Music and the City: the Parisian Soundscape in the Early 20th Century

This paper has two main aims. The first part offers a panoramic overview of the different theoretical underpinnings that have sustained my research during my time as a NEC fellow. The result is a tapestry of recent work in Parisian cultural studies, musical geography, and affect and atmosphere studies that provide the background for the case study presented at the end. The second part revolves around the specific case study of Léon‑Paul Fargue (1876–1947), a key literary figure of the interwar period. It shows how, in Fargue’s urban chronicles, the reader can discover not only musical criticism of Parisian music, but also a myriad of poetic references to the city’s soundscape.