Tag Archives: UNESCO

by rilm | October 15, 2026 · 6:00 am

Two fiddles and one concern: The Karakalpak ķobyz and the Albanian lahutë–UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

This post is the third in a series featuring annotated bibliographies on performing arts inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. To promote open knowledge and preserve these traditions through scholarly writings, Bibliolore offers monthly posts over the course of one year. This post is published in conjunction with the International Day of Intangible Cultural Heritage, observed globally every 17 October.

In 2025, UNESCO inscribed two fiddles on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding: the Karakalpak ķobyz and the Albanian lahutë. Though separated by mountains and seas, these bowed string instruments have both transmitted epics across centuries, while today the musical practices associated with them share the risk of neglect and disappearance.

The ķobyz is a two-stringed bowed instrument carved from wood, with a partially open soundbox, a fretless neck, and a pegbox. An ancient instrument of the Turkic peoples, it is an essential part of musical traditions of Central Asia, including Karakalpakstan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. In Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic of Uzbekistan, it is used to accompany the žyrau tradition of singing and storytelling, the raspy vocal timbres of which resemble the tones of the ķobyz. In neighboring Kazakhstan, the ķobyz was traditionally employed by performers known as baqsy during shamanistic rituals. Its sounds imitated the cries of animals and other sounds of the natural world, serving as a vessel for communication and a means of passage into a metaphysical realm.

The Soviet era brought repression of Indigenous cultures, alongside the swift transformations of modern life and increased urbanization. Shamanic practices were suppressed, the repertoire handed down grew thinner, and today few ķobyz performers remain. The chain of oral transmission is broken, scattered by a world that moves ever faster.

Mylnyq-Zarlyqm, performed by Saian Aqmolda. An epic kui, an instrumental piece that is meant to express states. The original subject of this piece has been, however, forgotten.

The lahutë is a single-stringed wooden fiddle, with a wooden body and a soundboard fashioned from stretched animal skin, and it is native to the regions across northern and northwestern Albania. Its repertoire includes epic songs and verses performed by epic singers known as rapsods, a term from which the songs themselves take the name rapsodi. The repertoire has also widened in recent decades to embrace more personalized lyrics, giving voice to practitioners’ experiences and the shifting social and political landscapes they inhabit. The lahutë also belongs to the same family of instruments found across neighboring countries—Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina—where it is known as the gusle. In essence, the status of the instrument in Albania and other Balkan countries as a national symbol has grown, appearing in visual depictions and national programs; nonetheless, its everyday use, particularly from the second half of the 20th century onward, has declined.

Today, lahutë playing, the recitation of epic songs, and the making of the instrument all stand at risk. These traditions are confined to certain regions and families of limited means, and the Communist period’s censorship of religious celebrations and a scarcity of resources have further weakened them. Today, transmission rests on shifting forms and contexts, with social media increasingly shaping how recordings and videos of the practice reach new audiences.

A short documentary on the art of playing and making the lahuta. Produced by Barraka Productions in 2024.

The state and status of these two instruments mirror the rapidly shifting attitudes toward rural and nomadic life in an increasingly urbanized world. Their shift from practical tools in community celebrations and healing ceremonies to symbols laden with nationalist ideology marks a profound transformation: They no longer belong to the natural world that first gave them voice. Today, community members, educators, and policymakers in their respective countries strive to help these instruments not merely survive but thrive by implementing community-based documentation initiatives, dedicating income to musicians, creating opportunities and awareness campaigns, and developing safeguarding plans. In this endeavor, researchers and writers also have a role—not only as observers, but as custodians of memory and advocates for living heritage.

RILM Abstracts includes dozens of references to scholarship on the two instruments, in different languages. The writings cover the instruments’ history, social and ritual uses, and techniques for making and playing them.

Annotated bibliography

The ķobyz

Gábry, György. “Egy hangszertípus útja Ázsiától Európáig. I” [The journey of a type of instrument from Asia to Europe. I], Magyar zene: Zenetudományi folyóirat 20:4 (December 1979) 350–373. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1979-6652].

Explores the genesis and development of the archetype of the violin called the ķobyz and its role in Hungarian music history. According to László Lajtha, the instrument existed in both bowed and plucked forms and may have been brought from the early homeland. Werner Bachmann proposed that the oldest string instruments correspond in form, structure, and tuning to the early medieval plucked instruments of Central Asia. Central Asian sources mention the qobuz or kobuz as early as the beginning of the 10th century; some references suggest it was plucked, while others hint at the use of a bow.

