Revealing and advancing European musical performance practice
First European infrastructure dedicated to orchestral and operatic musical heritage, to its documentation, and to the transmission of historically informed interpretative practices. It transforms ephemeral artistic processes into organised, structured, and sustainable systems of knowledge.
A European body of knowledge that is to be structured
Historically Informed Performance (HIP) constitutes a specific European heritage, transmitted between generations of musicians, nourished by research, experimentation, and a constant dialogue between sources and the stage.
Beyond manuscripts, critical editions and preserved instruments, this wealth rests on living musical knowledge: interpretation.
Through rehearsals and concerts, orchestras produce an exceptional body of knowledge: practical transcriptions and new editions, annotated scores, interpretative choices, reconstruction and adaptation of instruments, tuning and temperament adjustments, working methods, as well as musicological reflections.
An applied research methodology
A permanent artistic laboratory
An articulation between musicology, instrument making, and interpretation
Every production generates knowledge
LaDocumenta.eu transforms this ephemeral knowledge into organized, structured, and sustainable knowledge systems around 3 entities and 48 types of resources.
Works
Musical references
Resources
Documents & files
Production
Concerts
A threefold mission....
Operational Mission
Facilitate the artistic and pedagogical work of HIP orchestras through a common tool for deposit, annotation, and archiving.
Heritage Mission
Safeguard, promote, and make traceable an intangible European musical heritage: practices, traditions, stylistic choices, and creative processes.
Scientific Mission
Structure, analyze, and contextualize these practices from the perspective of research, teaching, and transmission.
... For a double impact
For professionals
Shared infrastructure on a European scale
Documentary harmonization
Support for digital humanities research
Structured cooperation beyond tours
For the public
Open access to structured artistic knowledge
Understanding of interpretative processes
Resources for students and young musicians
Enhanced multilingual discoverability
A standardized documentary architecture
Based on international standards
Foundational technological principles
Features
A consortium led by artists and researchers
Five major European HIP orchestras playing on period instruments.
Reference scientific partners.
Scientific coordination: Prof. Dr. Kai Köpp (Hochschule der Künste Bern)
Participate to LaDocumenta
For orchestras
Structure your practices, document your creative processes, and archive collectively.
ParticipateFor researchers
Access a structured corpus and participate in digital humanities research.
ParticipateFor students and young musicians
Discover interpretative processes and train in historically informed practices.
ParticipateContributions & participative science
A cross-disciplinary dynamic enabling a broader community (informed amateurs, audiences, advanced students) to participate in the documentation and interpretation of artworks.
Yesterday · Today · Tomorrow
Prototype Creative Europe Funding Consortium formation
Operational platform Deposit of thousands of resources Active international scientific committee Scientific and UX consolidation Development of AI modules
European standard for HIP documentation Reference infrastructure in musical digital humanities Horizon Europe & Culture & AI calls Extension: operas, choirs, musical theater New partnerships
