The Sacred in Madrid’s Soundscape: Toward an Aural Hygiene, 1856–1907

Abstract

Llano explores the intersection between the concepts of the “sacred” and “aural hygiene” in the late nineteenth-century Madrid. By analyzing policies on, and social reactions to, “noise,” Llano argues that the relationship between the above two concepts is far from straightforward and stable, and is underpinned by societal fractures and conflict. Analysis of conventional associations between musical practices and moral values shows that the distinction between “noise” and “music” is arbitrary and infused with ideology. Thus, Llano demonstrates that policies that claim to act in the interest of public hygiene and security and that present themselves as “sacralizing” forces represent only the ideology of particular social groups. Thus, this study brings under question the capacity of the “sacred” to generate social cohesion.