Ethnic and Vernacular Music, 1898-1960: A Resource and Guide to Recordings

by Paul Vernon

Overview

Detailed information on almost all ethnic and vernacular recordings from many countries on 78rpm is provided in this seminal work. The current state of discographical research in this wide and varied field is such that a research tool of this nature is badly needed. Jesse Walter Fewkes and Mary Hemenway recorded Native American music as early as 1890; Bela Bartok recorded rural music in the Balkans; Erich von Hornbostel, the grand old man of ethnomusicology in Europe, recorded in Southeast Asia. More than just a discography, this work demonstrates that cultures around the world and over time have more similarities than differences. A necessity for scholars, students, archivists, and individual record collectors and dealers.

The goals of this volume are many and varied: to promote thought and discussion toward a concise definition of recorded ethnic music; to assist specialists working on individual discographical projects; to introduce users to the interconnectedness of cultures through regional music; to gather heretofore disparate pieces of information under one cover in a way that for the first time allows specialists to accurately identify all manner of recordings in many languages. The four sections of the volume work together for easy usage through cross referencing. The philosophy behind the volume was expressed by Rodney Gallop when he remarked that music, for him, was often the key to the understanding of other cultures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313295539
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/11/1995
Series:	Discographies: Association for Recorded Sound Collections Discographic Reference , #62
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

PAUL VERNON is a freelance music consultant in England. He has been involved in the music business for 20 years, writing articles, editing magazines, and programming re-releases of vintage and ethnic music on compact discs. He hopes this seminal work will be the catalyst that helps committed record collectors share their personal knowledge unselfishly with fellow researchers.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Preface
Countries, Territories and Linguistic Groups Listed in Chapter One
Countries, Regions and Ethnic Groups: A-Z
Record Companies (Brunswick, Columbia, Decca, Edison Bell, The Gramophone Company, Odeon, Parlophone, Pathe, Polydor, Telefunken, Zonophone)
Reissues on Compact Disc, Cassette and Vinyl
Lexicon
The Gramophone Company Engineers and Their Overseas Recording Sessions
Commercial Recordings in African Languages
Appendix 1: National Anthems
Appendix 2: Resource List
Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

Provides private collectors and institutional libraries with the basic information needed to identify early ethnic and vernacular 78rpm recordings from around the world (with the exception of North American recordings of Blues, Cajun, Gospel, and white rural and syncretic music, which are well-documented elsewhere). The first chapter provides original company names, prefixes, and numerical blocks of issued 78rpm records; a list of reissues on CD, cassette, and vinyl; a bibliography; and footnotes. Next is an alphabetical and numerical list of major European record company prefixes and series. Full details of known reissues and a detailed glossary are provided in the next two chapters, while the final two chapters list gramophone company engineers and their overseas recording sessions and commercial recordings in African languages. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews