Vol. 13

Special issue

Encounters with the Orient in Music

Manuscript deadline: 15 July 2023

The artistic results of countless ‘journeys to the East’ or ‘encounters with the Orient’ by Western composers are so numerous that it seems impossible to compile a complete list. Hence this repertoire of musical works inspired by oriental Otherness remains an inexhaustible source of discoveries, new readings and (re)interpretations, representing a constant challenge for researchers. The very term ‘orientalism’ carries a variety of meanings and may still be the subject of debate in post-Saidian musicological discourse, finding both continuators of post-colonial theory and apologists of ‘innocent’ musical creativity.

We invite submissions that explore conceptual, methodological or analytical approaches to miscellaneous musical orientalism(s).

• How have collective or individual composers’ notions of the Orient(s) influenced musical works?
• How might (or should) we approach ‘orientalist’ musical works as ‘products’ of their era?
• How can we understand the trajectories of change within the collective or individual artistic understanding of the oriental ‘Other’ represented in music?
• How can musically-orientated modes of inquiry render the Orient(s) more comprehensible to Westerners?
• How can we improve our understanding of the anatomy of a given composer’s encounter with the Orient(s)?

We encourage submissions that reflect on the musicality of orientalism(s) and answer these or other important related questions from the perspective of music theory, historical musicology, new musicology, interdisciplinary or contextual musicology, postcolonial studies, etc. We aim to pair articles from established scholars with early career researchers across the spectrum of music studies.

We accept only unpublished research papers relevant to the theme of the volume. Abstracts may be submitted to the editorial board in advance, to avoid the duplication of topics. Contributions must be written in English, employ Chicago-style source citations (notes and bibliography) and not exceed 40,000 characters in length, and they should be submitted through the Open Journal System (soon available).

Contact: aspektymuzyki@amuz.gda.pl