becausemusicwaspartofnationalindustryandcapableofcontributingtothenation’swealthandglory,totheextentthatithadbroadappealacrossnationalborders,itcouldalsoencouragemutualunderstandingamongnations.

Inwhatcontextstheseideasarose,howtheywereunderstood,andhowmusi-ciansaddressedthesepotentialutilitiesisthesubjectofthisbook.Init,Isuggestthatmusiccanbeacriticaltooltohelpusunderstandcultural,social,political,andhistoricalcomplexityandchange.Musicalcreativityunderlinesthedynamicnatureofdemocracies.Thefluxoftastereflectsshiftingconditionsamongheterogeneousconstituencies.130Musicarticulatestheever-changingintersectionofprivateandpublicinterestsandnegotiatesadelicatebalancebetweenthem.Itcoulddothisbecause,unlikefortheGermanromantics,thepowerandmeaningmanyFrenchsawinvestedinmusiccamenotonlyfrommusicitselfbutalsofromhowmusic,whetherimplicitlyorexplicitly,voicedandattemptedtosatisfypeople’sneedsanddesires,whichwerealwayschanging.Theconceptofutilitythusallowsustogetata“mechanism”thatpermitsmusictoconnote.131Asapropertyrelatingmusictopeople’sconcernsandinterests,itlocatesthenatureofmusic’s“symbolic,emotive,orcorporealforce,”allowingustoarticulatewhenandwhymusicwassocial.

Through its uses, music thus became part of French political consciousness.Likeotherformsofpolitics,itcontributedtoboththeexpressionandthepursuitof republican ideals.This isnot to say thateverythingaboutmusicwaspoliti-cal, justasnoteverythingaboutpoliticsconcernedculture.Musiccontinuedto



132. ClaudeDebussy,“AproposofCharlesGounod,”fromMusica(1906),inDebussy on Music,ed.RichardLanghamSmith(London:Secker&Warburg,1977),224.

becomposed,performed,and listened toapart fromtherepublicanprojectandinresistance to it.Otherforcesbesides thestatealsoexertedpowerovermusicandmusicalpractices.Still,ifmusiccouldaffectpublicmœurs,republicaneduca-torsandpolitical leaders soughtways to shape theconditions thatwouldmakethispossible.Theideologyofrepublicanismpermeatedeveryaspectofmusicallife,privateaswellaspublicmusicalpractices,andmostgenres(exceptperhapschambermusicconceivedforaristocraticsalons).Focusingonmusic’sutilityshedslightontheconflictingneedsanddesiresoftheFrench—whethertosecurethenewdemocracyorreturntoaconstitutionalmonarchy—thatkeptpoliticsatthecenteroflife.

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If,bytheendofthenineteenthcentury,therewasincreasingdiscomfortwiththeideaofmusicsatisfyinghuman,social,andnationalneeds,itwasnotonlystatecontroland interference inprivatedomains thatwereresponsible.Asartmusicbecame accessible and increasingly popular among all classes, some compos-ersobjected.Possibly frustratedwith theexpandedapplicationsofutility toanincreasinglybanalsetofobjectsandactionsandconcernedaboutthedemandsthatmusic’spopularitymightmakeofcomposers,Debussysniped,“artisabsolutelyuselesstothemasses.”132Inreactingthiswaytotheemergenceofmassculture,hewasnotalone.After1900,thisresistancetooktwoforms.Someembracedluxuriesfortheirownsake—forthepleasuretheygaveorthedistinctionassociatedwiththem—even if, as for Ravel, this could mean pursuing a “useless occupation.”Othersmade“useless”artorartconceivedtosatisfythemundaneneedsoflife,likeDadaandSatie’sFurniture Music.

Commentsaboutanything“useless”inFranceshould,therefore,giveuspause.Whenitcomestounderstandingwhatsetthestageformodernism,oneshouldnotassumethatmusicalchangeresultedprincipallyfromthestruggleforfreedomofindividualexpressionortheinfluenceofWagner.Althoughseeminglyinsignifi-cant,utilitygivesusafreshwaytounderstandthehistoryofFranceaswellasthehermeneuticsofFrenchmusicallifeattheendofthenineteenthcentury.In1875,in his multivolume study of Paris, Maxime du Camp remarks: “One could saywithoutexaggeratingthat themoreapeoplehasneeds, themore it iscivilized,becausecivilizationistheculminationofthecombinedintelligenceanddemands



133. Maxime du Camp, Paris: Ses organes, ses functions et sa vie (Paris: Hachette, 1875),6:232.InhisHistoire du luxe privé et public depuis l’antiquité jusqu’à nos jours,4vols.(Paris:Hachette,1878),HenriBaudrillartagrees,seeing“themultiplicityofneedsasasignofthesupe-riorityofthespecies”andtheraces,becauseneedsgiverisetoeffortandthustocorrespondingcapacitiesand,throughtheworkinvolved,tohumansociabilityandsociety(1:48–53).

ofeveryone.CanyouimaginePariswithoutitstheaters,libraries,andnewspa-pers...itspublicadministrations,particularinstitutions,andtheindividualsthatgivelifetotheseorganisms?”133

BecauseaddressingneedsunderliesmuchofFrenchculture,weshouldremem-ber that, along with rationality, order, and the controversyover luxury, utilityrepresentsthecontinuityofEnlightenmentandrevolutionaryidealsuptopresent-dayFrance.Inthenextchapter,Iexaminetheoriginsoftherepublicanideologyempoweredbythisconcept,thespecificnationalneedsrevolutionariesexpectedmusictoaddress,andtheparticularqualitiesinmusicandmusicalpracticesthathelpedtheiridealstakeroot.Thatis,beginningwithrevolutionaries’debatesovermusic’svaluetothestate,whichsetthetermsforthoseoftheThirdRepublic,Iexplorewhen,why,andhowmusiccametobepartofpublicpolicyandpeople’spubliclivesinFrance.
