The Digital Edition of Medieval to Early Modern ‚Song‘: Methodological and Interpretative Perspectives

May 13, 2025 - May 15, 2025
Conference

Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR)
59 rue Néricault Destouches
37000 Tours
France

Presentation

The intended purview and reach of this conference is the mutual exchange among national and international specialists on problems surrounding the digital edition of ‘songs’ from the medieval/early modern West. The term ‘song’ should be understood as broadly defined as possible and meant to include any poetic text set to music within different ‘national’/linguistic traditions. The contributions will focus on finding the most intuitive and effective ways of translating this kind of repertory into digital editions via, e.g., MEI (Music Encoding Initiative), without obliterating, but, on the contrary, highlighting the scribal and codicological peculiarities of specific parent sources. One of the most important features of digital editions is their interactive potentiality, allowing the synoptical display and critical comparison of concordances and related settings. This opens up new perspectives and offers stimulating impulses for scholars, as well as for modern interpreters of this repertoire. Reflections prompted and aroused during the conference could help answering questions such as the extent to which notational idiosyncrasies of individual sources and, for instance, recurrent melodic formulas mirror specific and even regional performance habits of the time when the relevant source was notated. The use of digital tools could moreover refine our understanding of degrees of similarity and relationships among different ‘songs’, possibly also aiding in the mapping of ‘song families’.

 

CONVENORS

Location

CESR

 

Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR) :
59, rue Néricault Destouches - 37000 TOURS - FR

The conference venue is unique. Located right next to the basilica of St Martin in the old city centre of Tours, the Centre d'Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (Centre for Advanced Studies in the Renaissance) is a teaching and research institution which welcomes students and researchers seeking initial or supplementary instruction in all aspects of the Renaissance. The Centre was initially constituted in 1956 on the basis of a library and a documentary archive, supplemented by a collection of photographs and databases. It is now a venue for multi-disciplinary instruction, which, in association with the various Faculties of the University, has responsibility for teaching and research in History, History of Art, Literature, Languages, Musicology, and Philosophy. It currently leads a large research programme dedicated to the cultural regional heritage (Intelligence des Patrimoines). As a research centre it brings together fifty or so researchers committed to the investigation of the "civilization of the Renaissance" from Petrarch to Descartes. Participants will be welcomed in this exceptional surrounding blending Middle Age and Renaissance cultures and will have the opportunity to discover French cuisine and wines.

 General Information

Information
Congress Venue

 Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR)
59 rue Néricault Destouches  - 37000 Tours, France

Dates
 Dates

Tuesday 13 May to Thursday 15 May 2025

Language
 Language

The official language of the Congress is English

Badge
Welcome pack and Name Badge

 Upon arrival you will receive a welcome pack that includes the printed material of the Conference and your name badge will be given to you at the reception . Please wear your name badge at all times during the Conference and to all official Conference events.

Invitation Letters
Invitation Letters

 An official letter of invitation facilitating the obtention of an entry visa can be sent upon request . In order to receive an invitation letter for visa purposes, send an email to maurine.villiers@lestudium-ias.fr. Please note that : 
- we only issue an official letter once the payment of the registration fee has been validated.
- such letters do not represent a commitment on the part of the Organisers to provide any financial assistance.

Certificat
Certificate of attendance

 After the conference, in order to receive a certficate of participation, send an email to maurine.villiers@lestudium-ias.fr

How to get there ?

Train

By train:

* Tours centre station
 1.5 hour trip from Paris (Montparnasse)

 * Saint Pierre des Corps (4km from Tours town centre)

Bus 5, 20 minutes trip to Tours centre station

> Plan your trip by train: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/

Voiture

By car:

GPS: 47.3918282,0.6823076
Please note that you can't park in the courtyard in front of the CESR.
Paid car parks nearby : 
Parking Indigo Tours Halles Vieux Tours, 36 Place Gaston Paillhou, 37000 Tours
Parking Gambetta, 8 Rue Gambetta, 37000 Tours
Parking Indigo Tours Nationale, 5 Rue Emile Zola, 37000 Tours

Avion

 By plane:

*Arrival at Roissy Charles De Gaulle (CDG) airport
Take RER B in direction to Saint Rémy Les Chevreuse, step out at Denfert Rochereau Stop
Take Metro 6 in direction to Kleber, step out at Montparnasse Bienvenue Stop for Montparnasse train station

or

Take RER B in direction to Saint Rémy Les Chevreuse, step out at Gare du Nord Stop
Take Metro 5 in direction to Place d'Italie, step out at Gare d'Austerlitz Stop for Austerlitz train station

> Then take a train to Tours (see "by train" section above)

*Arrival at Paris-Orly (ORY) airport: 

Take Metro 14 in direction to Saint-Denis - Pleyel, step out at Kleber Stop.
Take Metro 6 in direction to Kleber, step out at Montparnasse Bienvenue Stop for Montparnasse train station

or
Take Metro 14 in direction to Saint-Denis - Pleyel, step out at Bibliothèque-François Mitterrand  Stop.
Take RER C in direction to Gare de Pontoise, step out at Gare d'Austerlitz Stop for Austerlitz train station

> Then take a train to Tours (see "by train" section above)  

Partners of the event