Oxford Berlin Research Partnership - Flexible Funds VIII

This research project explores how music shapes religious experience, focusing on a unique Pentecostal church in Madrid known as the “Gitano Artists’ Church.” Here, flamenco – a musical tradition deeply rooted in Romani culture – is reinterpreted in a sacred context.
While some Pentecostal Gitano believers reject secular flamenco, others adapt its musical elements to express their faith and communicate moral values. The project investigates how these musical transformations take place and what they reveal about the interplay of culture, music, and spirituality.
Initial fieldwork in Madrid, supported by the British Academy in 2024, laid the foundation for building trust within the Gitano community. With new funding from the Oxford–Berlin Research Partnership, the project now enters a second phase of in-depth collaborative research.
Led by Dr Mats Küssner (Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin) and Dr Antonio Monta?és Jiménez (University of Oxford), the study combines ethnographic and music-psychological methods – including interviews, participant observation, and techniques for exploring mental imagery. Pentecostal Gitano flamenco musician Gregorio Carmona is closely involved in shaping and conducting the fieldwork.
This interdisciplinary, high-risk/high-gain project aims to strengthen research ties between Berlin and Oxford. It will result in a peer-reviewed publication and lay the groundwork for a larger joint grant proposal, led by HU Berlin, in 2026.