INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"MUSIC AROUND 1812"

In commemoration of the Cádiz Constitution's bicentennial
La Zubia (Granada), May 10-11th, 2012
Centro de Promoción Cultural “Carlos Cano” C/ Joan Miró, 7 – 18140
La Zubia (Granada) [map]

2012 marks the bicentenary of the proclamation of the Cadiz Constitution, a document born two decades after the start of the French Revolution and in the difficult context of the Independence War in Spain. At that moment, the Cadiz text established the principles of democratic liberalism of national sovereignty and the separation of powers, against the absolutist previous regime. Thus, the 1812 Constitution marked a change in the political and social order of the time, becoming the democratic milestone of the first half of the nineteenth century that would be projected in the European and American liberal movements, inspiring many of the constitutional texts born in these territories. Therefore, 1812 and the years around turned into a key period in Western history, which influenced all aspects of life and, of course, of music.

In particular, the early nineteenth century marked the transition over Classicism to Romanticism, although these two terms should not be taken as contraries as far as music is concerned, but they are rather marked by a continuity in which they develop stylistic changes. However, the Romantic movement showed some revolutionary nuance against the limitations of Classicism, but at the same time it appeared as an evolution and progress on the latter. Moreover, in early nineteenth-century liberal ideas also consolidated on such issues as the composers emancipation of the patrons and the change in their social status. This meant that music of all kinds, genre, style and functionality arose around 1812, from the carols composed by the chapel masters for the celebration of the most important holidays of the liturgical calendar, to the music for solo instruments such as guitar or piano, through the opera of revolutionary nature, orchestral music and folklore. Therefore, the study and sharing of new research on music around 1812 is really interesting, especially in the celebration of the bicentennial of a landmark document in history as was the Cadiz Constitution, addressing the political and aesthetic repertoire, interpretation, popular music and interdisciplinary vision of music at the time.