Ron Alexander Memorial Lectures in Musicology: Cesar Favila, UCLA

Abstract: This talk reveals how the concepts of virginity and race, introduced by Spanish authorities, complicated the musical lives of New Spanish nuns. Starting with reflections on the Magnificat antiphon O Sapientia, located in a Mexico City convent chant book, I investigate the phenomenon of the Virgin Mary’s characterization as sound—God’s voice—in nuns’ music and devotional books to demonstrate how male clergy controlled women religious thr...