Traces of performance in writing: improvisation as re-composition in instrumental music of the Iberian Peninsula 1535–1700

This research aims to achieve a detailed understanding of creative practices in instrumental music before the 18th century using instrumental repertories from the Iberian peninsula as case studies. An online database and digital edition (EXTEMPORE) will be created that draws attention to the varied forms of the music’s notation in the surviving sources. One of the key research questions concerns the musical creative processes that lie behind the different versions and how they came into being, in particular the role of improvisation.