Music, power and propaganda during Honours rendered for Málaga to Bailen´s Heroes (1808)

Abstract

This article is principally concerned with the music that was performed as part of religious ceremonies celebrated in Málaga following the Battle of Bailén, especially during the funerals held in the Cathedral on the 8th of August 1808. In order to underline the importance and the propagandistic role of music in these ceremonies, two compositions, the Requiem Mass K626 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and the Reponse Libera me by Joaquín Tadeo de Murguía (1759-1836), are considered. Analysis of these works is situated in relation to the liturgical, ceremonial, spatial, political and ideological factors that empowered their performance.