Goguette
Encyclopedia
A Goguette was a singing society in France
and Belgium
, and its members were called goguettiers. As well as providing venues for informal solo and ensemble singing, goguettes also served as places for drinking, socialising, and recreation.
Goguettes can trace their history back to 1729 and the "Société du Caveau" in Paris
, founded by poet and chansonnier
Pierre Gallet (1698-1757), but their heyday was in the years 1818-1900. They can still be found today.
In the early 19th century, goguettes met in the premises of cafés and restauarants, and provide a space for their members (for a small fee) to sing in public or to have their own compositions sung. Songs would explore well-worn epicurean themes such as drinking and eating, though political and social songs also played an important part. Open to all social ranks, in practice they tended to attract literate men from the artisan
class; they were also associated with revolutionary politics and were carefully monitored by the authorities.
A goguette was a place for drinking, singing (both solo and ensemble) and socialising. It tended to draw its members from the locality, and would have a formal structure of committee meetings, officials, minutes etc., as well as social events. Membership was usually open to all - men, women and children, of any social class. Some tended to attract certain types like artists or intellectuals, such as the "Gnoufs-Gnoufs", "Poulet sauté" or "Frileux" in Paris. Apart from the capital, goguettes could be found in many French provincial towns and cities (Bordeaux
, Marseille
, Rouen
, Toulouse
etc.) as well as in rural areas.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and its members were called goguettiers. As well as providing venues for informal solo and ensemble singing, goguettes also served as places for drinking, socialising, and recreation.
Goguettes can trace their history back to 1729 and the "Société du Caveau" in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, founded by poet and chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
Pierre Gallet (1698-1757), but their heyday was in the years 1818-1900. They can still be found today.
In the early 19th century, goguettes met in the premises of cafés and restauarants, and provide a space for their members (for a small fee) to sing in public or to have their own compositions sung. Songs would explore well-worn epicurean themes such as drinking and eating, though political and social songs also played an important part. Open to all social ranks, in practice they tended to attract literate men from the artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
class; they were also associated with revolutionary politics and were carefully monitored by the authorities.
A goguette was a place for drinking, singing (both solo and ensemble) and socialising. It tended to draw its members from the locality, and would have a formal structure of committee meetings, officials, minutes etc., as well as social events. Membership was usually open to all - men, women and children, of any social class. Some tended to attract certain types like artists or intellectuals, such as the "Gnoufs-Gnoufs", "Poulet sauté" or "Frileux" in Paris. Apart from the capital, goguettes could be found in many French provincial towns and cities (Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
, Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
etc.) as well as in rural areas.
External links
- Les Goguettes ("French song from the end of the 2nd empire to the 1950s - in French).