Gábry, György. “Egy hangszertípus útja Ázsiától Európáig. II” [The journey of a type of instrument from Asia to Europe. II], Magyar zene: Zenetudományi folyóirat 21:3 (September 1980) 223–248. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1980-6748].

Discusses what the archetype of the ķobyz, a Central Asian string instrument, may have looked like around the millennium. The Hungarians maintained both the name ķobyz and the instrument itself. In the 14th century, the ķobyz is mentioned among the professions, and the term hegedűs is also traceable (initially fiellator in Latin). Regarding the proliferation of the archetype in Eurasia, one must distinguish at least two types: Eastern and Western, respectively; thus we see influences first from East to West, then from West to East. The basic type of the ķobyz survived in its rounded variant as a bowed instrument. This type might have been identical with the instrument called the hagadő. The origins of the word hegedű are discussed.

Junussova, Balzhan, Dinara Bulatova, and Saule Utegalieva. “Kazakh prima-kobyz and Kyrgyz prima-kyyak: The experience of the comparative study”, Musicologist: International journal of music studies8:2 (December 2024) 210–232. [RILM Abstracts of Music LiteratureRILM 2024-21387].

Considers the improved (or prima) models of the Central Asian bowed chordophones ķobyz (the Kazakh version) and ķyyak (Kyrgyz). The primaķobyz and primakyyak were invented in the 1930s and have not yet been widely studied. Similar instruments became widespread in many Turkic republics of Central Asia as part of the creation of folk orchestras. Later, musicians used them actively in ensemble and solo practice. Their popularity and available repertoire make it possible to study them more closely.

Khodzhaniiazov, Ihor. “Cobuz cumanicus: Reconstructing the instrument”, in Rabab, Rubeba, Rubāb: Fellbespannte Streichinstrumente im historischen und kulturellen Kontext [Rabāb, rubeba, rubāb: Skin-covered bowed string instruments in historical and cultural context], ed. by Thilo Hirsch, Marina Haiduk, and Thomas Gartmann. Ergon Verlag (Baden-Baden: 2025) 319–328.

The Cumans, also known as Kipchaks and Polovtsians, were a nomadic Turkic people who lived in the western Eurasian steppes from the 11th to the 14th centuries. Written sources, rare images, and archaeological artifacts document their main musical instrument, the ķobyz. Its traces appear in several folk traditions of the region, and related instruments include the South Asian sārindā and the Tibetan kokpo, among others. Researchers excavated two Cuman ķobyzes (dating from the 13th to 14th centuries) from archaeological sites in modern-day Ukraine and Russia and reconstructed them, though a lack of detail makes the results ambiguous. The ķobyz remains relatively unknown among other researchers and the public. New, detailed reconstructions of the ķobyz are proposed based on comparisons with a wide range of instruments. In addition, drawings of two reconstructed instruments are presented to better convey their structure. Another aim is to contextualize the ķobyz within similar traditions. This can help bolster our ideas about the instrument’s reconstruction and offer clues for reconstructing its repertoire.

Sajžan, Almat K̦arasaju̇ly. “Kazahskoe kobyzovoe ispolnitel’stvo: Problemy terminologii i applikaturnyh pozicij” [Kozakh ķobyz performance: The problems of terminology and fingering positions], Saryn art and science journal1:34 (March 2022) 15–22. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2022-18453].

The ķobyz is one of the oldest Kazakh instruments and one of the world’s earliest bowed chordophones. The traditional ķobyz is unique in that, unlike other Kazakh (wider Turkic) instruments, it has not evolved to the present day. To this day, it remains relevant in all spheres of Kazakh music. Moreover, this instrument is widely used both in solo and ensemble practice. The teaching methods of the Kazakh ķobyz school and techniques for playing traditional and modern works are examined, along with topical issues in ķobyz performance and ways to address them. A new approach to pedagogy and the development of performance techniques in general is proposed. Consideration of this technique will significantly facilitate mastering both the instrument itself and the performance of modern works, large forms, and parts in orchestras and ensembles. The traditional and modern ķobyz terminology is addressed. The ķobyz hand positions and fingering principles are seen from a new perspective. A comparative analysis of the teaching aids for playing string-bowed instruments is included. Its results were adapted and introduced into ķobyz performance practice.

Šaripbaeva, Aknar Tattibaevna. “Nositel’ tradicij muzykal’no-ispolnitel’skogo iskusstva v sociume: Na primere kazahskih kobyzistov i ukrainskih kobzarej” [The bearer of the music performance traditions in society: Example of Kazakh ķobyz players and Ukrainian kobza players], Opera musicologica: Naučnyj žurnal Sankt-Peterburgskoj konservatorii12/4:46 (2020) 92–112. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2020-14115].

