Ethnomusikologie. Aspekte, Methoden und Ziele.
Walravens, Hartmut
Ethnomusikologie. Aspekte, Methoden und Ziele. Artur Simon. Berlin:
Simon Verlag fur Bibliothekswissen, 2008. [126 pp. ISBN 978-3-940862-07-5. 33 [euro]]
This short but important study was published as a tribute to Artur
Simon on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Artur Simon is a renowned
ethnomusicologist and from 1972 to 2003 was director of the Department
of Ethnomusicology of the Berlin Museum of Ethnology. He has been active
as a field researcher during his term of office there, and he managed to
increase the collections of his institution to about 160,000 recordings.
Also counting about a hundred publications, this was no mean
achievement. In 1979 Artur Simon published an article Probleme, Methoden
und Ziele der Musikethnologie (which is, however, missing from the
extensive bibliography of the book) in order to give a guideline to
students of the discipline. The present volume picks up from this and
discusses in a systematic way the basics of ethnomusicology. For the
author it is evidently not only a concern but a necessity to give some
kind of definition (Standortbestimmung) of the (position of) the
discipline. Simon quotes from the works of major specialists in order to
show the different approaches to ethnomusicology--regional, historical,
oral tradition, anthropological, sociological, etc.--and shows clearly
that the current state of the art involves the musical experience, the
performance, the occasion, the setting, the performers, the
listeners--so one could call it a cultural and sociological field in the
best sense, disclaiming ethnic and traditional views (like even that of
pioneer Curt Sachs who emphasized the "primitive" forms of
music as the subject of study). Small wonder that
"bimusicality" has become one of the concepts by which
students learn different musical cultures also from a practical point of
view. Above all, field research is of utmost importance, and it is--in a
way--much easier than in bygone times owing to advanced technology. A
hundred years ago, the fathers of ethnomusicology (at that time dubbed
comparative musicology) already pointed out the existing pressure of
globalization and the need to save musical traditions from oblivion. For
obvious reasons, all that has become a real and very serious challenge
now.
Simon describes the methodology of field research, the outfit, the
analytical work, and thus provides a firm basis for students and other
interested parties. In this sense, it is not a "popular" book
but a necessary one. And perhaps it will generate more discussion and
prevent stagnation. All scholarship needs constant review of its basis
in order to remain flexible and adaptable to new developments.
Artur Simon's special research areas have been Africa,
Indonesia and Irian (New Guinea), and many of the photographs and
examples are taken from those areas. A well designed and useful book.
Hartmut Walravens
Berlin
