On the playing fields of the world (and Corsica): Politics, power, passion and polyphony1

Abstract

In this article I consider issues relating to the impact of the fielclworker on the communities studied, both in the immediate present through our involvement in the field, and retrospectively (notably in cases where our recordings might serve to fuel musical revivals by future generations). In the process I revisit aspects of the post‐modern dilemma (representation, repatriation, etc.) in the context of my own fieldwork in Corsica, aiming to highlight the particular sensitivities called for in afield where questions of identity and tradition are keenly debated, where musical developments command widespread public attention, where there is an especially close relationship between musical discourse and political activity, and where representations constructed by the players themselves are already well‐established.