Description
This paper explores the Thurn und Taxis Hofkapelle as a site for the regional adaptation and instrumental reinterpretation of European operatic repertoire within the eighteenth-century Harmoniemusik tradition. While the term ‘Harmoniemusik’ typically evokes a standardized wind octet of paired oboes, clarinets, horns, and bassoons, the Thurn und Taxis court in Regensburg cultivated a distinctive—and flexible—ensemble that regularly included two violas alongside mixed pairs of winds. Analysis of music for this ensemble reveals that the violas fulfilled a variety of roles within the Harmonie. While they occasionally doubled existing parts or served as substitutes for wind instruments, these strings more commonly performed independent melodic and harmonic material in addition to, and as complex as, that of the winds. What is more, archival records indicate that their inclusion—evidenced in well over half of the extant Taxis Harmonie repertoire and sustained for over six decades—suggests a deliberate and enduring aesthetic that transcended the tenure of individual Taxis princes, composers, and performers. This uncommon instrumentation reflects a localized reimagining of European musical trends, one crafted by a princely family that served as the emperor’s political and cultural representative at the Reichstag in Regensburg. By examining the Thurn und Taxis’s Harmonie, and particularly transcriptions of opera made for it, this paper contributes to explorations of how eighteenth-century courts in modern-day Bavaria negotiated transnational musical influences through adaptation, not only of language and libretto, but—as in this case—also of instrumentation and ensemble identity.| Period | Dec 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Adaptation - Besetzung - 'Bavarisierung'. Opernpraxis in Bayern |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Munich, Germany, BavariaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |