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HEIndividual fellowship2022–2024

AVIGNONMUSIC · Music, Religion and Civic Identity in Renaissance Avignon (c.1500–1630)

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2022-10-03 → 2024-10-02
EU contribution
€195,915
Participants
1
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

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Results in brief

Music, Religion and Civic Identity in Renaissance Avignon (c.1500–1630)

This project – which explored the musical life of Renaissance Avignon (c.1500–1630) at all levels of society, from top to bottom – had two main objectives. The first of these was to help shift the focus of research on French Renaissance music away from the royal court and Paris, as has traditionally been the case in musicological circles. By shedding light on the musical life of a city that remains almost completely underexplored for this period, it also sought to demonstrate how events happening at a regional, national, and international level had an impact on music-making within a single city in France at this time. A second main objective was to draw attention to the project’s findings as widely as possible, not just within the musicological community and scholars working in other fields (both within the Anglophone and Francophone academic spheres), but even among the public at large. The hope, in essence, was that the project would (and will) ultimately encourage much more research on the urban musical life of Renaissance France in future. In light of the increasing attention given in recent years to ‘soundscapes’ studies, this objective has added importance. Work has already been done on many other countries and regions in this domain, but equivalent research focused specifically on France is, to date, practically nonexistent.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

This interdisciplinary project will reveal how musical life in Renaissance Avignon (c.1500–1630) was directly interlinked with events happening on a broader religious, social and political level. Alongside being the first in-depth study of Avignon’s musical life during this period, it represents a significant and much-needed departure from the Parisian/royal court focus that has typified almost all previous scholarship on French Renaissance music. Two fundamental issues will provide the basis for this investigation: a) the question as to whether Avignon’s musical life can be said to reflect localised and/or nationalised trends; and b) the effect that Avignon’s unique status as a Papal enclave had on its institutions and musical practices (for example, in the presence of Italian personnel or musical developments). These broader issues will serve as a backdrop for exploring the full spectrum of musicians’ professional activities, as well as the various contexts within which they made the city resound – i.e. from its ecclesiastical establishments (such as Notre-Dame des Doms Cathedral and the Collégiale Saint-Agricol), to the instrumentalists attached to the city’s guilds, to the various civic spectacles within which musicians participated (like ceremonial entries). The results of this innovative survey will thus constitute a major contribution to the fields of early modern soundscapes and cultural studies; by extension, they will also shed new light on Avignon’s urban identity at this time, thereby leading to a better understanding of music making in France during the long sixteenth century.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • UNIVERSITE DE TOURS · ToursCoordinatorFrance

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union