Fully sung Jesuit drama and the glorification of the House of Habsburg

• Grant number: 22/00952-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• End date: January 25, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Music
• Principal Investigator: Monica Isabel Lucas
• Grantee: Caio Amadatsu Griman
• Supervisor: Birgit Lodes
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Vienna, Austria
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/01465-3 - Music, counter-reformation, and absolutism: the role of sacred music in Austria during Leopold Is reign (1658-1705), BP.MS

Abstract

Due to the Jesuit education of Emperor Leopold I (1658-1705) and his particular involvement with music composition, the second half of the 17th century and the early 18th century were marked by the intensification of the patronage of fully sung Jesuit dramas in Austrian lands. Taking into account the international recognition of Austrian music during that period and the importance of fully sung Jesuit dramas for the glorification of the House of Habsburg, together with the scarcity of literature on this subject, several central questions about the topic still need to be debated and answered, such as the following: 1) What was the level of interference of Leopold I and the other members of the House of Habsburg in the elaboration of Jesuit dramas? 2) How and under what justification did music come to be used in theatrical productions of the Society of Jesus? 3) Did these productions help in the dissemination of the political and theological principles defended by the House of Habsburg? This work aims to investigate these questions and verify the hypothesis that fully sung Jesuit dramas were used during the reign of Leopold I (1658-1705) as a means of glorifying the House of Habsburg. (AU)