Explores the functions of kobzars and ķobyz players in traditional society. The historical characteristics of the kobzar tradition, its genres, and its practices are described, with reference to the prominent ethnographers Filaret Kolessa and Taras Ševčenko. The Ukrainian kobza and the Kazakh ķobyz, it is argued, share a common Turkic origin. The activities of ķobyz players are characterized with reference to the work of the prominent ethnographers Alʹkej Xakanovič Margulan and Aleksandr Fëdorovič Ejxgorn. Examples of blind ķobyz players in Kazakh history, including Nyšan and Šože, are discussed, along with a lineage of ķobyz performers beginning with Yxlas Dukenov. Commonalities and differences in the historical development of folk performance traditions associated with the kobza and kobyz are explored, while the possibilities for supporting and reviving these traditional performance styles in modern society are considered.

The lahutë

Ahmedaja, Ardian. “The lahutë between everyday practice and symbolism”, Music in art: International journal for music iconography38/1-2 (2013) 144–160. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2013-8655].

The lahutë is a single-string fiddle used by Albanian lahutarë to accompany epic songs (kângë, kangë, and këngë). Its different images are influenced essentially by the connection with ideas of cultural heritage and national culture, particularly since the independence of the country in 1912. The instrument is made from a single piece of wood with a skin soundboard. The scroll on the neck of the lahutë can be shaped as a heart, a leaf, or a goat head with antlers, symbolizing the helmet of the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, known as Skanderbeg (Skënderbeu; 1405–68). The gusle, the same instrument used by the Albanians’ Slavic neighbors in Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which during the second half of the 20th century was decorated with likenesses of politicians and nationalistic symbolism, political figures or singers have rarely been portrayed on the lahutë neck. The lahutë’s bow is frequently made in the form of a serpent, possibly symbolizing the snake as a protector of the house. In the first half of the 20th century, the lahutë and the këngët e Mujit e Halilit (songs of Muji and Halili) accompanied by it became Albanian national symbols in public discussions, publications, and works of art. An example is the poem Lahuta e malcís (The highland lute, 1937) by the Roman Catholic priest Gjergj Fishta (1871–1940), where the instrument’s name represents the art of telling and the paean is based on songs accompanied by the lahutë, which the poet had learned from the highlanders living in northern Albania. The lahutë has no place, however, in Lyra shqiptare (1940) by Pjetër Dungu, the first Albanian melody collection, which contains music from the Albanian urban areas. Therefore, it is surprising to find with the melody no. 20 a drawing of a lahutar. Here, the instrument relates to traditional national culture broadly rather than illustrating a particular song or its origin. Understanding the lahutë as part of local musical practice gradually gained importance in the second half of the 20th century, although its everyday use decreased. The lahutë is also disappearing from television and radio programs and commercial recordings, despite its continued presence on the Internet, at folklore festivals, and at public gatherings of lahutarë, where only short song fragments are now played.

Ahmedaja, Ardian. “Songs with lahutë and their music”, in Balkan epic: Song, history, modernity, ed. by Philip V. Bohlman and Nada Petković. Scarecrow Press (Lanham: 2012) 101–132. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2012-911].

The songs with lahutë, also known as rapsodi because epic singers called rapsods sing them, are notable not only for their local presence in the Albanian-language repertories of the Balkans, but also for the multiple levels at which they represent local ritual and tradition. Performed by professionals at family and social gatherings, the songs with lahutë honor guests and invest ritual with celebratory functions. Rather than as single epic songs, the songs draw upon many different subgenres and subrepertories, most of which contain narratives about individual heroes and events in Albanian history. The rapsods often distinguish among different historical moments, for example, the earliest struggles over agricultural land, followed centuries later by conflicts between Christian and Muslim forces as the Ottoman Empire stretched across Albania. Musically, too, the Albanian epic songs show more local ballad traits than the Slavic repertories (e.g., verse structures), while also relying on more extensive, elaborate improvisation. Each rapsod employs his own melodic formulas and modal-harmonic structures, delaying the feeling of arriving at the tonic until strategic points at the beginning and end. So concentrated are the local and personal elements in the songs with lahutë that they have come to map very specific areas of historical and cultural exchange in northern Albania, as well as the areas of Albanian settlement in Kosovo and Montenegro, while distinguishing the ritual and history of those areas from the other regions of Albania, which have their own, albeit distinctive, repertories of traditional song.

