The incorporation of vernacular traditions in 20th century erudite architecture and music : a choice of freedom

Abstract

In a parallel course, the incorporation of the vernacular tradition into architecture and music of an erudite tradition that took place in the 20th century is analysed in three different moments: on the outbreak of modernism at the beginning of the century, fuelled by the desire for liberation and simplification of the idioms inherited from the previous century; the period between the wars, associated with the retour a l'orde and manifestations of militant nationalisms; and the post-WWII period, associated with the emergence of globalisation and the social sciences. With a view to contributing to the study of the context of the history of architecture, with a multidisciplinary vision, this paper explores this parallel path taken by the two disciplines, in which, in addition to the international context, examples taken from the Portuguese reality, where the various authors follow international trends, are also incorporated. In line with the assumptions and scope presented, three fundamental aspects are analysed: how incorporation of the vernacular took place against a backdrop of discussion based on the universal vs. particular dichotomy; how it is associated with movements of change, identification or exaltation, or more than one of those reasons simultaneously; and how the ideas of the vernacular, and more specifically, the popular, which is broader in scope but associated with it, interconnect and adapt more or less precisely to different contexts. Freedom, mainly from erudite tradition, from hegemonic tradition and from foreign tradition, nation, place, human, and timeless emerge as main words to describe why this quest for the vernacular.