Writing the Genealogy of Music in the 17 th Century

The present investigation focuses on the writing of music history in the 17th century. Early modernity conceptualized its musical past in ways that are radically different from what we have come to know today through the prism of the concept of the musical work. The present study will suggest that certain aspects of early modern music historiography are best understood in light of the important role of genealogy in the early modern era. Three aspects of genealogical discourse will be singled out: the identification of origin and descent, the concern for the unbroken lineage, and the closing off of alternative genealogies. The study will focus on how these features of genealogical discourse manifest themselves in one of the pioneering works of music history written at the end of the 17th century, W. C. Printz’s Historische Beschreibung der Edelen Sing- und Kling-Kunst published in 1690.