Songs, Sounds and Sentiments in Translation:The Transnational Travels of Corsican and Georgian Polyphony

This article considers the concept of translation as applied to the phenomenon of amateur singers in the West learning songs from ‘other’ cultures. Following an examination of the reasons why some people may prefer to sing in a language that is not their mother tongue, I go on to explore the processes involved in learning a new musical language, taking as my case study traditional polyphonic songs from Corsica and Georgia. I consider the roles of the native practitioner as teacher and transmitter and the non-native teacher as transmitter and intermediary, examining the methods developed by particular teachers to help students reach a deeper cultural understanding while also finding an ‘authentic’ sound. Pursuing the notion of social relations being implicit in the acts of both translation and music making, I conclude by reflecting on the kinds of transformations—personal and political, as well as musical—that may result

Polyphony as Tool and Trope: Theorising the Work of Polyphony in the Twenty-First Century

This paper offers a theoretical analysis of polyphonic singing as a form of social and intercultural engagement, a tool for building social capital, and a site for exploring new subjectivities. Building on arguments presented in my new book, A Different Voice, A Different Song, and with particular reference to those who sing songs from ‘other’ cultures, I consider a set of related issues, including the politics of participation, the transformative potential of performance, and questions of authenticity and identity. In the process, I enter into dialogue with recent theoretical work in ethnomusicology, social anthropology, political science and cultural theory. In providing alternatives to the trope of music as commodity that is more usually associated with the world music industry, this approach will hopefully shed a different kind of light on questions about what is lost or gained in the changing polyphonic landscape of the 21st century

Praisesong to the Ancestors and the Post-new Nuclear Family

This article offers a contribution to the renewed debate regarding ethnomusicology's disciplinary identity and in particular its kinship with historical musicology on the one hand and social anthropology on the other. It also considers emerging themes and concerns in 21st century ethnomusicology. The piece originated as a contribution to a round table with the theme 'Exorcising the Ancestors' at a conference of the British Forum for Ethnomusicology in 2001

Anchors and Sails: Music and Culture Contact in Corsica

The chapter explores the extent to which Corsica's pivotal position in the Mediterranean has affected the development of indigenous musical styles and practices. I begin with a brief examination of the types of influences and affinities that have been postulated for Corsica’s musical evolution. It is only in the island’s more recent history, however, that it is possible to document with a surer confidence instances of direct intercultural contact on a specifically musical plane and it is to an exploration of some of the most recent cases that I turn my attention in the second half of the chapter. In the course of this discussion with its more global frame of reference, I aim to offer an insight into the motivations behind contacts that have been actively courted and the implications of both literal contacts and perceived affinities at both a practical and a politico-philosophical level. Finally I refocus on the question of 'Mediterranean' music as I examine the impulse on the part of contemporary Corsican musicians to explore the specifically Mediterranean roots of their island’s music and, in some cases, to forge links with musics and musicians from other Mediterranean traditions based on a perception of shared heritage

The Past in Music: Introduction

In this article (which also acts as an introduction to a selection of case studies on the theme 'the past in music') I offer a few thoughts on the nature of the past and the role of memory in constructing historical narrative, with reference to the way in which these concepts have been theorised by historians, archaeologists, anthropologists and ethnomusicologists. In reviewing the different ways in which echoes of the past can still be heard in the music of the present, I consider the capacity of music to evoke, embody and transform the past and, by so doing, to act as a medium for history and its interpretation

On the Playing Fields of the World (and Corsica): Politics, Power, Passion and Polyphony

In this article I consider issues relating to the impact of the fieldworker on the communities studied, both in the immediate present through our involvement in the field, and retrospectively (notably in cases where our recordings might serve to fuel musical revivals by future generations). In the process I revisit aspects of the post-modern dilemma (representation, repatriation, etc.) in the context of my own fieldwork in Corsica, aiming to highlight the particular sensitivities called for in a field where questions of identity and tradition are keenly debated, where musical developments command widespread public attention, where there is an especially close relationship between musical discourse and political activity, and where representations constructed by the players themselves are already well-established

Polyphony, Heritage and Sustainability

This paper is framed by current trends and issues relating to heritage conservation and music revivals. I share insights arising from my own research into Georgian polyphony and my preliminary thoughts about how the developments and debates I have witnessed relate to broader concerns. Questions examined by my co-authors and I in The Oxford Handbook of Music Revival (2014) include: how the process of reviving a tradition leads to transformations, how tensions arise between preservation and innovation, and how authenticity is invoked and manipulated. In reflecting on such matters, I consider how and why the Georgian situation differs from the new directions taken by traditional polyphony in Corsica. I also discuss the implications of Titon’s proposal (in a special issue of the journal The World of Music on Music and Sustainability) that safeguarding efforts ‘should be guided by principles drawn from ecology, not economy’