Chapter Nine - Singing as a Refuge in Times of Trauma

Summary

Over the course of history, the relationship between the concept of refuge and music as a space in which terror and violence can be neutralized has taken on many forms. At times, music has been a privileged place of refuge from a predatory situation and context, a space in which one can feel protected. For Gaston Bachelard, these are the characteristics of all types of refuge. The home, nest, shell and corner are images of havens that demonstrate what one can inhabit as a refuge. The action of seeking refuge does not solely refer to occupying a certain space; it can also allow for one to engage in a “vital exercise,” an experience of subjectivity in which the individual fills an experience with meaning. For Bachelard, inhabiting means experiencing the pleasure of refuge (125–77). Following the postulates of this French philosopher, one could argue that under certain circumstances, music can serve as a protective refuge and as a way to subjectively inhabit a physical and mental space. From there, a refuge has the ability to offer comfort to a subject who needs it, making them feel that they are part of a community. In doing so, it can become a space of resistance.

The purpose of this chapter is to consider how that equation (music-refuge) is used in the book Antes de perder la memoria (Before the Memory is Lost, 2015; hereafter Antes) by Ana María Jiménez and Teresa Izquierdo. In this text, memory becomes a represented space in which music is at once an art, a refuge and a symbol of protection. It is important to clarify and emphasize that in Antes, music is mainly represented through singing and songs that serve as the main driver of memory. We know that singing can reinforce connections to a certain group and that it creates an atmosphere of understanding that goes beyond individualism and all sorts of differences. People who sing step outside of their inner isolation and are open to communication; they renounce the sound of their own voice and adjust to the tone and rhythm required by the song, thus contributing to the unity of the group. In Antes, singing is an expression of a need to speak out under extreme conditions, to resist the violence of one's surroundings, to found and inhabit a communal space.

Biographies of a Generational Experience