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Resounding Ships: Sound and Music of Sacred Sea Travel between Venice and Jerusalem (c. 1450-1650)

Project description

Sound and community in early modern pilgrimages

The maritime route between Venice and Jerusalem in the 15th and 16th centuries was a melting pot of diverse, multiethnic and multi-religious communities, all united by sound. Pilgrims’ diaries describe how sound phenomena – from trumpets to chants – created a sense of community among travellers, despite their differences. Yet, the significance of sound in early modern travel has been largely overlooked. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SOUNDSHIP project aims to change that. Through innovative research in sound studies, auditory history, and musicology, it will explore how sound shaped the identities and interactions of these communities.The project will deepen our understanding of the role of sound in fostering cultural cohesion.

Objective

The maritime route between Venice and Jerusalem testified to an incredible exchange of thousands of people in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Among these were pilgrimages, which gathered transregional, multiethnic and multireligious communities, brought together through sound in spite of their language, cultural and religious differences. Pilgrims’ diaries narrate a sense of community that was initiated and preserved by sound phenomena such as noise and silence, sonic practices such as sounding trumpets or whistles, and various music practices, including chanting. In the current time, marked by intensifying interethnic, intercultural and religious tensions, my project advocates for and fosters multicultural cohesion within modern society.

Despite being naturally prominent in general early modern travel, sound’s meaning for the travelling community remains under-researched, and has rarely been considered within in-between, transitional spaces of mobility and cultural exchange. SOUNDSHIP offers a new, far more more nuanced understanding of sound perception in early modern communities, their formation and preservation, and will be the first systematic study of sound and music in early modern travel. It will do so through an innovative application of sound studies, auditory history, historical musicology, religious studies, and performance practice research on pilgrims’ narratives, philosophical, music, medical treatises, and music practices.

With a strong track record in assessing music historiographies through sound studies, Dr Cugelj will work with Prof James Mansell, an international expert for sound methodology and innovative practices in sound research at the University of Nottingham. The MSCA will establish Dr Cugelj as an independent sound scholar with international reach, advancing the field of historical sound studies through the investigation of sonic identities.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01

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Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
Net EU contribution
€ 260 347,92
Address
University Park
NG7 2RD Nottingham
United Kingdom
Region
East Midlands (England) Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Nottingham
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data