[AMS-announce] FWP: Ph.D. Studentship, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

[Announcements for the AMS]

The Musicology Research Unit of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven invites applications for a Ph.D. studentship as part of the project, “Music and Theology in Reformation Germany: The Case of Leonhard Päminger”. The position, which begins on 1 October 2009, is for four-years, full-time, and is fully funded (including a living wage). The successful candidate will be expected to complete a doctoral thesis on the music of Leonhard Päminger (1495-1567).

Project abstract:
 “Music and Theology in Reformation Germany: The Case of Leonhard Päminger”

This project examines the relationship between music and theological doctrine during the most turbulent period in European religious history, the Reformation. The project focuses on the output of Leonhard Päminger (1495-1567), one of the period’s most fascinating figures for investigating this question. Päminger was not only an extremely prolific composer, but also a major poet and theologian who was directly caught up in the musical and theological debates of the Reformation. He spent much of his life in the Catholic city of Passau, where he held important positions at one of the city’s principal educational establishments, the school of St. Nikola, yet, despite this employment situation, he was himself a Lutheran and maintained direct links with major reformers, including Martin Luther, Philip Melanchthon, and Veit Dietrich. More than 700 of his works are currently known to survive. His compositional output and his broader historical context thus offer extraordinarily rich 
 mater
ial for research into Renaissance music in general and into the music of the Lutheran Reformation in particular. The project will relate Päminger’s sacred music with the theological ideas that both he and his contemporaries expressed in writing.

Further information for applicants:
The applicant should hold, or be about to complete, a relevant Master’s degree. Knowledge of Dutch is not a pre-requisite.

Desirable (though not essential) qualities:
-       experience in Renaissance music at Master’s level
-       background knowledge of the history of the German Reformation
-       knowledge of German and Latin

Applications should include:
-       a letter of motivation
-       a CV
-       a work-sample (Master’s thesis or Master’s coursework)
-       2 letters of reference, under separate cover
The deadline for receipt of applications is 10 August. Applications should be addressed to:
Prof. dr. David Burn
Afdeling musicologie
Faculteit Letteren, Bus 3313
Blijde-Inkomststraat 21
3000-Leuven
Belgium
Applications may also be submitted electronically (as .pdf or word documents), to: david.burn at arts.kuleuven.be

For further information on the project, and for any other enquiries, please contact David Burn, at the above address.