Música em tempos de pandemia: representações de crises sanitárias na tradição musical erudita europeia

Abstract

From the Middle Ages to the present day, epidemics and other infectious diseases of high prevalence in the population have had an undeniable and very strong impact on society. The occurrence and development of diseases such as the black plague, malaria, influenza, smallpox, syphilis, typhus, cholera, AIDS, and covid19 have determined, over time, some of the major social and cultural transformations in history. In this paper, through the prism of Western classical music, I will try to highlight some of these transformations. I will focus on the musical representation of these times of health crisis, including records of problems and symptoms related to various diseases in specific musical works, to which I will allude. I will also refer to the impact that epidemics and other infectious-contagious diseases had on institutions and diverse cultural dynamics, as well as to the marks they left on the life and work of composers of different genres, geographies, and historical periods.