Thursday 9 May 2013

Machiavellian Sounds: Music and Politics in Renaissance Italy




Machiavellian Sounds: Music and Politics in Renaissance Italy
Dr. Tim Shephard: Department of Music, University of Sheffield
Thursday 30 May, 1900 - 2030
Jessop West Exhibition Space, University of Sheffield

Assailed by powerful neighbours, jealous nephews and rebellious subjects, the despotic rulers of Renaissance Italy struggled to establish secure and long-lived regimes. Those who succeeded did so not through military force, but through the manipulation of their public image - a point noted repeatedly by political philosophers of the period. With the help of carefully stage-managed processions, dances, festivals, banquets, religious services, building projects and many other devices, canny rulers presented themselves as virtuous enough to merit their eminent position, and powerful enough to defend it. Music contributed pervasively to such strategies of self-promotion, from the cohort of trumpeters accompanying every procession, to the cleric-singers ornamenting services in the court chapel. This presentation will describes the ways in which music could make or break a Renaissance regime.

SAMS NEWSFLASH! We have opened an online shop so that you can all pay in advance. This makes it easier for us to manage SAMS' finances, so please do pay online if you can. You can still pay on the door, though, if you prefer.

Finding us 
The Jessop West Exhibition Space is on Upper Hanover Street. Parking is available in the nearby Brook Hill carpark: it costs £1.90 for 2 hours, and charges up to 2030. You can also park on Gell Street (right across the road) for the same price. Buses 10, 10a and 95 stop opposite the Arts Tower, or you can catch the tram to Upper Hanover Street. 


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Questions?

You can contact me (Dr Becky Fisher) on rebecca.m.c.fisher@gmail.com. 

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Hwæt! Wes hal! Come and join us for an evening’s venture into the  Anglo-Saxon and medieval world. Our varied lecture series will cover the literature,  language, history, art and material culture of the Middle Ages. Lectures will cost just £5, and are open to anyone. We’ll meet every three months on a Thursday evening.

The Sheffield Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Society was formed in February 2012 by Dr Becky Fisher (University of Sheffield) and Louise, a member of the Sheffield University of the Third Age. It is in this spirit of partnership that we hope SAMS will continue, creating opportunities for academics and members of the local community to share and explore their knowledge of the fascinating Middle Ages.