Cestino, Giovanni. “Beyond the words: Framing non-verbal aspects in the performance of songs with lahuta”, Etnografie sonore/Sound ethnographies 5:1 (2022) 35–54. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2022-19116].

Scholars in epic studies have long recognized the relevance of various elements in epic singing that go beyond the verbal poem. Yet even though the field has already shifted from text to voice and from voice to singing, a voice-centered approach persists. Switching the perspective from (sung) voice to non-verbal aspects such as timbre, instrumental technique, and gesturality highlights how they relate to the voice and to one another. A Balkan repertoire of songs with lahutë and gusle is examined along with the impact of classical studies on new fieldwork data. The specific case of Kosovar singer Isa Elezi-Lekëgjekaj is discussed in detail and used as a model for mapping the non-verbal aspects of epic singing.

Čolović, Ivan, Dušan Mihailović,and Sanimir Resic. “Who owns the gusle? A contribution to research on the political history of a Balkan instrument”, in The Balkans in focus: Cultural boundaries of Europe, ed. by Sanimir Resic and Barbara Törnquist-Plewa. Nordic Academic Press (Lund: 2003) 59–81. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2003-42738].

Examines the Balkan folk musical instrument, the gusle, from a standpoint of political anthropology, with emphasis on political symbols, myths, rituals, and other forms of expression emerging from an imaginary political corpus.

Dietrich, Wolf. “The singing of Albanian heroic poetry”, in The oral epic: Performance and music, ed. by Karl Reichl. VWB: Verlag für Wissenschaft und Bildung (Berlin: 2000) 83–94. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2000-38436].

Examines not epic singing itself, but rather the music of the Roma groups in the country, using recordings made with a family in the village of Balldre, north of Lezhë. The epic tradition, the lahutë, the myths themselves, and musical performances are discussed.

Croatian guslar legend Mile Krajina performs with a gusle ornamented with a falcon head and a coat of arms, two Croatian national symbols.

Pettan, Svanibor. “Singing epic songs with bowed lute: A vignette from Croatia”, in Balkan epic: Song, history, modernity, ed. by Philip V. Bohlman and Nada Petković. Scarecrow Press (Lahman: 2012) 262–276. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2012-916].

Why do Roma, despite their central role in so many Balkan musical repertories, rarely sing epic songs accompanied by bowed lute in many parts of the region? Other minorities, as well as women, similarly perform within many Balkan traditions but far less frequently in epic traditions. These questions require considering how tradition does not simply exist but is created and maintained to meet different requisites of ownership. With epics, those requisites extend further still—to the ways in which ownership seemingly generates power, and power, in the post-Yugoslav arena, eventually leads to the nation and the state. The case study of Mile Krajina, a Croatian epic singer who moves between tradition and state politics, illustrates this process. As exceptional as that journey may appear, it is not unique, and the discussion concludes with a challenge to recognize the remixing of modern narratives in epics to include minorities and majorities, the powerless and the powerful.

RILM’s global network of institutional partners

RILM is recognized globally as a leading digital archive for music bibliography, built through collaboration among various international organizations, academic institutions, and cultural repositories. Its governance is anchored through joint sponsorship by four major societies: the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and Documentation Centres (IAML), the International Musicological Society (IMS), the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD), and the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM). Together, these organizations unite historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and popular music studies to preserve the world’s musical heritage.

RILM also collaborates with cultural and academic institutions around the world to document and preserve the diversity of global musical traditions. For instance, in India, the Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology (ARCE) focuses on South Asian musical traditions and research, while the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris specializes in Arab music and history. Partnerships with the National College of Arts in Lahore (India) and the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing (China) further expand global music scholarship by incorporating important regional research and perspectives.

Bases of RILM’s international committees and partnerships.

RILM also works with UNESCO as an accredited non-governmental organization and civil society partner dedicated to preserving and safeguarding the world’s musical heritage. In addition, colleges and universities worldwide subscribe to RILM’s resources. Although North American and European institutions constitute the majority of its subscribers, RILM also has a significant presence in countries such as Japan, South Africa, and China. Japan, for example, has developed its own digital database for collecting and publishing information on academic literature related to music in the country.

RILM’s interconnected framework effectively reduces regional and linguistic barriers in music research, facilitating global access to vital musical knowledge. By integrating localized expertise with a comprehensive digital infrastructure, RILM connects international societies, specialized archives, and national committees, enabling researchers to easily explore a wide range of musical genres–from 14^th century European polyphony to Punjabi folk music and contemporary hip hop.

