The Sound of Music: Innovative research and valorization of plainchant through digital technology
The project aims to study and valorize fifteenth- and sixteenth-century plainchant sources and repertoire, and to research musical life in the Burgundian-Habsburg Netherlands. Five core objectives will be fullfilled:
- As a first step towards true valorisation, the sources need unlocking to the academic world and the general public.
- Unlocking in isolation is not sufficient. The sources have to be studied and interpreted in both their chronological and synchronous context. They should, therefore, be related to earlier plainchant as well as to contemporary polyphony.
- To achieve these goals, The Sound of Music will establish and develop innovative research tools and valorisation mechanisms that will dramatically improve our understanding and appreciation of musical heritage.
- The SoM consortium wants to maximize the valorisation potential of this heritage, raising the public’s awareness of the rich musical legacy of the Low Countries in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the region was the epicentre of European art and music. The use of innovative technologies represents a new approach to studying plainchant and making research results available to an audience that is far broader than the traditional research community.
- Ultimately the goal of the project is to structurally implement late medieval and early Renaissance plainchant into cultural and educational programs, in order to dramatically increase its socio-cultural impact.
By uniting these objectives, the Sound of Music is a unique project that brings together top players in the fields of musicology, music practice, computer science, and acoustic engineering. The actions are diverse: from classical, individual study-room activities to innovative approaches resulting from the application of high technological tools.
Period: Jan. 2020 – Dec. 2023
Funding: Research Foundation Flanders (FWO Strategic Basic Research Project), Project No. S005319N
Budget: 2.35 MEUR
Partners:
- KU Leuven
- Alamire Foundation
- McGill University
People:
- Hannes Rosseel (PhD Student)
- Toon van Waterschoot (Co-Supervisor)