Music and community in South Tyrol: Perspectives, projects and research

Abstract

This article deals with the importance of music-making within both instrumental and vocal ensembles in South Tyrol based on the results of two different research projects: ‘Cultura musicale e funzione sociale della musica in Alto Adige’ (‘Music culture and the social function of music in South Tyrol’), by Paolo Somigli and Ilaria Riccioni, and ‘Going to the Source’, carried out by Antonella Coppi. Through a reflection on the two research projects, this article aims to provide an image of the role of music in the South Tyrolean community; although the two research projects were carried out between 2011 and 2019 overall, they are still relevant, as they represent ground-breaking research in this region. The two research projects complement each other in a reciprocal contextualization of issues about the role of non-formal musical ensembles in developing the social and cultural fabric in South Tyrol. The different perspectives and objects of the two studies offer a broader view of music-making, not only from a musicological but also from a sociological and pedagogical perspective.