Marking Music: The Use of Music Books in Early Modern Europe

Thursday, April 9, 2026

The acronym DORMEME stands for “Dissemination, Ownership, and Reading of Music in Early Modern Europe.” This interdisciplinary project – led by Dr. Elisabeth Giselbrecht at King’s College London – focuses on surviving copies of polyphony printed across Europe between 1500 and 1545, and poses diverse questions regarding their users. Who owned and read music books in early modern Europe? Who had access to printed musical material, how did they interact with it, and to what end? Keeping in mind that the period in question saw a decisive rise in musical literacy, DORMEME seeks to shift the scholarly discourse from the production of music books to their consumption, offering insights into diverse fields of music-making ranging from self-taught instrumental playing to participation in larger groups. At the same time, a database is also in the making to describe marks of ownership and annotations in surviving copies of printed editions from the period in question. For more information, see the project’s website.

DORMEME’s first conference will be held on 11 and 12 May 2026 with the title “Marking Music: The Use of Music Books in Early Modern Europe,” and registration is still possible through this link until 12 April. Furthermore, while the event is essentially an in-person one, taking place at the Strand Campus of King’s College London, interested parties can opt for auditing the papers remotely by contacting Louisa Hunter-Bradley at louisa.hunter-bradley@kcl.ac.uk before 13 April. The provisional program (available through the registration link above) promises nuanced insights into 16th-century musical life all over Europe, and will end with a panel also featuring Claudio Bacciagaluppi and Laurent Pugin from the RISM Digital Center.

Category: Events