Musique et récusance : enfermement, identité, circulation

Abstract

English Catholic music outlived the Reformation by adapting itself to the new demands of the Council of Trent: more clarity, better readability for greater religious fervor. Its musicians, whether exiled or not, were the heirs of polyphony and they developed their own tradition, more suitable to their private Tridentine Catholic devotion within the recusant communities. They also composed for secular music following the fashion of the Italian madrigal (William Byrd) and participated in the emergence of instrumental music thanks to the resumed practice of chamber music. These trends appeared partly within the clandestine and restricted environment of recusant circles in England and on the Continent. The channels used by the music and the musicians were the arteries of a community scattered throughout the country and beyond, allowing fruitful exchanges between local and continental traditions, and mutually benefiting each other. The heart of those networks lay with the Catholic collectors and patrons who collected and brought back the new works, financially supported the musicians and created the right conditions for the emergence of new musical genres announcing the Baroque era.