'Le Jongleur est ma foi' Massenet and religion as seen through Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame.

Abstract

This dissertation explores the theme of religion as seen through Massenet's opera, Le Jongleur de Notre-Dame. The first part looks at Massenet's osition in French musical circles and how this affected the reception of much of his work, as well as the place Le Jongleur held in Massents's wider output. It then goes on to address the relevant political, social and religious issues in contemporary France, focusing on those which had a particular significance in relation to Le Jongleur. Given the considerable number of works which Massenet wrote on religions subjects and the extent of the scholarship which has focused on those works, the question of Massenet's engaged, the character traits of the jongleur at centre of the story, and the theme of redemption, in relation to Le Jongleur  in particular, and Massenet's wider output in general. Finally, the conclusion once again raises te question of clericalism and anticlericalism which has surrounded so much of Massenet's work, opening up what has hitherto been a predominantly one-sided debate.

Date of Award	Jul 2008
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast