Researching and documenting endangered languages of Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh, India)

Contact: Christian Huber

The project continues the research on, and documentation of, a number of endangered languages of Kinnaur (Shumcho, Kinnauri-Harijan and Jangshung/Jangrami) that was begun in the course of the project “Documentation of oral traditions in Spiti and Upper Kinnaur” (FWF-Projekt P15046). Three field trips have been undertaken so far (in 2007, 2009 and 2011). In 2007, also first investigations on the language of Sunnam were carried out.
Current research focuses on the hitherto undocumented Shumcho language, which is spoken mainly in three villages of the Shumcho region. Research activities include investigations of phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and lexicon. These investigations are complemented by recording texts of various kinds (folk tales, narratives, interviews on socio-cultural or historical issues, etc.) that are transcribed, translated, and analysed with the help of and in collaboration with local informants.

Ethnomusicological fieldwork in endangered minority cultures of Upper Assam, North East India

Contact: Jürgen Schöpf

This fieldwork aims at the ethnomusicological investigation and documentation of vocal and instrumental music traditions of the speakers of Tai (Phake), Singpho (Jingpo, Jinghpaw), and Tangsa (Naga), three endangered minority language groups spoken in the states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. These traditions are documented by means of audiovisual recordings e.g. of festivals, dance songs, work songs, but also informal singing. Research is done in close cooperation with the DoBeS project The Traditional Songs and Poetry of Upper Assam – A Multifaceted Linguistic and Ethnographic Documentation of the Tai, Tangsa and Singpho Communities in Margherita, Northeast India (DoBeS II/82721 & II/83085).
Current research activities focus on the clarification of the processes of tone production in a bamboo pyrophone discovered by Stephen Morey and Jürgen Schöpf in 2010 (in cooperation with the Department of Musicology, University of Vienna), and on investigating the relationship between melody in vocal music and linguistic tone in the Tai, Singpho and Tangsa languages.

The Vienna Phonogrammarchiv as a reflection of Austrian research on Africa: the interpretation of sound recordings of African languages

Co-financed by Wissenschafts- und Forschungsförderung der Kulturabteilung (MA 7) of the City of Vienna.

Duration: April 2011 – October 2012

Contact: Clemens Gütl

The Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences preserves a large number of unique sound documents covering manifestations of expressive culture, language and music from various regions in Africa. The scholarly evaluation of the contents of these recordings requires a source-critical interpretation of their respective origins and uses including their wider historical contexts. The methods adopted in the course of this project will be tested as to their potential application to other audiovisual collections in terms of best practice. The historical contexts of several archival sound collections will be reconstructed and analysed; these include Phonogramme made before WW II (e.g. in Egypt and British East Africa) as well as recordings on magnetic tape originating in the late 1950s. The publication of the project’s findings is meant to stimulate further research in a field still sorely neglected by the scientific community, i.e. the source-critical interpretation of historical sound recordings.
More information: „Thema des Monats ‚Kulturelles Erbe‘ (September 2011)“

European Acoustic Heritage - Studies in urban soundscape

Co-financed by EACEA-P5-Culture Unit, Culture Programme 2007-2013 - Strand 1.2.1
Project No. 2011-0521/001-001 CU7-COOP7

Duration: May 2011 – April 2013

Contact: Jürgen Schöpf (coordinator), Bernhard Graf, Christiane Fennesz-Juhasz, Johannes Spitzbart, Nadja Wallaszkovits

A restudy of urban soundscapes of Vienna is currently undertaken as part of the EU-funded project “European Acoustic Heritage”. The Phonogrammarchiv's original study, inspired by R. Murray Schafer, was conducted between 1980 and 1983. Beyond the comparison of urban sounds then and now, and its integration into the work of the partners in Spain, Finland and France, the applicability of surround sound recording for possible future use in field work is explored.

Introducing interdisciplinarity in music studies in the Western Balkans in line with European perspective (InMuSWB)

Co-financed by EACEA-TEMPUS IV, Joint Projects; 517098-TEMPUS-1-2011-1-RS-TEMPUS-JPCR

Duration: October 15, 2011 – October 14, 2014

Contact: Gerda Lechleitner (coordinator), Christiane Fennesz-Juhasz, Franz Lechleitner, Johannes Spitzbart, Nadja Wallaszkovits

The project InMuSWB is a multicountry project in a field of music education that will consolidate efforts of experts from 6 EU countries (Austria Czech Republic, Lithuania, Netherlands, Slovenia and Sweden) and 3 Western Balkans countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo/under UNSCR 1244/99). The wider objective of the project will be to contribute the reorganisation of musical education in the Western Balkans region in line with current European trends, i.e. the modernization of curricula for the first and second cycle of studies and the development and introduction of new modern and flexible interdisciplinary study programmes in all three study cycles. The Phonogrammarchiv will provide training for future staff in establishing a systematic archive, digitising tapes, documenting and transcribing the records, preparing a new catalogues, monographs and publications, and in organising and advising on field work (teacher and trainers training, student practice).

