Les bruits de Marseille

Autor/innen

  • Joël July

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15203/ATeM_2019_2.06

Abstract

This study focuses on two songs dedicated to Marseilles; their large chronological span testifies to the evolution of the popular genre called “chanson”. Each song combines an individual and a collective story related to Marseilles. The vibrant city features in the varied and forceful auditory sensations (whether melodious or cacophonic) it provides to its inhabitants, who can either be delighted or infuriated by them but cannot escape them. Both songs also highlight the continuous and intriguing connection between Marseilles and the art of singing, a polysemiotic art. Marseilles, which is both a port and a city, is perceived as a space filled with sounds so that its depiction opens up to metatextuallevel: the subject of the song mirrors the song itself in an ambiguous and symbolic way which challenges a purely mimetic approach. The din of the city and the notorious volubility of its inhabitants (called tchatche by the natives) are intertwined, caught in an enthralling urban and musical trap.

Veröffentlicht

2019-11-28

Ausgabe

Rubrik

Due metropoli musicali del Mediterraneo: prospettive panoramiche e storiche