The lament, which is the expression of grief for the dead, has an enormous potential for intercultural research and for studies of different social groups within a particular culture, and therefore it inspires musicological and folkloristic comparative analyses. These studies take on individual profiles in different countries: semiotic (in Russian), psychological (Ukraine), axiological (Belarus) or, as in the case of Polish researchers –interpretations concern the form of the lament (pre-stanzaic, continuous) and treat it as a deposit of structural beliefs in verbal texts. Several aspects of the lament, such as beliefs as its basis, affects and socio-cultural conventions are investigated by the author. Among the features typical of the theatricalisation inherent in this stylization of grief the question of socio-cultural compensation is discussed, also in relation to musical composition. The author points out that the process of disappearance of the ritual lament from the folk culture in Western Europe was compensated in the expression of individual grief in musical art.
It has been generally assumed that the term 'ethnomusicology' was introduced by Jaap Kunst in 1950. Searches carried out in Ukrainian libraries by Bohdan Lukaniuk, professor of ethnomusicology from Lvov, show that the dating of this terminological innovation needs to be moved back to 1928. Klyment Kvitka, a prominent researcher (alongside Filaret Kolessa) of Ukrainian folklore, published, during the early twentieth century, texts which refer to 'ethnomusicology' as a discipline devoted to oral musical works (folk songs by themselves, instrumental works by themselves), in contrast to music ethnography, which examines the oral tradition in its cultural context, and in contrast to musicology, which studies written-composed music. From the beginning of the twentieth century Ukrainian researchers, characteristically, concentrated on the analysis and classification of folk songs. The transfer and functioning of the term 'ethnomusicology' in Poland may have been facilitated by the flow of ideas during musicological conferences, exchange of publications between scholars (e.g.. Kvitka-Chybinski), or training/lectures for cultural activists (Kamienski-Batko). However, it is also possible that the term 'ethnomusicology' was invented independently by Lucjan Kamienski in 1934, as demonstrated by Jan Steszewski. In February 1939 Walerian Batko published a definition of ethnomusicology as a young discipline researching collections of folk songs. Bohdan Lukaniuk hypothesises that the spread of this name for that branch of musicology in the West and in the USA may have been mediated by Mieczyslaw Kolinski (born in 1901 and based in Poland until 1923, then in Berlin until 1933), who collaborated with Jaap Kunst; however, this requires an examination of the whole of Kolinski's output. In accordance with the early definition of ethnomusicology, Kolinski concentrated on the analysis and measurement of the music of the world's cultures with no reference to its context. The history of the term testifies to the continuing need to trace the geneaology of the concepts involved above and beyond the language barriers in Europe. In the history of defining ethnomusicology we see that the term stays the same, but its meaning and range changes over time. What is apparent is the evolution of the term, from defining analysis and classification of pure musical works (the European profile of ethnomusicology) to its 'Americanisation', i.e. to being used to refer to the study of music in the context of performance, society and culture in general.
S. Brzozowy was one of the best singers in Northeastern Poland (Kurpie region in Northern Masovia). His repertoire was recorded several times between 1952-1979 and qualities of his performance mark him as a model representative of the archaic vocal culture in Kurpie. He could sing all types of songs including those not characteristic of male singers (wedding songs). Singing was for him a way of life, all the more that he spent much time in forests ('Green Wilderness'). His artistic perception was highly integrated. He was inspired also by the visual elements of landscape and nature (a tree, an animal and so on). Brzozowy also composed songs, but this does not mean that he invented each song, but rather he 'put everything in order' in the chosen song, modifying it slightly. While singing, he was completely absorbed in proper performance. His role among folk singers could be described as 'classical', because the musical tradition and actual performance created a state of equilibrium and presented the most mature expression of the local culture, including all specific manners of singing, e.g. harmonic tones in the beginnings and ending of songs, ornaments and timbre of voice. An interview with Brzozowy revealed his aesthetic attitudes, a characteristic tenderness, a sense of humour and a deep attachment to his environs.
Tekst wyróżnia cztery psychospołeczne motywy i uwarunkowania tworzenia kolekcji i archiwów fonograficznych w zakresie muzyki tradycyjnej i etnicznej w pierwszych dekadach XX w. Pierwszym jest fascynacja wynalazkiem fonografu jako przykładem przeniesienia i utrwalenia dynamicznej rzeczywistości na zapis akustyczny. Drugim jest traktowanie rejestracji fonograficznej jako dalekiej konsekwencji wynalazku pisma, co uzasadniało tworzenie „bibliotek” dźwiękowych. Trzecim – poczucie obowiązku utrwalania tradycji muzycznych, z których uchodziło życie (wykonawstwo muzyczne w oryginalnym kontekście kulturowym) i imperatyw ochrony pamięci kulturowej. Czwartym – „entuzjazm” badawczy wynikający z pomnożenia możliwości analitycznych – szansy wielokrotnego odsłuchania nagrania.
EN
The text reports on setting up phonograhic collections and archives in the past and discusses four attitudes of ethnologists and musicologists engaged in phonograph-aided field research. The enthusiasm for creating an alternative acoustical reality in time, the sound collection as a natural continuation of traditional libraries, the eager acceptance of recording technology to preserve and safeguard declining traditions, and the development of musical analyses thanks to multiple listenings to recordings – all these psychological components constituted the ideology of archives and initiated comparative musicology as a “science” and ethnomusicology concentrated on humanly organized sound.
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