The Cultural Legacies of the British Empire: Classical Music's Colonial History (1750-1900)

黑人生命也是运动在英国公众中引发了关于如何接受帝国文化遗产的激烈辩论，但讨论主要集中在雕像、绘画和建筑环境上。古典音乐的殖民基础并没有以同样的方式受到审视。这对我们今天对帝国文化遗产的理解以及古典音乐观众缺乏多样性有着紧迫的影响。古典音乐的历史叙述很少承认被奴役和殖民的人的贡献，这对参与具有排他性的影响。在ABRSM最近对学习乐器的儿童进行的一项调查中，只有2%的学习者被认定为黑人或英国黑人(ABRSM，2021年)。因此，古典音乐被证明对健康、社会发展和学习的积极作用并没有得到广泛的了解。这个项目将汇集一个跨学科的团队，以揭示西方古典器乐的历史如何与大英帝国的历史相关，以及这种关系对我们的博物馆和教室展示方式的影响。它将为更广泛的帝国及其文化遗产研究提供信息，开发新技术以鼓励不同的观众参与古典音乐及其历史，并塑造策展和教学实践，使人文学者、计算机科学家、策展人、教师和更广泛的公众受益。该团队将通过三个相互关联的工作包(WP)来探讨这一主题：WP 1：经济遗产WP 1将提出早该提出的问题，即奴隶贸易和殖民主义的利润如何支持音乐活动。它将仔细审查早期交响乐团、音乐学院和音乐收藏背后的财政支持来源。包括利物浦爱乐乐团和伦敦爱乐协会在内的许多人今天仍然存在，他们通过棉花贸易和奴隶制获得了财富。发现的殖民网络和联系将展示古典音乐与更广泛的全球历史的联系。WP2：发声的帝国主义：音乐交流和抵抗WP2将分析古典音乐在帝国项目中的作用，即“表演”帝国的意识形态，并将其不同和遥远的地点连接起来。它还将突出殖民主体的音乐、思想、乐器、流派和实践对古典音乐发展的影响。古典器乐被认为是西方创造力的巅峰，由殖民定居者组织的爱乐协会经常演奏。这个WP将通过开放获取出版物和数字档案，广泛提供围绕印度和加勒比殖民地城市古典音乐制作的曲目、表演实践和话语。WP 3：音乐贸易WP 3将通过帝国网络绘制音乐家、音乐思想和文物的运动地图，追踪支撑西方古典音乐全球传播的帝国胁迫和贸易模式。它将与我们的伙伴组织密切合作，追踪大英博物馆19世纪(现收藏于大英图书馆)所收藏的音乐收藏品背后的帝国收藏做法和意识形态；英国乡村遗产屋奥德利区和布罗兹沃斯音乐厅的乐谱、乐器和以音乐为主题的雕塑和绘画；以及皇家音乐学院博物馆建造乐器所涉及的材料的来源和流通。该团队将与黑人社区团体、教师和策展人合作，通过教学资源、新的数字和身临其境的技术、将藏品的殖民联系联系起来的展览，以及公众参与和外联活动计划，向学校学生和公众传达包容性的故事。

The Black Lives Matter movement sparked fervent debate among the British public about how to come to terms with the cultural legacies of empire, but discussions have largely focussed on statues, paintings, and the built environment. The colonial underpinnings of Classical music have not been scrutinised in the same way. This has pressing implications for our present-day understanding of the cultural legacies of empire and for the lack of diversity among Classical music's audiences. Classical music's historical narratives rarely recognise the contributions of enslaved and colonised people, which has an exclusionary effect on participation. In a recent survey of children learning a musical instrument by the ABRSM only 2% of learners identified as Black or Black British (ABRSM, 2021). Accordingly, Classical music's proven positive effects for health, social development, and learning are not being accessed widely. This project will bring together an interdisciplinary team to unravel how the history of Western Classical instrumental music is related to that of the British Empire and the consequences of this relationship for how it is presented in our museums and classrooms. It will inform wider studies of empire and its cultural legacies, develop new technology to encourage diverse audiences to engage with Classical music and its histories, and shape curatorial and pedagogical practice, with benefits for humanities scholars, computer scientists, curators, teachers, and the wider public. The team will approach the topic via three interrelated work packages (WPs):WP 1: Economic LegaciesWP 1 will ask long-overdue questions about how the profits of the slave trade and colonialism supported musical activity. It will scrutinise the sources of financial support behind early orchestras, conservatoires, and music collections. Many, including the Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra and the Philharmonic Society of London, which acquired their wealth through the cotton trade and slave ownership, still exist today. The colonial networks and connections discovered will demonstrate Classical music's connections to broader global history.WP 2: Sounding Imperialism: Musical Exchange and ResistanceWP 2 will analyse Classical music's role in imperial projects in "performing" the ideologies of empire and connecting its disparate and distant locations. It will also highlight the influence of colonised subjects' music, ideas, instruments, genres, and practices on the development of Classical music. Classical instrumental music was imagined as the apex of Western creativity and performed frequently by philharmonic societies organised by colonial settlers. This WP will make the repertoire, performance practices, and discourses surrounding Classical music-making in colonial cities in India and the Caribbean widely available through open access publications and a digital archive.WP 3: Musical TradeWP 3 will trace the patterns of imperial coercion and trade underpinning the global spread of Western classical music by mapping the movements of musicians, musical ideas, and artefacts through imperial networks. Working closely with our partner organisations, it will trace the imperial collecting practices and ideologies behind the music collections acquired by the British Museum in the 19th century (now in the British Library); sheet music, instruments, and musical themed sculptures and paintings at English Heritage country houses Audley End and Brodsworth Hall; and the provenance and circulation of materials involved in the construction of instruments at the Royal College of Music Museum. Working with black community groups, teachers, and curators, the team will communicate the inclusive stories that emerge to school students and the public through teaching resources, new digital and immersive technologies, exhibitions contextualising the colonial connections of collection items, and a programme of public engagement and outreach events.