Political Instrumentalisation of Music of the Past in 20th-century Germany Using the Example of Handel.
Project manager: Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hirschmann
Project associates: Dr. Lars Klingberg, PD Dr. Juliane Riepe, Katrin Gerlach M.A.
DFG-Project in the department of musicology of the Institute for Music of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in cooperation with the Handel House Foundation
Duration of project: 2014 - 2017
Project Description
As a research project dedicated to the question of the mechanisms of the political instrumentalisation of music of the past in 20th-century Germany, the planned investigation belongs to the broader theme of the relationship between music and politics. The question of this political use of music will be addressed concretely through the study of the person and work of George Frederic Handel as a central figure of our musical heritage and at the same time a composer who was already conceived as a political composer during his lifetime, and was since instrumentalised accordingly, in particularly strong and conspicuous ways during the two German dictatorships of the 20th century.
The deliberately broad period – the entire 20th century – should make it possible to describe, analyse, and (most of all) to compare not only extreme forms, but also the largest possible range of manifestations of politicised music, and this from multiple and very different political and social structures. In view of the politically informed reception of Handel in the 20th century, different areas will be brought into focus:
- theories of political instrumentalisation of music
- images of Handel, in particular politicised interpretations of Handel
- politicisation of institutions in charge of Handel’s heritage
- Handel Festivals and Anniversaries as focal points of music and politics; the works of Handel within the festivals’ structure
- politically instrumentalised adaptation and performance of Handel’s works
The methodological basis of the research project is based on a doubly comparative approach: on the one hand, the dimensions, techniques, and functions of the political instrumentalisation of music during both dictatorships of the 20th century will be compared, on the other hand, the practice of both dictatorships with what can be observed in non-dictatorial state formations in terms of political instrumentation of music will be compared.
The project is also interdisciplinary and includes different research methods: the project will resort to art history and historical disciplines as well as to the history of ideas, discourses and mentalities. A main focus is the critical approach to the sources and research on the reception aspect. The project can draw on extensive preparatory work in terms of the analysis of sources and their archiving.
The research results will be discussed at an interdisciplinary conference with other scholars, and will ultimately be published in a volume dedicated to the project.
New publications
- Lars Klingberg and Juliane Riepe (eds.): Politische Instrumentalisierung von Musik in der Vergangenheit im Deutschland des 20. Jahrhunderts am Beispiel Georg Friedrich Händels. Beeskow 2021 (Studien Stiftung Händel-Haus, 6), 702 p.
- Wolfgang Hirschmann and Dirk Rose (eds.): Die Kantate als Katalysator. Zur Karriere eines musikalisch-literarischen Strukturtypus um und nach 1700 (Hallesche Beiträge zur Europäischen Aufklärung, 59).