Global Music History and Northern Europe in the 18th and 19th Centuries - 15 - 16 May 2026

I joined twenty or so scholars at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies at The University of Copenhagen to share critical narratives on Northern Europe and its global musical pasts. The presentations were wide ranging, including topics as varied as Scottish musical colonisation in South Africa, observations on representations of Hamlet by Felicita Vestvali, Theosophy and the Combination of European and Indian Music, and the challenges of writing a musical history of Ireland. My contribution, 'Commerce, Slavery, and London Concert Life in the Eighteenth Century', was an updated revision of the presentation I gave at the AMS conference last year, focussing on themes that I am researching for my current book project. The keynote lecture, delivered by Katherine Schofield, 'Archives differing: collaborative music history, stereophonic methods, and the paracolonial Indian Ocean', provided a fascinating glimpse into the various approaches and techniques that Katherine adopts in writing connected histories of music and sound across the eastern Indian Ocean region. It was a real pleasure to be part of the conference, conducted in a very friendly and collaborative spirit, and ending with a visit to The David Collection, and some excellent Danish tapas and drinks in a wine bar.  

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