Music as political communication at the early modern court: Madrid, London and Paris in the first half of the seventeenth century

• Applicant: Dr. Elisabeth Natour
• Subject Area: Early Modern History ; Musicology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 513652631

This project aims to make visible the relevance of music for early modern political communication by looking at the monarchies of Spain, England and France in the first half of the seventeenth century. Although all over Europe the political communication by music was important, its role is only slowly being given the attention it deserves in historical research. Yet the study of music’s political functions promises deep insights into the legitimization of early modern rule. This holds especially true for the monarchies of Spain, England, and France, deliberately using cultural means in order to influence the decision-making processes of their domestic or foreign policies. However, it has not been analyzed systematically yet, how music was used as a political language in those processes. By doing so, the project will relate the extraordinarily rich material body of court music, a source basis barely considered by historians till the present day, to the political mechanisms of court policies. The result will be a communication history of courtly politics perceived through the multilayered medium of early modern court music.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Spain, United Kingdom, USA
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Klaus Pietschmann; Professor Dr. Matthias Schnettger
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Peter Bennet; Professor Dr. Bernardo García García; Professorin Dr. Helen Watanabe-O´Kelly