Vol. 4 (2018)
Dear Readers,
Beginning with this issue, TDE will be published in a new layout, making it even more user- and mobile-friendly. We wish to apologize for the late appearance of TDE Vol. 4 (2018): like many other online scientific journals, we use the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform; we have now upgraded to the latest version, OJS 3, which – among other things – makes the publication smartphone-compatible. It took some time for this change to be implemented and we editors had to familiarize ourselves with the new software; we thank you for your understanding.
The newest issue presents a single recent article: Sāsān Fātemi’s “Heterochronic Rhythm in Iranian-Arabian-Turkish Music” (2015). Mr. Fātemi is a professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Tehran and a member of TDE’s editorial board. Future issues will include further contributions from other members of the editorial board in accordance with TDE’s general aim: the presentation of relevant papers originally appearing in languages other than English.
The other four contributions are from pioneers of ethnomusicology. The issue opens with a work by the Romanian composer, ethnomusicologist, and folk music researcher Constantin Brăiloiu, “A Problem of Tonality” (1955). Brăiloiu enjoys an international reputation; many of his publications have already been translated from their original French into English[1]. The possible development from pentatonics to heptatonics, referenced in the subtitle “Pentatonic Metamorphosis”, is described by the author as a “pentatonic metamorphosis”; however, his final paragraph speaks modestly of a “nicely reassuring fiction”. We think that Brăiloiu’s analysis, though speculative, still possesses a unique charm. For this volume of TDE, Byron Dueck has translated the work into English and reset the musical examples; we thank him for his extraordinary devotion and extraordinary care in terms of source criticism.
Giulio Fara, originally from Cagliari, Sardinia, was a professor of aesthetics and music history at the conservatory in Pesaro, the birthplace of Rossini. His text “Studi Etnofonici”, published between 1919 and 1922, is almost completely unknown outside of Italy; we offer it here for the first time to a wider readership. In consultation with Giovanni Vacca, who translated the text into English with great insight and commitment, we have interpreted the original title as “Ethnomusicological Studies”. Be sure to read the “translator’s note”, in which Vacca conveys an impression of the challenges he faced during the translation process.
The Janković sisters, Ljubica and Danica, are pioneers of ethnochoreological research in Serbia; their text “Safeguarding Our Folk Dances” is a chapter from the second part of the eight-volume work Norodne Igre, the first volume of which was published in 1934.
The collector, researcher and comparative musicologist Bozidar Širola (1889-1956) was a leading Croatian ethnomusicologist; his ideas have left a lasting impression on future generations. The article “The Problems of Our Musical Folklore” is a pioneering work in comparative musicology and highly interesting from a theoretical, methodological, and analytical standpoint. In her introductory note, Naila Ceribašić successfully contextualizes Širola’s work in its ideology and epistemology, making clear its continued relevance to modern musicology.
We wish you happy reading and look forward to your feedback!
Regine Allgayer-Kaufmann, Gerd Grupe
The Editors
[1] See Problems of Ethnomusicology, edited and translated by A. L. Lloyd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
