Historical musicology
Historical musicology is an empirical science that aims to make true statements about music of the past on the basis of traditional evidence. Whether this past begins 5, 10 or 30 years ago cannot be determined. In any case, its field of research theoretically reaches back up to 40,000 years - to the time from which the first bone flutes have been handed down, which point to the close relationship between music and human culture.
In terms of content, it is a science that aims to analyze and interpret the various musics of different cultures and epochs politically, sociologically and in terms of the history of ideas and ideology in order to open up approaches to understanding and possibilities of interpretation despite the supposed semantic indifference of music. This is done by reconstructing the political structures, markets and cultural practices in which music has always been integrated, as well as by examining the strangeness of cultures that are distant in time, the fruitfulness of which lies in looking at the familiar from a perspective that allows this familiarity to be critically examined and questioned.
The appeal of music, being one of the most sensual of the arts, also represents a major challenge for attempts at a scientific approach, as a semantic interpretation of music is only possible to a limited extent. At the same time, however, the often highly emotional character of music also represents an opportunity: Music is a key source for historical research into emotions.
Historical musicology deals with music from antiquity to the present day, whereby the focus in Cologne is on music of the Middle Ages, music of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, film music and jazz, but these focuses are in a constant state of flux. Understanding the different forms of music from a historical and cultural perspective also requires understanding them in the contexts of philosophy, the visual arts, literature, film, theater and the history of science. Particular emphasis is placed on imparting knowledge of scientific theory and methodology.