An Unexplored Issue of not only Urban Scope: Salon Music in Galicia during the Eighteenth Century

The role that music played in Galician palaces and their areas of influence during the Ancien Regime is still unknown today. There are no specific studies on the subject, except for brief generalist allusions in works unrelated to the sound issue. This paper aims to research a complicated topic due to the dispersion (and even scarcity) of manuscripts, the immateriality of the musical fact, the domesticity of practices, and the hermeticism surrounding certain houses. Methodologically, qualitative techniques typical of Historical Musicology are combined with elements derived from Cultural Studies related to intangible heritage. Regarding the results, authorship is attributed to anonymous scores, a link is established between music and alchemy in the Arias family (whose members were related to the University) and the connection that the Galician salons had with other territories is demonstrated. All this refutes the preconceived idea of Iberian Northwest as an isolated place.