A global instrument, a German tradition: Organ craftsmanship–A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The hydraulis of Dion (above), dating to the 1^st century B.C.E., is the world’s oldest surviving archaeological example of a pipe organ. Photo taken by RILM Executive Director Tina Frühauf while in Greece for the International Association of Music Libraries Congress (IAML) in June/July 2026. The hydraulis of Dion has been extensively discussed in the scholarly literature. For further reading, see *RILM Abstracts*.

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This post is the second in a series that features annotated bibliographies on performing arts inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. To promote open knowledge and preserve these traditions through scholarly writings, a monthly post is curated for Bibliolore over the course of the year.

The organ is a truly global instrument. Over the centuries, it has crossed seas and lands, finding a place in ceremonial contexts, in churches and synagogues, and later on in concert halls and movie theaters. Its earliest known ancestor, the hydraulis, was developed in Alexandria during the Hellenistic period. From there, the organ and the knowledge of organ building spread across the Mediterranean and beyond, as communities found new uses for the instrument, adapted its design, experimented with its possibilities, and responded to its distinct sound. By the eighth and ninth centuries, the organ reached Western Europe, where it was sometimes given as a gift to dignitaries, a gesture to establish or mend diplomatic ties among nations. In the medieval Islamic world, too, organs were known and used in centers such as Baghdad, Cairo, and Córdoba.

By the Middle Ages, the organ had become increasingly important in the Catholic churches of Europe. Its incorporation into liturgical practice developed over several centuries, with important early evidence emanating from Anglo-Saxon England as well as on the European continent. In the German-speaking lands, monasteries became important sites for the construction and development of organs. By the 15th and 16th centuries, numerous cities had emerged as centers of organ building and innovation. In the centuries that followed, German organ builders and craftsmen continued to make significant contributions to the instrument’s development, establishing a living tradition of craftsmanship. Even as this tradition remains deeply rooted in the region’s heritage, German organ builders transmitted their knowledge across borders, sharing their mechanical precision and musical artistry with the world.

RILM Abstracts includes tens of thousands of references to scholarship on the instrument’s music and construction in 51 languages, reflecting how this truly global instrument was adopted and adapted across geographies throughout the centuries. The database also includes rare sources featuring 80 references to the hydraulis organ, 313 to the theater organ, 40 to portative organs, and lesser-known references in Chinese, Japanese, and Afrikaans.

This annotated bibliography celebrates UNESCO’s inclusion of organ craftsmanship and music on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012 by presenting selected writings on German organ building from the 442 entries on the topic found in RILM Abstracts.

Check out a map of pipe organs in Germany and elsewhere. (https://pipeorganmap.com/map)

Annotated bibliography

Fidom, Hans. “Nederlandse orgelbouw in de vroege 20ste eeuw: Duite achtergrondeng” [Dutch organ building in the early 20th century: German backgrounds], Het orgel: Uitgave van de Koninklijke Nederlandse Organistenvereniging 97:5 (2001) 27–40. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2001-23570].

Dutch organ building traditionally followed developments in Germany and France. At the end of the 19th century, the German moderne orgel was particularly influential. Consequently, understanding Dutch organ building in this period requires examining developments in Germany. The roots of the German moderne orgel can be traced to the early 19th century, when organ building became rationalized. Georg Joseph (Abbé) Vogler presented his system of simplification, and Johann Gottlob Töpfer published his Lehrbuch der Orgelbaukunst. Organ builders such as Walcker followed Vogler, while others, including Ladegast, followed Töpfer. At the end of the 19th century, the modern organ appeared to be an instrument with one basic pitch (represented by the 8’ stops) and one basic tone color (which could be varied endlessly). Electro-pneumatic action and stop channel chests made this organ type possible. After 1900, the modern organ was modified by Oscar Walcker according to the ideas of Emil Rupp and Albert Schweitzer (Rupp named this the Alsacian Organ Reform), resulting in giant organs with relatively more pipes and mixtures and larger swell boxes than the modern organ. Following World War I, the Orgelbewegung, oriented toward Baroque organ culture, became important: Its leader, Christhard Mahrenholz, hoped to develop a contemporary organ type based on historical principles. In the Netherlands, however, the Alsacian Reform was not very influential. After the 1930s, the organ builder Flentrop seemed to make a strong Orgelbewegung-related statement with his new organs with slider chests, tracker action, and Baroque-like dispositions, but in the 1950s the Danish firm Marcussen received the important Dutch projects. After 1970, the “Scandinavian episode” made way for the historicism of many Dutch organ builders. Meanwhile, a contemporary organ style was developed abroad, based on the Alsacian Reform interpretation of the modern organ and some of the principles of the Orgelbewegung. Because these builders depend on research, they are related to historicizing organ builders: Both are rationalists.

