Johanna-Pauline Thöne

Academic interests

• Early Music
• Music and Court Cultures
• Medieval Literacy
• Philology
• Political Philosophy

Research

My doctoral project scrutinises polyphonic music associated with the papal court(s) between the Great Western Schism and the Council of Basle (1378–1449), a period of immense controversy in ecclesiastical and secular politics. There are about forty extant musical compositions, whose newly created, mostly Latin, poetic texts refer to the papacy in various ways. In the form of selective case studies, I aim to elucidate how the repertory engaged with current events in order to delineate its performance contexts and audiences. Central questions of the music-textual analysis are: what inspired the poems and who could understand their message? How and with what effect were they set to music? And how, when, and why did this music circulate in society?

Background

• M.A. Musicology (2019), Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (Erasmus exchange at Utrecht University, 2018)
• B.A. Greek and Latin Philology (2016), Leipzig University
• B.mus. Harpsichord, Historical Performance Practice (2015), HMT Leipzig