As someone looking to move into the world of music education, it might be somewhat odd to think that I would be working on an archival research project on 1924 Paris, even if it does focus on the music scene of the time. However, I have done a fair amount of prior research into French music, and would like to use this project as a tool – either a stepping stone or a diving board, depending on how you see it – into further research in the area. To me, this project represents a tool for students, researchers, and lovers of music and French culture that can assist in exploring the musical stage of 1924 Paris as well as draw them to ask intriguing questions that we could never have thought of without this map.
The particular skills pertinent to this research that I foster include (but are not limited to): a knowledge of music history, theory, and performance, a fairly high level of French language skills, some computer skills (although no experience with mapping software unfortunately), and if needed, a passable level of German. I will be putting my French to good use, as I will head off to Paris to conduct archival and on-site research there for two weeks. In addition, as previously mentioned, I have done research into music in France before. While my previous research has been in the early and mid-19th century (focusing on the Revolution, First Empire, and Berlioz), I feel that allows me a reasonable stepping stone into French musicological research.
In the end, I aspire to produce a tool for teachers, for students, for researchers, and for anyone else interested. Personally, I would like to use this tool to unearth connections between the various art disciplines and inspire questions for further (perhaps graduate) research of French music; of particular interest is the way in which composers interact with government and other sources of power (and money) – whether they choose to accept public patronage, or if they reject it, why they choose to do so, and what impact this has (or does not have) on the music they create.