CfP: Cooperative Ensembles 1770–1890

Coming together cooperatively to make art is a disposition shared by many music and theatre ensembles in the 18th and 19th centuries. Whether latent or regulatory, cooperative traits can structure these organisations both in administrative, financial, social or artistic aspects. Their managing boards may be elected in democratic ways, their remuneration distributed in an egalitarian way, or their artistic leadership distributed among members.

Contemporary observers placed great value on the non-hierarchical structure of these ensembles, yet this significant historical practice has largely been overlooked in research. The workshop at the Université de Genève will explore such cooperative practices, focusing on the organisational and artistic methods of music and theatre ensembles. The goal of the workshop is to shed light on cooperative working methods and to discuss their significance for performance practices in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The workshop will include short presentations (ca 10 minutes, in English or French) followed by open discussions covering topics such as governance, administration, financial management, inclusion/exclusion of members, their social position, rehearsal practices, artistic leadership, or stage plans. Participants are invited to present source material such as minutes of meetings, statutes, reports on cooperative decision-making processes, annotated sheet music, or images of ensembles, which will form the basis for discussions.

Participants will be asked to submit a short abstract (1500 characters) by 20 January 2025 to daniel.allenbach@hkb.bfh.ch
The abstract should describe a corpus of sources and a research question to be discussed.

By the end of June 2025, selected participants will be asked to submit source material (1–10 pages, photos in high definition and/or transcripts) which will then be included in a reader provided to participants in preparation for the event. Travel and hotel expenses can be covered for invited participants. The peer-reviewed publication following the workshop will include commented transcriptions of significant source material.

During the workshop, a visit to the library of the Haute école de musique de Genève will provide an opportunity to discover the archives of local orchestral societies.