Early Modern Tafelmusik as an Agent of Cultural Exchange

Abstract

Usually, when the topic of Kulturtransfer is discussed in relation to Heinrich Schütz, the focus tends to fall on the composer’s acquisition and transformation of the latest fashions in Italian vocal music, in particular Giovanni Gabrieli’s polychoral style and the new developments of monody, recitative and basso continuo. In this essay, I propose to broaden out our conception of cultural transfer in the musical environment of Heinrich Schütz beyond this dominant North-South axis to encompass some of the ongoing exchanges with France, England, Poland, the Baltic regions and beyond. I will focus, in particular, on the domain of Tafelmusik, a term which I define broadly as music performed at courtly or urban feasts and festivities as well as at convivial gatherings in domestic settings. I argue that Tafelmusik formed a significant portion of the activities and output of many musicians at the time; and that, in this prominent position, Tafelmusik made a substantive contribution to ongoing processes of cultural transfer.