Resounding Worship: Networks of Musical Devotion in the European Reformations, 1520-1648

Project Information

ReSound

Grant agreement ID: 101021478

DOI

10.3030/101021478

Project closed

EC signature date 18 November 2021

Start date 1 April 2022

End date 31 March 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 191 852,16

EU contribution

€ 191 852,16

Coordinated by

UPPSALA UNIVERSITET
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ReSound (Resounding Worship: Networks of Musical Devotion in the European Reformations, 1520-1648)

Reporting period: 2022-04-01 to 2024-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The action, “Resounding Worship: Networks of Musical Devotion in the European Reformation, 1520-1648” (ReSound) explores how the musical celebration of saints reshaped religious identities and connected communities in early modern Europe. The Protestant Reformation shattered established networks of beliefs and practices. Reformers refashioned communities by revising pre-existent forms of worship and their traditional music, plainchant. Chant existed in a variety of local melodic traditions that both created and communicated communal identities. Its appropriation was crucial as reformers engaged with the most important religious influencers: the saints. Lutherans recast these heavenly intercessors as relatable examples who taught gendered ideals of the devout life. Plainchant played a double role in this interpretation: it provided continuity with the past, but its musical and textual revision made the rupture of the Reformation audible. The musical celebration of the saints did more than reshape identities and networks. It continued to connect people across the boundaries of space, time, and belief. This research provides a new perspective on the massive socio-political shifts the reshaped early modern Europe, and resound in our culture today. It demonstrates that the practices of the past are felt in the present and can inform the future.

This Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) had three main aims: 1) to explore how religious identities were imposed through the saints’ celebrations in printed Lutheran chant books; (2) to examine how reformed identities were individualized in Tallinn; (3) to investigate how religious identities expressed in musical saints’ celebrations intersected across regions and religious groups. A further aim was 4) to support the career development of the researcher.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

This MSCA was divided into four work packages (WPs). In WP1 I traced changing identities—specifically focusing on gender ideals—in the five major printed Lutheran chant books as well as 13 sources newly identified as relevant. I analyzed 50 celebrations, which totaled over 1,088 pieces of music. WP2 investigated how imported chant books were used in Tallinn and how they compared with regional sources. I centred five Lutheran chant books used in Tallinn, and 14 regional sources – seven of which I had newly identified as relevant. I analyzed six celebrations, which totaled 82 pieces of music. WP3 investigated how saints’ celebrations changed for Catholics during the Counter-Reformation. I examined three different genres of books which contained over 200 saints. Through this work, I revealed how the editors of Lutheran chant books purposefully reshaped saints celebrations; uncovered previously hidden networks of musical devotion; and demonstrated the contemporary relevance of this work through involvement in the local community.

WP4 involved training, outreach, and career development. I engaged in various training and coaching offered by Uppsala University, and gained a teaching in Higher Education qualification. During this MSCA I was part of two successful grant applications. The first, in 2022, was as a Co-Applicant on "The Digital Analysis of Chant Transmission" (PI: Prof. Jennifer Bain); Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant, Stage One. "The Digital Analysis of Chant Transmission" won a seven-year, $2.5 million Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Partnership Grant, Stage Two in 2023. I am a Co-Applicant, Co-Lead of one of the three research axes (Manuscripts and Artefacts), and Leader of ‘Music and the Reformation’ Working Group. My postdoc supervisor, Prof. Mattias Lundberg, was awarded a research project by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation in 2024: "Sonic Continuity as Perceived Tradition in the Liturgical Music of the Swedish Reformation".

ReSound’s results have been continuously communicated to different audiences. I presented at six international conferences, wrote 10 blogposts, submitted one article and one chapter, and have four further planned publications. I have also secured ongoing community outreach. ReSound will have continued societal and scholarly impact for years to come.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

ReSound progresses beyond the state of the art in several key ways. 1) Its research expands knowledge in musicology by focusing on sources, musics, and geographic locations that have not received sustained study. Its results provide a more complete picture of early modern religious music. 2) Its research expands knowledge in the fields of history, religion, and book history by revealing essential but overlooked forms of worship. Its results provide fresh perspectives on the writings, cultural artefacts, and cultural practices of the European Reformations. 3) Its research expands knowledge in the field of gender studies by exploring the relationships between music, education, and gender.

The societal impact of ReSound is linked to its knowledge generation. 1) Its research introduces unrecognized sources that overturn previous assumptions about how ideas, music, and books traveled across the continent and into the Baltic regions. 2) Its research reveals the porousness of boundaries between the worship of different religious groups during the Reformation, charting instances of musical connection. These findings have implications for current ecumenical dialogue and worship. 3) Its research demonstrates how idealized femininities changed during the Reformation—a time of significant religious, political, and cultural upheaval—and how these ideals were communicated during worship. These findings are directly relevant for contemporary societal circumstances.

Two printed chant books used at St. Olof's Church in Tallinn. University of Tallinn Academic Library