Fischer, Hermann, and Theodor Wohnhaas. Georg Friedrich Steinmeyer (1819–1901) und sein Werk: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des bayerischen Orgelbaues im 19. Jahrhundert [Georg Friedrich Steinmeyer (1819–1901) and his work: A contribution to the history of Bavarian organ building in the 19th century], Das Musikinstrument (Frankfurt am Main: 1978). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1978-5827].

Georg Friedrich Steinmeyer, a pupil of Eberhard Friedrich Walcker in Ludwigsburg, founded his own organ workshop in Oettingen in 1847. Steinmeyer’s biography, the development of his workshop into a factory, the constructional features of his organs, their specifications, and the Steinmeyer facades are discussed. His co-workers, surveyors, and architects are also named. Steinmeyer’s oeuvre up to 1899 included 676 organs; they are arranged alphabetically and described briefly. Tables, sketches, and drawings of the facades are included. Special attention is given to Steinmeyer’s position in Bavarian organ building and to the history of 19th-century organ facades. A list of Bavarian builders is included. (abstract by Hermann Fischer)

Biographical organs in Germany: https://www.organ-biography.info/organs.php?id=vSPB

Frühauf, Tina. The organ and its music in German-Jewish culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2009-235].

Examines the presence of the organ in synagogue music and the musical life of German-speaking Jewish communities, chronicling the history of the organ in Jewish culture from the earliest references in the Talmud through the 19th century, when it had established a firm and lasting presence in Jewish sacred and secular spaces in central Europe. The introduction of the organ into German synagogues was part of the significant changes which took place in Judaism after the Enlightenment. Indeed, the organ became a symbol of the division of the Jewish community into Orthodox and Reform congregations. Newly composed organ music for Jewish liturgy, after this division, became part of a cross-cultural music tradition in the 19th- and 20th-century Germany, when a specific style of organ music developed, which combined elements of Western and Jewish cultures. Concluding with a discussion of the organ in Jewish communities in Israel and the U.S., the book presents in-depth case studies (analyses of selected organ works by Deutsch, Lewandowski, Samuel, and Würzburger), which illustrate how the organ has been utilized in the musical life of specific Jewish communities in the 20th century. The original German edition, Orgel und Orgelmusik in deutsch-jüdischer Kultur (Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 2005), is indexed in RILM Abstracts as well.

Hofner, Hans. “Der ostfränkische Orgelbau. Geschichte und Ausstrahlungen auf andere Orgellandschaften” [Organ building in East Franconia. Its history and effects upon other organ districts], Archiv für Geschichte von Oberfranken 52 (1972) 7–116. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1976-1476].

Traces the history of organ building in the former margravate of Bayreuth and illustrates how this style spread to Saxony, Thuringia, Coburg, Lower Franconia, and Württemberg. The biographies of the following organ builders are provided: Matthias Tretzscher of Kulmbach (1626–86), Tobias Dressel of Falkenstein/Buchholz (1635–1717), Johann and Adam Heinrich Gruber of Hof/Adorf (1690–1725), Daniel Felix Streit of Kulmbach (1619–1730), the Puruckers of Marktleuthen im Sechsämterland (1670–1730), the Leubes and Hollbeck of Hof/Zwickau (1650–1700), Graichen and Ritter of Hof/Erlangen (1739–65), Gottlob Hubert of Bayreuth/Ansbach (1714–93), and the Heidenreichs of Hof/Bayreuth (1741–1860). Thirty photographs of organ facades, documents, and seals, as well as 120 descriptions of dispositions, are included.

Kaliberda, Sergej. “Органы немецких колоний Причерноморья, или еще одна органная ‘Атлантида’” [The organs of the German colonies at the Black Sea, or, another organ Atlantis], Organ: Žurnal ob organnoj kul’ture 3-4:19:20 (2013) 21–27. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2013-17438].

Discusses the history of organs in the German colonies located between the Pìvdennyj Bug and Dnìpro rivers, which appeared after the Russo-Turkish War (1768–74) with permission from Empress Ekaterina II, Emperor Pavel I, and Emperor Aleksandr I. The history and disposition of the late–19th- and early–20th-century organs of the German firms Walcker and Steinmeyer in the Mykolaiv and Odesa areas, and in Ekaterinoslav are examined. Facsimile documents of the organ-building firms are included.

