Urban music culture in Central Europe ca. 1450-1670

The rather unusual time frame covered by this colloquium encompasses  the gradual transformation of the Christian liturgy in the late medieval period and the rise and implementation of new polyphonic music, which dictated new spatial demands in late gothic churches. In the second half of the 15th century, ensembles of town musicians, trumpeters, etc. also increased in importance. Differing rates of change brought to polyphonic repertoires (musica figurata) and plainchant (musica choralis), innovations in church architecture based  on new demands for musical performance (balconies for singers, organ lofts), and developments in liturgical music due to confessional transformations (from the apparent uniformity of a still united western Christianity to musical aspects of competition among confessions and their individual approaches to pastoral care) represent key questions for the 54th International Musicological Colloquium Brno. This annual conference offers an ideal opportunity for researchers who share an interest in central European issues to meet and a forum for discussion on an international level. 

The 54th edition of the International Musicological Colloquium Brno gathers almost 30 researchers from Europe, the United States as well as New Zealand.