Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Harmony on the Edge (Harmony on the Edge. Musical Encounters Between Early Modern Europe and South America)
Période du rapport: 2022-03-01 au 2024-02-29
Harmony on the Edge investigates the importance of music and sound in the ways European travellers and colonisers examined, conceptualised, and classified native populations of the Americas during the early modern period. This project looks at a variety of written and visual sources which address the musical practices and taste of the aborigines, the sounds –or noise– of their cultural and natural landscape, the musicians' bodies, and the representation, collecting, and circulation of musical instruments. These European approaches to music and sound in the Americas were motivated by specific epistemic, and socio-political agendas which responded to, and resonated with, their domestic concerns. In particular, this project suggests that music was a privileged means for inquiring about human nature in the context of cross-cultural encounters, and was a building block for the emergence of the human sciences in Europe. A key tension underlying musical inquiries was whether music was a primitive and universal language, or rather the result of modern civilisation or specific cultural identities. Additionally, the project investigates different types of exchange that took place between foreign and aborigine musical practices, techniques and artefacts and approaches these musical encounters as instances of active cultural negotiation, appropriation and resistance.
During the two years covered by this report, I have done archival research in France in Chile. This allowed me to gather a collection of written and visual sources, and identify several American musical instruments and artefacts in museums and archives. The analysis of these materials resulted in three published research outcomes: two journal articles and a collective book edition and introduction; and two forthcoming publications: another article and a book manuscript.
In this project, musical instruments and musical representations on museum objects are crucial to understanding the forms of exchange that took place between foreign and aborigine cultures. Therefore, I have worked closely with museum curators and archeologists. I am currently writing in the exhibition catalogue of an exhibition on colonial textiles at the Museo de Arte Precolombino, where I explore music and sound in textile iconography. Additionally, I organised an interdisciplinary conference on musical heritage at Pontificia Universidad Católica of Valparaíso.
During the Outcome period in Chile, I have also undertaken scientific responsibilities in collaboration with local researchers. In addition to the conference on musical heritage and the museum exhibition, I participated actively in the research project "El silencio en la misión" led by Rafael Gaune, which involved a series of seminars, administrative meetings, designing a volume of collected articles, and the organisation of a workshop and a conference. This last conference was called 'Los sentidos de la evangelización. Escribir, escuchar y hablar de América en Europa (siglos XVII-XVIII)' and gathered international and Chilean scholars at the Pontificia Universidad Católica. For the third year of my fellowship, I am organising an international academic conference that will take place in EHESS and a museum event at the Philharmonie de Paris.
Additionally, I presented my research in nine seminars and conferences. These presentations took place in Chile (seven), France (one) and Italy (one). Three of these talks were addressed to wider audiences. Additionally, I gave two talks that did not address my research themes but were of general academic service; one about the MSCA scheme at the Centro Cultural de España in Santiago organised by EURAXESS Latin America, and the other one on postdoctoral applications and programmes outside Chile (PUC, graduate programme). I have four forthcoming talks already scheduled in Paris, Prague, Barcelona and Lima.
In this project, musical instruments and musical representations on museum objects are crucial to understanding the forms of exchange that took place between foreign and aborigine cultures. Therefore, I have worked closely with museum curators and archeologists. I am currently writing in the exhibition catalogue of an exhibition on colonial textiles at the Museo de Arte Precolombino, where I explore music and sound in textile iconography. Additionally, I organised an interdisciplinary conference on musical heritage at Pontificia Universidad Católica of Valparaíso.
During the Outcome period in Chile, I have also undertaken scientific responsibilities in collaboration with local researchers. In addition to the conference on musical heritage and the museum exhibition, I participated actively in the research project "El silencio en la misión" led by Rafael Gaune, which involved a series of seminars, administrative meetings, designing a volume of collected articles, and the organisation of a workshop and a conference. This last conference was called 'Los sentidos de la evangelización. Escribir, escuchar y hablar de América en Europa (siglos XVII-XVIII)' and gathered international and Chilean scholars at the Pontificia Universidad Católica. For the third year of my fellowship, I am organising an international academic conference that will take place in EHESS and a museum event at the Philharmonie de Paris.
Additionally, I presented my research in nine seminars and conferences. These presentations took place in Chile (seven), France (one) and Italy (one). Three of these talks were addressed to wider audiences. Additionally, I gave two talks that did not address my research themes but were of general academic service; one about the MSCA scheme at the Centro Cultural de España in Santiago organised by EURAXESS Latin America, and the other one on postdoctoral applications and programmes outside Chile (PUC, graduate programme). I have four forthcoming talks already scheduled in Paris, Prague, Barcelona and Lima.