Kocourek, Jiří. “Orgelland Böhmen” [Organ country Bohemia], Ars organi: Internationale Zeitschrift für das Orgelwesen 57:1 (March 2009) 5–18. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2009-1111].

Traces the history of organ building in Bohemia from the 13th to the 20th century. The exchange between Czech and German organ building is considered, and the names of towns in the border region are given in both Czech and German. Characteristics of Bohemian organs are described, and an overview of known organ builders is provided.

Ladegast, Walter. Friedrich Ladegast: Der Orgelbauer von Weißenfels [Friedrich Ladegast: The organ builder from Weissenfels], Weidling (Stockach-Wahlwies: 1988). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1998-17613].

Friedrich Ladegast was one of the preeminent 19th-century organ builders. After a difficult start, he established himself in Weißenfels, where he built organs that still testify to his exceptional sense of sound and craft. Famous Ladegast organs are still to be heard in Merseburg, Köthen, Ronneburg, Wernigerode, Schwerin, Biederitz, Parum, Hermsdorf, Leipzig, Weißenfels, and Wittenberg, to name just the most important surviving instruments. All current information about Ladegast is presented in this first monograph on the subject. The many illustrations of his organs also reveal the visual variety of the instrument. In addition, a survey of Ladegast organs built before 1888, a map of locations, and a glossary of organ registers are included.

Lampl, Sixtus. “Orgeldenkmalpflege in Bayern” [Preservation of organs in Bavaria], Jahrbuch der bayerischen Denkmalpflege 38 (1990) 161–179. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1990-2058].

A survey of the development of organ building in southern Germany from the 17th to the 20th centuries, the builders and their workshops or factories, and the various mechanical systems and problems of their conservation and restoration. This is an enlarged version of a report given on the occasion of the inauguration of the St. George organ in Munich (Obermenzing) in July 1985.

Main organ of the St. Lorenz Church (Lorenzkirche), Nuremberg. With over 12,000 pipes and 165 registers, the organ stands as one of the largest organs in the world

Prost, Dietrich. “Der norddeutsche Orgelbau des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts auf dem Gebiet der DDR: Bestandsaufnahme, charakteristische Merkmale, Probleme der Werterhaltung” [North German organ building of the 17th and 18th centuries in East Germany: Inventory, characteristic features, and problems of conservation], Bericht über das 5. Symposium zu Fragen des Orgelbaus im 17.-18. Jahrhundert [Report on the 5th symposium on questions of organ building in the 17th and 18th centuries], ed. by Eitelfriedrich Thom. Kultur- und Forschungsstätte Michaelstein (Blankenburg: 1985) 19–123. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1985-5172].

Provides examples of instruments from the three periods of North German organ building during the 17th and 18th centuries. The 17th century was characterized by construction corresponding to antiphonal musical practice, while the following century was characterized by the concertato style, and the third by the Empfindsamer Stil.

Vlagsma, Auke H. “Andreas en Marten de Mare: Orgelmakers van de Renaissance. I: Inleiding en werken van Andreas de Mare” [Andreas and Marten de Mare: Organ builders of the Renaissance. I: Introduction and the works of Andreas de Mare], Het orgel: Tijdschrift van de Nederlandse Vereniging van Organisten en Kerkmusici 109:6 (2013) 36–41. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2013-12076].

After the Reformation in the 16th century, many organ builders left the Netherlands to seek work in Germany. One of these was Andreas de Mare from Gent, who had previously had enough work in the northern Netherlands because the Spanish troops, who hindered the Reformation, stayed in control there much longer—in Groningen, even until 1594. Andreas worked both in the city of Groningen and in the province. His work is known in the city (1558, the Der Aa-Kerk), in Midwolda between 1564 and 1566, and in 1578 in Zuidbroek. From 1566 to 1567, he expanded his work area to include the Lutheran region of Ostfriesland, where he built his first organ at St. Ludgeri in Norden. In 1577 to 78, he rebuilt the organ in the Grote Kerk of Emden with his son Marten. Later, they worked together in Verden, Bremen, and then in Hannover, Stadthagen, and Loccum. Andreas died in 1599. Marten became a citizen of Bremen in 1595. When the opportunities for work in Ostfriesland also diminished, the De Mares moved to Hannover. A list of Andreas de Mare’s works is provided.

Vogt, Franz-Josef, and Gabriel Isenberg. “Der Kölner Orgelbauer Ernst Seifert und sein Werkverzeichnis” [The Cologne organ builder Ernst Seifert and his catalog of works], Acta organologica 38 (2024) 179–366. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2024-27413].

