CfP Rhythm in Music and the Arts in the Late Middle Ages, Prague 16-18 Nov 2020

Masaryk Institute and Archive of the Czech Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague

Project Old Myths, New Facts: Czech Music in the Centre of 15th–Century Music Developments invite proposals for the conference
Rhythm in Music and the Arts in the Late Middle Ages.

Prague, Vila Lanna, 16th–18th November 2020

Late medieval chant books include individual inscriptions or sections of so-called cantus fractus, melodies notated in rhythmic patterns contrary to the usual 'plainchant' cantus planus. Despite the fact that the repertory of cantus fractus was an important part of the late-medieval and early modern musical repertory, it still remains an almost unexplored field. In the current discourse on musicology, art history and cultural history in general, the cantus fractus repertory constitutes an extremely promising field, providing an opportunity for mutual discussions and collaborative outcomes, particularly in view of the general understanding of "rhythm" in late-medieval life and arts.

We invite participants from musicology, art history, cultural history, medieval philology (Latin and vernacular languages) to submit paper proposals of no more than 300 words for 20-minute papers to the conference address cantusfractus2020@gmail.com.

Submission deadline: May 17, 2020

Particularly welcome are contributions on the following topics:

– international repertories versus local traditions

– genres and forms, in particular Patrem chants and cantiones

– compositions versus elaborations

– manuscripts and collections

– rhythmic chant and notational practice

– rhythm in the visual arts and poetry in the late Middle Ages

Conference languages: English and German

Keynote

Sarah Long (Michigan State University): The Vestiges of an Elusive Artistic Circle: Plainchant Embellishments at Tournai Cathedral from the Fourteenth through Sixteenth Centuries

Programme committee

Hana Vlhová-Wörner (Czech Academy of Sciences), Barbara Haggh-Huglo (University of Maryland), Paweł Gancarczyk (Polish Academy of Sciences), Marco Gozzi (Università di Trento), Klára Benešovská (Czech Academy of Sciences), Lenka Hlávková (Charles University), Jan Ciglbauer (Charles University)

For print