Spanish Moors and Turkish Captives in fin de siècle Mexico: Exoticism as Strategy

Mexican composer Ernesto Elorduy (1853-1913), an upper-class white male with extensive knowledge of European culture and yet a member of a former colonial nation, wrote a number of orientalist compositions-including the zarzuela Zulema (on a Turkish-captivity topic) and several alhambrista (Moorish/...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of musicological research 2012-10, Vol.31 (4), p.231-261
Main Author: Saavedra, Leonora
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
20th century
Composers
Exoticism
Musicology
National identity
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Summary:Mexican composer Ernesto Elorduy (1853-1913), an upper-class white male with extensive knowledge of European culture and yet a member of a former colonial nation, wrote a number of orientalist compositions-including the zarzuela Zulema (on a Turkish-captivity topic) and several alhambrista (Moorish/Gyspsy) piano pieces-that present a dislocation with regard to the subject positions of the European composers we usually study, a dislocation that allows us to examine afresh the relationship between exoticism and nationalism. Asking questions about who is representing, who is being represented, how and to whom, within increasingly larger cultural and political contexts argues for the use of exoticism-and the power of representation in it-as a strategy to construct a particular personal and national identity.
ISSN:0141-1896
1547-7304
DOI:10.1080/01411896.2012.721334