The Culture of the Lauda in Early Modern Milan

Musicological studies of the Italian lauda—and more generally of communal singing—in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries have mostly focused on central and north-eastern Italy, leaving other regions relatively unexplored. In this article I explore a diverse array of documents and sources (from confraternity manuscripts to fragments of polyphonic music) to demonstrate how a distinctive culture of the lauda developed in the city of Milan. The lauda had multiple sites for and different modalities of performance, investigation of which provides new perspectives on the nexus between singing practices, collective rituals, private devotion, preaching, and education. Three environments seem particularly important as incubators for this Milanese culture of the lauda: the Franciscans, the flagellant movement, and the forerunners of the Schools of Christian doctrine. The abundance of evidence attests, however, that this culture was widely shared, and animated the city soundscape throughout the early modern era.