Multipart Music Traditions: Practices of Transmission and Border Crossings - Traditiones 55 (2), 2026

This thematic issue will bring together scholarly contributions that will explore multipart music traditions as socially embedded musical practices grounded in shared knowledge, coordinated participation, and collective expressive behavior. Drawing on ethnomusicological perspectives, the issue will address multipart music as a dynamic field that will be co-shaped by processes of transmission, mobility, and cultural exchange.

The thematic issue will be structured around two closely interconnected thematic strands. The first strand will focus on borders, borderlands, and cross-border traditions and will examine how multipart music articulates identities shaped by geographical, linguistic, political, and cultural boundaries. Particular attention will be given to borderland contexts as zones of encounter and negotiation, where multipart practices will be influenced by historical contestation, mobility, and intercultural dialogue. The second strand will center on the transmission of multipart music and will address vertical and horizontal processes of knowledge sharing, including teaching, informal learning, heritagization, and contemporary modes of transmission shaped by social change, migration, and media technologies. By bringing these perspectives into dialogue, the thematic issue will highlight multipart music traditions as adaptable and sustainable practices through which borders are crossed, negotiated, and reimagined across diverse social contexts.

The deadline for submissions is November 15th 2026.

Guest editors:
Yannick Wey (Bern Academy of the Arts, yannick.wey@hkb.bfh.ch)
Mojca Kovačič (ZRC SAZU, mojca.kovacic@zrc-sazu.si)