Research questions and objectives
Proletarian Voices is guided by the following questions: What modes of emotional expressivity in music were used or favored by proponents of the Austrian labour movement? How did labour politics and ideology shape the political meaning of pre-existing musical traditions such as folk songs and traditional and modern concert hall music? And finally, what social and political meanings, beyond those officially advanced by socialist party leaders, were expressed through the music of the labour movement? In addressing these questions, the research explores the intricate processes at work in the construction of cultural values and identities through musical education, performance, and listening.
The project is based on primary research in archives and libraries in Austria, including the archive of the Department of Musicology and Performance Studies (IMI) at mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, the Austrian National Library (ÖNB), archive of the Society for the History of the Labour Movement (VGA), and the Arnold Schoenberg Center in Vienna.
Methodologically, the research combines traditional musicological approaches to textual scholarship with recent models of cultural musicology and the study of social movements.
The project explores a variety of musical genres and their reception within the context of the Austrian labour movement: folk and popular songs, art music by classical and modern composers as well as the now almost forgotten genre of the speaking choir. Central to the research is the preoccupation with the journalist and organizational activities of figures such as David Josef Bach, Engelbert Pernerstorfer, and Wilhelm Ellenbogen.
