Making earwax melt and teeth rattle: the project returning music to our bodies

Professor Bettina Varwig of the University of Cambridge is leading an academic project exploring how 17th and 18th-century audiences experienced music with intense physical and emotional reactions. Varwig argues that modern concertgoers are encouraged to be passive listeners, suppressing natural bodily responses like sighing, crying, or clapping, even when music evokes strong visceral feelings. Her research, detailed in a University of Cambridge story, examines historical accounts where listeners described music causing physical sensations such as "contracted innards," "hearts leap," tasting "like vinegar in your throat," melting "earwax," or drawing "your soul out of your body." These historical testimonies highlight a stark contrast to contemporary concert etiquette, suggesting a more embodied and less restrained engagement with music in the past. Varwig's work aims to re-evaluate the potential for music to move us physically and emotionally, challenging the notion that such responses are inappropriate in a performance setting.