Music Migrations in the Early Modern Age: The Meeting of the European East, West and South

The investigation of music migrations offers insight into musico-cultural encounters, in spatial terms (European East, West and South), and in temporal terms (seventeenth to eighteenth centuries, i.e. Baroque and Classicism).

This research aimed to prove that music migrations have:

• considerably contributed to the dynamics and synergy of the European cultural scene at large
• stimulated innovations, changes of styles and patterns of musical and social behaviourcontributed to the cohesive forces in the common European cultural identity

The main objectives of this project were to:

• gather individual information on migrating musicians within the broad ‘old European’ territory, and outside it. The term ‘musicians’ is to be understood broadly and here denotes not only composers, performers, writers on music issues, but also other professions related to music
• enter the data in the common database
• create a map of migration flows and to draw systematic and synthetic conclusions out of the data collected in the database
• develop further systematic research issues via specific case studies, analysed in depth by an interdisciplinary and multi-perspective approach (histoire croisée). Based on such conclusions, specific case studies will be picked up, analysed in depth and presented in various ways.

The basic investigation supplied concrete data on migrating musicians. A theoretical framework then emerged within which it was possible to identify a network of:

• migrating musicians (individuals or groups) and their routes and goals
• secular and sacral centres with centripetal attractiveness
• the cultural transfer of certain musical forms and styles
• individual and social migrational motives – ideological, economic, political, etc.

Based on these general issues, concrete illustrations and argumentation have been developed through selected case studies.

To share the final research results, the researchers organised:

• a series of concerts and an exhibition
• project meetings and workshops
• an online accessible database and interactive maps
• open access and printed proceedings, monographs, critical editions of texts, and articles in journals
• the publication of music material with introductory studies, mostly ready-to-play and record