ABSTRACT
The significant role played by music (in the broadest sense) in the lives of early modern Europeans is often overlooked in general histories of the Counter-Reformation period. This is understandable as historians tend not to feel comfortable discussing music, and musical products are not as accessible or easily readable as works of art or architecture. Music historians in turn have often failed to communicate to a wider public their understanding of how music was experienced; the opportunity offered in this volume is therefore particularly welcome. This chapter will examine some facets of post-Tridentine liturgical and devotional music, with a largely Italian focus. It will refer to some recent work and visit briefly the use of music by Roman confraternities as a window to explore different ways in which music could affect the Catholic experience.
