We propose to develop a new web-based visualization tool for the study of Renaissance musical culture. Recognizing that central information about musicians and musical institutions is scattered across thousands of volumes, and appreciating the potential for dynamic digital visualization tools to offer up new insights into cultural networks, we seek to map the musical Renaissance. We will prototype this project by exploring the world of the famous composer Josquin des Prez (1450–1521), whose biography and career are so littered with gaps as to make such a tool extremely valuable. To accomplish this goal we will bring together experts at UC Berkeley and the Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CNRS-Tours), whose complementary expertise spans biography, musical institutions, and musical sources, as well as building sustainable, user-friendly, and visually elegant digital tools.
UC PI:
Emily Zazulia
Music, UC Berkeley
France PI:
Philippe Vendrix
Centre d’études supérieures de la Renaissance, Université de Tours - CNRS