Description
Music is an essential part of European cultural and economic objectives. While this might seem to provide an opportunity for musicology, both music and the science that best represents it remain underrepresented in policy and scientific infrastructures. Part of the problem is the nature of musical artefacts themselves. Unlike tangible heritage fields such as archaeology and visual arts, musical heritage spans both tangible and intangible elements—scores, instruments, oral traditions, data, (recorded) sound—that can be utilized for both research and commercial purposes. The diverging viewpoints on music as an industry and music as a domain of research have resulted in the limited integration within European heritage and digital infrastructures of both music and musicology.
In order to chart new and sustainable paths for the field, EarlyMuse has been launched as the first Cooperation in European Science and Technology (COST) Action devoted to historical musicology (https://earlymuse.eu). A principal aim of EarlyMuse’s four-year programme (2024-2026) is to define new paths for musicological research in Europe in the domains of education, publications, sources, performances, and policies. Nearly 300 researchers from 40 countries across Europe and beyond are sharing data, analyses, and ambitions to provide inspiration for shifting the scientific and cultural policies of the European Union and its partners. By analysing the institutional challenges and opportunities our field faces, we are identifying new ways in which the discipline can position itself to meet the demands of the future.
In this presentation, we will illuminate the organisation of our Action and the results of our work so far. Our intention is to demonstrate that, despite the challenges of integrating musical heritage and data into European infrastructures, there are unprecedented opportunities for musicology—but we must be ready to seize them.
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