Folk and popular music in Austria

Contact: Katharina Thenius-Wilscher

Conceived as a restudy of an earlier long-term project conducted by the Phonogrammarchiv between 1978 and 1985, the present field research focuses on the audiovisual documentation of current tendencies in the performance of folk and popular music in Austria in order to investigate continuity and change in musical traditions; so far, recording activities have been carried out in Lower Austria (especially the Industrieviertel).

Contextualisation and edition of sound recordings

Contact: Clemens Gütl, Christian Liebl, Gerda Lechleitner

In the course of their content-related analysis of audiovisual sources (especially historical recordings), members of staff focus on bio-biographical studies of (field) researchers and the people recorded as well as on a contextual evaluation of the genesis of these recordings; historico-cultural issues and aspects pertaining to the history of science also play an important role for a better understanding of the collections of the Phonogrammarchiv. This interdisciplinary approach not only requires visits to relevant archives, but also stimulates fruitful cooperation with other institutions, such as the Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon. Results are made available in the complete edition of the archive’s Historical Collections 1899–1950, the selected edition of other audio and video recordings as well as additional publications. Ongoing research and publication projects include the “Contextualisation of sound recordings in African languages”, “O.C. Artbauer – his biography and sound recordings”, “Recordings from the Caucasian Region 1909 and 1915/16: The Collection of Adolf Dirr and the Recordings from the Prisoner of War Camps WWI (Rudolf Pöch/Robert Lach)” and “Indian Recordings 1904/5, 1918, 1927”.

Cultural activities of West African immigrants in Vienna

Contact: Hedwig Köb

The project’s aim is the audiovisual documentation of the cultural life of as many of Vienna’s West African communities as possible. The documentation covers all cultural activities of performers and organisers as well as their socio-cultural background. All kinds of current public or private events initiated by Africans for Africans, performer profiles and interviews are being considered. Field research in Senegal in spring 2010 focused on the documentation of the Griot tradition, common in several West African countries, within the socio-cultural context of its original setting in comparison to its surviving mode in the diaspora.

Music of musical automata - the project on mechanical music

Contact: Helmut Kowar

The activities – started in 1980 – comprise the exploration of historical automata, the production of audio and video documentation of the instruments as a source for further research into their music and history, and the publication of results from current investigations in this field.

Music and oral traditions of Roma

Contact: Christiane Fennesz-Juhasz

The project focuses on group-specific music-making in its current or historical manifestations as well as on aspects of storytelling amongst Roma; for these research purposes, relevant recordings from the extensive Romani collections of the Phonogrammarchiv are analysed, supplemented by additional field research (at present mainly in Austria). Subject-related interdisciplinary cooperation with external partners and other research units aims at making selected archival Romani holdings (or their contents) available to a wider public (see Sound Documents of Romani Culture; RomBase; A Roma Journey).

Restoration and optimised transfer of audio media

Contact: Nadja Wallaszkovits

The project attends to the optimisation of the replay process of analogue and digital audio formats as well as to the long-term storage and restoration of audio media. Special focus is set both on problematic or obsolete formats and on the further development of standard transfer and digitisation processes.

Evaluation of formats for long-term video storage

Contact: Franz Pavuza

There is currently no standardised archival format for video footage. The Phonogrammarchiv is evaluating open and proprietary formats for long-term storage and is engaged in discussions with similar institutions within the AMIA community (open source and digital issues committee).

The music of the Kunqu opera in China (with special reference to the concept of qupai)

Contact: Rudolf M. Brandl, Li Huang

Based on the representative video documentation of all Kunqu opera troupes made around 2000, the concept of fixed melodies (qupai) is analysed and described (for current video editions see here).

Traditional music of Greece

Contact: Rudolf M. Brandl

Aiming at a representative overall survey of Greek folk music, research especially focuses on the cognitive musical structure (the principle of Skopos). A book on the music of the Greek islands has already been published, a study on the conception of Skopos in mainland Greece (Epiros, Macedonia) is in preparation. Also in the pipeline are an ethnohistorical monograph on Ali Pasha of Janina and a second volume on the music of Karpathos.