What’s Your Sign? An Interview with Tracy Cowart

Co-Curator & Virgo Tracy Cowart talks about the inspiration behind our next concert

The J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XII 8, fol. 47v, 83.MO.137.47v. Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Program.

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Why did you choose to explore the medieval Zodiac?

I’ve been particularly drawn to evocative medieval groupings recently – the 12 labors of the months, the Black Hours, the four elements/temperaments/seasons, the seven classical planets. The medieval zodiac shows up in all of these groupings – miniatures of the zodiac were almost always featured in 15th-century calendars alongside the labors of the months, the gall-stained pages of the Black Hours contain zodiac imagery alongside Christian prayers, and the elements, temperaments, seasons, and planets are all associated with very specific zodiac signs. This academic fascination resonated with my co-curator, Ellie Sutherland, who also recognized that the zodiac has a certain universal appeal to this day – creating that natural bridge {or should I say Milky Way…🌌} between the past and the present that is such a hallmark of our programming.

How does the medieval understanding of the Zodiac compare to our modern understanding?

The medieval understanding of the universe was structurally different from our own – rather than looking up into a vast and silent darkness stretching out infinitely in all directions, a medieval person would have perceived the night sky as a towering but fathomable and finite hierarchy centered around the earth, illuminated by the sun, and accompanied by the harmony of the spheres. The human body was seen as a microcosm of this macrocosm, and was built out of a combination of the four elements, which were likewise under the physical influence of the planets and stars. The significant influence of the heavens was officially considered purely physical, as circumventing free will would have put astrology at loggerheads with the Christian church (and is the reason why astrological divination was prohibited.) Still, it was accepted that there were auspicious and inauspicious days for events such as bloodletting – which received the lion’s share of prescriptive attention, though nail-clipping is also addressed when the moon is in Gemini ♊︎. (If you’re wondering – don’t do it!)

Can you describe the kinds of music we'll hear in this concert?  

We worked with two different 14th-century manuscripts to inspire the content of this concert – our Dutch treatise outlines the sorts of activities in which one should (or should not!) partake when the sun or moon is in a particular position, and our German treatise describes the characteristics of anyone born under a certain sign. Medieval German music is a trove of songs that describe small acts of daily life, and so we decided to focus on German composers and sources. Our net extended as far back as the 13th century to bring us a monophonic [chant-like] piece from the Carmina Burana that describes a shipwreck (no doubt brought about by sailing when the moon was in Leo ♌︎). Our latest repertoire on the program draws from late 15th-century  Glogauer Liederbuch, which features a bevy of quirky polyphonic pieces for 3-4 parts, like “Die katzenpfote”  or “The Cat's Paw.” In between, we find songs like one by the Monk of Salzburg about a person who only laughs at others’ misfortune (looking at you, Scorpio ♏︎), a sprightly Wolkenstein poly-textual motet about doing ALL THE CHORES (to a collective Virgo ♍︎ sigh), and a gorgeous song by Hans Sachs (of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg fame) about waking up – because all starry nights must yet give way to the dawn.

Are there any final things you think our audience should know before seeing this show?

The German treatise we referenced is relentless in its unflattering appraisal of zodiac-influenced personality traits! While shocking, such knowledge fit within the medieval worldview of influential thinkers such as Thomas Aquinas, who maintained that people ought be aware of their natural weaknesses so that they could then restrain those tendencies if they led towards evil – making astrological knowledge useful in recognizing and addressing one’s celestially-derived inclinations. We’ve embraced the raw candor of these historical assessments, but I would advise anyone not convinced to follow my mother’s lead – she read her horoscope every day, but if it wasn’t to her liking, she picked one that she found better suited!

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Join us March 6 at the Jalopy Theatre in Brooklyn or March 8 at the UVA Rotunda in Charlottesville, VA.

Friday, March 6, 7:30pm

Jalopy Theatre

315 Columbia St, Brooklyn 11231

Sunday, March 8, 8:00pm

The Rotunda

University of Virginia

1826 University Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22904