 | Ideal world of Mrs. Widder''s soirée musicale: Music and difference in nineteenth-century Ontario Subjects: Music -- Social aspects -- Ontario -- Toronto -- History -- 19th century; Performance practice -- Ontario -- Toronto -- History -- 19th century; Toronto (Ont.) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; Amusements -- Ontario -- Toronto -- History -- 19th; In 1844, Mrs. Frederick Widder held a soirée musicale in her lavish Toronto home. Both the music and program were standard fare for the time but, for the author, it has implications beyond a single drawing-room extravaganza. Through the study of this elaborate domestic concert, the author reveals the way musical life affected and reflected contemporary values, thoughts and beliefs of the distinct categories of class and gender in pre-Confederation Canadian society. |
