Politics in Early Modern Music for St. Anne

FAIN: FT-58436-11

Michael Alan Anderson
University of Rochester (Rochester, NY 14627-0001)

This book examines select musical works in honor of Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary, and highlights the political utility of this music for various noble figures of western Europe from the early fifteenth through the mid-sixteenth century, when devotion to the saint was at its apex. The book illustrates that the political value surrounding Mary’s mother extended into the early modern soundscape as a complement to - or sometimes in conflict with - well-studied images of St. Anne from visual culture of the period. The last century of scholarship has shown unusually high interest in explaining the significance of St. Anne in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, but art history has dominated these studies. Little, if anything, has been said about the many musical artifacts surviving in honor of Mary’s mother. This project thus fills an important gap in scholarship on this intriguing subject within early modern studies.

Associated Products

St. Anne in Renaissance Music: Devotion and Politics (Book)
Title: St. Anne in Renaissance Music: Devotion and Politics
Author: Michael Alan Anderson
Abstract: Devotion to Saint Anne, the apocryphal mother of the Virgin Mary, reached its height in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Until now, Anne's reception history and political symbolism during this period have been primarily discussed through the lens of art history. This is the first study to explore the music that honored the saint and its connections to some of the most prominent court cultures of western Europe. Michael Alan Anderson examines plainchant and polyphonic music for Saint Anne, in sources both familiar and previously unstudied, to illuminate not only Anne's wide-ranging intercessional capabilities but also the political force of the music devoted to her. Whether viewed as a fertility aide, wise mother, or dynastic protector, she modeled a number of valuable roles that rulers reflected in the music of their devotional programs to project their noble lineage and prestige.
Year: 2014
Primary URL: http://upbo.com/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9781107056244
Primary URL Description: Cambridge University Press catalogue
Secondary URL: http://www.amazon.com/St-Anne-Renaissance-Music-Devotion/dp/1107056241/
Secondary URL Description: Amazon.com link
Access Model: Partial access through Google Books
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 1107056241
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes

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