Do They Sound Like Bells or Like Howling Wolves?

Gerald Florian Messner

ISBN 10: 3631629109 / ISBN 13: 9783631629109

Published by Peter Lang AG, CH, 2013

About this Item

This study represents a thorough investigation of a polyphonic vocal village tradition in Bistritsa, Bulgaria. Outsiders describe the narrow intervals of these songs as being «maximally rough», while the singers themselves experience their performance as smooth, beautiful and pleasant. Almost identical polyphonic traditions can be found in places sometimes thousands of kilometers apart. This inquiry is carried out within a very broad and comparative context, whereby historical sources, the origin of different constituents and etymologies as well as electronic sound analysis are taken into account. The results are stunning and ever more relevant - and not just for ethnomusicologists: The babi or grannies of Bistritsa and their songs have been inscribed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind in 2008.

Seller Inventory # LU-9783631629109

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Do They Sound Like Bells or Like Howling Wolves?
• Publisher: Peter Lang AG, CH
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3631629109
• ISBN 13: 9783631629109
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 760 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This study represents a thorough investigation of a polyphonic vocal village tradition in Bistritsa, Bulgaria. Outsiders describe the narrow intervals of these songs as being «maximally rough», while the singers themselves experience their performance as smooth, beautiful and pleasant. Almost identical polyphonic traditions can be found in places sometimes thousands of kilometers apart. This inquiry is carried out within a very broad and comparative context, whereby historical sources, the origin of different constituents and etymologies as well as electronic sound analysis are taken into account. The results are stunning and ever more relevant – and not just for ethnomusicologists: The babi or grannies of Bistritsa and their songs have been inscribed on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind in 2008.

About the Author

Gerald Florian Messner, an internationally renowned ethnomusicologist, has conducted extensive fieldwork in the areas of ritual and primary performance and different traditional singing styles in South-Eastern Europe, Oceania and Indonesia.