The topic Music and Diplomacy has been attracting increasing interest in the international academic arena but, up to now, it has been scarcely approached in Portugal. This project aims to open a new field of research through the study of the role of music in the exercise of diplomacy by the Portuguese ambassadors and other diplomatic agents during the 18th century. In parallel, it will also consider the action of foreign diplomats in Lisbon. The paradigmatic case of Rome (centre of competition between the Europe ruling houses towards the Papacy), for which there are already some studies, will serve as a starting point for a broader investigation, which will expand in a second phase to cities like Madrid, Naples Vienna, Paris, The Hague and London. Case studies will be combined with the survey of transversal issues that comprise three main axes: 1) the role of music and the performing arts in the performance of diplomacy, including patronage strategies, ceremonial and performance practices in political and festive events (such as solemn entries, the Te Deum, serenatas, operas, concerts, balls and banquets); 2) the importance of diplomatic networks in cultural exchanges and in the circulation of music and musicians, as well as on the training of musicians abroad; 3) spending on the arts and political representation in the international stage, an approach applied to the past that continues to be a relevant topic in the present.
On the one hand, the investigation aims to deepen the contribution of diplomats to the history of music in Portugal and, on the other hand, to give visibility to the patronage of Portuguese diplomats in the European scene. In addition to contributing with new insights on how music and the performing arts have shaped the pursuit of power and international relations in general, the study intends to bring to light the specificities of the Portuguese case and its points of contact with international trends. Achieving these objectives implies a close dialogue between political history and music and arts history (obtained through bibliography, interdisciplinary workshops and research networks), as well as the identification and analysis of a large number of primary sources: diplomatic correspondence, embassy accounting documents, memoirs, festive reports, musical scores, librettos and iconography. A website will allow access, in a later stage, to a selection of textual, musical and visual sources, as well as to the main outputs (book, scientific articles and texts for the general public). This online resource will comprise a 3D virtual reconstruction of at least three performance spaces (with its ephemeral decorations and its historical “soundtrack”) used by Portuguese ambassadors. Other outreach activities include an exhibition and a staged concerto with music and dance.
Keywords: Musicology; Music and international Relations; Music and power; Cultural exchanges; Performance practices.