Abstract

The well-known dictum of (vocal / instrumental) music-making in the bath contradicts the surviving sources, at least in the 16th century. These have not yet been systematically analysed regarding the various bathing situations (inside / outside) or the question of the connection between music-making practice and social status of the bathers and the resulting implications. The article therefore first raises the question of instrumental music-making practice in the bath based on pictorial evidence. Based on the lack of evidence for explicit bathing songs, the few song documents from a courtly environment that thematise bathing are then presented. It is not until around 1530 that an explicit literary-musical examination of the bathing tradition becomes tangible in a song text that thematises the typical actions in the bath (doctores, mores, kurtzweyl). The few songs from the 1570s, on the other hand, belong to the group of ‘Bauernsatiren’, which primarily address the offensive behaviour of bathing women. However, due to the complexity of the polyphonic setting, none of these songs are likely to have been sung by bathers, but at best by professional musicians, such as in court chapels. Finally, an attempt is made to place these songs in the wider context of courtly spa architecture.