Abstract
Since the middle of the 19th century, Portugal has had a very strong and spread out tradition of amateur community wind bands. Some articles published in the 1930s discuss an estimate of over 1000 of these ensembles. For this reason, bands have always been perceived as essential actors in the musical life of the general population with strong social roots and local symbolic values. The fascist regime, that ruled Portugal for more than 40 years, resulted in a brutal destruction of this important cultural potential. When democracy was instituted in 1974 a group of personalities and institutions decided to work together to revitalize these essential local musical assets. This study focuses on showing how bands suffered during the fascist regime, how few of them survived, and in what conditions, and then elaborates on the different actions that were taken with the explicit intent of using them as “artistic institutions” to musically educate the general population of a country struggling to develop its newly founded democracy. While focusing on the original repertoire that was commissioned at that time for the amateur community bands, we show how the actions and efforts of the institutions and individuals involved resulted in one of the very few examples of a cultural concerted policy in our country.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Wind, Band, Cultural, Policies, Community