The project's current research outcomes have addressed all the project's research objectives so far, in different degrees. All my research outcomes explore a new conceptual approach to music as an epistemic practice, embodied knowledge, and a field of scientific inquiry into nature and human beings (Objective 2). Nevertheless, these are enduring objectives, which have proven fertile areas of inquiry and venues for future research. In the project's coming and final year, I expect to develop the research objectives into new research outcomes (an article preparation and the book manuscript, which I expect to submit to a relevant publishing house by the end of the year), in the conference and museum event, and through seminar and conference presentations.
The activities carried out in the frame of this project have already had an impact on my career development. Other than meeting several early-modern and music historians, I have expanded considerably my network of scholars working in other relevant fields to my project, such as museum curators, heritage scholars, archaeologists, anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, musicians, literature scholars and Latin-American studies scholars. I believe the project has also had an impact on different academic communities. Most of the published research outputs resulted from relationships that I built during these two years. Firstly, I co-edited the book 'Instrumentos modernos. Objetos, Usos y Transformaciones (Siglos XVI - XVIII)' with colleagues in Valparaíso –I also co-wrote the introduction and wrote one of the articles– based on my knowledge of the history of science and material culture studies. Secondly, participation in Rafael Gaune's project was crucial for preparing an article on acoustic research and American sounds on missionary writings ('Sonidos de América y conocimiento acústico en Roma (siglo XVII)'), which will be part of a collected volume edited by Dr Gaune (now under review). Finally, my article 'Ancient harmony for a new order. Mesmerism, music and Timaeus of Locri' resulted from an international conference panel organised by David Armando at La Sapienza University in Rome.
My research findings have also been disseminated through presentations in academic seminars and conferences, and talks to wider audiences. Additionally, I organised a workshop and two conferences. The conference 'Jornadas de Patrimonio Musical' was a fully interdisciplinary event, which included presentations from musicians, museum scholars, music teachers, the Ministry of Culture's Secretary of Heritage, and scholars affiliated with departments as varied as History, Musicology and the Arts. Additionally, I engaged the student group 'Laboratorio de Historia y Patrimonio' of the Department of History of PUCV to participate in the organisation of the event. The conference attendees included students, scholars and the wider public, mainly from Valparaíso. The conference results were disseminated through a radio programme, the social networks of the 'Laboratorio de Historia y Patrimonio' and mine, and news at the Department of History at PUCV (https://www.ihistoriapucv.cl/?p=9449(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)).
Additionally, my ongoing participation in a museum exhibition project, and its catalogue, also explores means for discussing and communicating knowledge to wider audiences. I have created a website which I expect to be functioning from May, which will register and further disseminate this project's past and present research outcomes and activities.
The activities carried out in the frame of this project have already had an impact on my career development. Other than meeting several early-modern and music historians, I have expanded considerably my network of scholars working in other relevant fields to my project, such as museum curators, heritage scholars, archaeologists, anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, musicians, literature scholars and Latin-American studies scholars. I believe the project has also had an impact on different academic communities. Most of the published research outputs resulted from relationships that I built during these two years. Firstly, I co-edited the book 'Instrumentos modernos. Objetos, Usos y Transformaciones (Siglos XVI - XVIII)' with colleagues in Valparaíso –I also co-wrote the introduction and wrote one of the articles– based on my knowledge of the history of science and material culture studies. Secondly, participation in Rafael Gaune's project was crucial for preparing an article on acoustic research and American sounds on missionary writings ('Sonidos de América y conocimiento acústico en Roma (siglo XVII)'), which will be part of a collected volume edited by Dr Gaune (now under review). Finally, my article 'Ancient harmony for a new order. Mesmerism, music and Timaeus of Locri' resulted from an international conference panel organised by David Armando at La Sapienza University in Rome.
My research findings have also been disseminated through presentations in academic seminars and conferences, and talks to wider audiences. Additionally, I organised a workshop and two conferences. The conference 'Jornadas de Patrimonio Musical' was a fully interdisciplinary event, which included presentations from musicians, museum scholars, music teachers, the Ministry of Culture's Secretary of Heritage, and scholars affiliated with departments as varied as History, Musicology and the Arts. Additionally, I engaged the student group 'Laboratorio de Historia y Patrimonio' of the Department of History of PUCV to participate in the organisation of the event. The conference attendees included students, scholars and the wider public, mainly from Valparaíso. The conference results were disseminated through a radio programme, the social networks of the 'Laboratorio de Historia y Patrimonio' and mine, and news at the Department of History at PUCV (https://www.ihistoriapucv.cl/?p=9449(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)).
Additionally, my ongoing participation in a museum exhibition project, and its catalogue, also explores means for discussing and communicating knowledge to wider audiences. I have created a website which I expect to be functioning from May, which will register and further disseminate this project's past and present research outcomes and activities.