Ernst Hubert Seifert was born on 9 May 1855 in Sülzdorf in the Thuringian district of Hildburghausen. After completing his training as an organ builder, he served as foreman for Franz Wilhelm Sonreck in Cologne and for Clemens Schneider in Mudersbach. It was during this period that Seifert developed his first purely pneumatic wind chest system (“communication chest”), which was later patented. At the beginning of 1885, Seifert established his own organ building company in Cologne-Mannsfeld. While the sound quality of his instruments undoubtedly adhered to the spirit of the times at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, it is remarkable how certain Ernst Seifert must have been of the function of his pneumatic system, which he used exclusively from the start. One of the most important instruments from Seifert’s workshop is the large, recently restored organ in the Marienbasilika in Kevelaer. Built in 1907, this instrument remains one of the most important examples of late–Romantic-period organ building in Germany and was the basis for the opening of a Seifert’s branch in Kevelaer. Only a small number of the instruments from the company founder’s time have survived. It is therefore critical to care for the few remaining Seifert organs from this era that have been preserved unchanged, including the small organ (restored in 2022) located in Seifert’s birthplace of Sülzdorf. The handwritten catalog of works compiled by Ernst Seifert lists a total of 209 instruments that were built between 1885 and 1914. The information in the catalog is transcribed and commented on in detail. Important findings on the prehistory of Seifert organs have also been added, and details on the instruments’ subsequent development have been compiled. Such detailed information provides insights into the construction and disposition of Seifert’s instruments. The fifth generation of the Romanus Seifert family branch of the company still operates in Kevelaer today.

Voigt, Markus. “Orgelbouw en “Orgelbewegung” in de DDR” [Organ building and the Orgelbewegung in the German Democratic Republic], Het orgel: Tijdschrift van de Nederlandse Vereniging van Organisten en Kerkmusici105:5 (2009) 26–43. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2009-19576].

The organ culture of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) can only be understood against the background of economic, political, and ideological circumstances. Organ-building firms (including four state firms and 17 private firms), employing 250 people, were organized into the Artikelgruppe Orgelbau in 1981. The firms were strongly dependent on each other, and there was no competition: The only relevant factors were the shared need to acquire materials and to get along collectively with the socialist government. To judge the style of life and standard of living in East Germany, it is essential to consider the subtle influence that the government, particularly the Ministry for State Security (Ministerium für Staatssicherheit, Stasi), exerted on citizens. The true tragedy lies in the ongoing struggle between intellectuals and the highest levels of government. Many highly placed employees of organ-building firms were involved in this struggle. The churches, as main clients of the organ-building firms, played an important role at the end of the DDR as key supporters of the opposition, in which employees from the organ-building branch participated. Organ-building firms functioned as a reservoir of people working and living creatively who–without theological or (church-)musical diplomas–attempted to escape the narrow limits of socialist life. The marked rise in interest among citizens (especially the younger generation) in organs and organ concerts at the beginning of the 1970s was closely related to the advanced process of secularization imposed by the state. At the same time, the intellectual Marxist dogmas were apparently unable to satisfy people’s emotional and religious needs, and organ concerts filled the gap. Great interest among members of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED, Socialist Unity Party) led the government to build concert halls with new organs. This solved the dilemma faced by SED members, who had to visit church buildings to hear an organ concert. By placing organs not in churches but in concert halls, a statement was also made that the instrument, despite its association with religion, could still find a place in socialist art.

Windelen, Magnus, and Markus Zimmermann. “Wie geht es weiter?: Firmenübernahmen im Orgelbau—Risiken und Nebenwirkungen” [What happens next? Company takeovers in organ building—Risks and side effects], Organ: Journal für die Orgel 26:4 (2023) 10–13. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 2023-17480].

In the next ten years, of the 300 or so workshops in Germany currently involved in organ building, around half are expected to see changes in management or ownership structures. These mostly small or micro-enterprises have often been family-run for generations and have accumulated enormous specialist knowledge. Risks and potential advantages of the different possibilities—takeover from within the family, takeover from outside, takeover through a distribution of shareholdings—are considered.

Wohnhaas, Theodor, and Hermann Fischer. “Sieben Jahrhunderte Nürnberger Orgelbau” [Seven centuries of Nuremberg organ building],Der “schöne” Klang: Studien zum historischen Musikinstrumentenbau in Deutschland und Japan unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des alten Nürnberg [The “beautiful” sound: Studies in the history of music instrument building in Germany and Japan, with special consideration of old Nuremberg], eds. by G. Ulrich Grossmann and Dieter Krickeberg. Germanisches Nationalmuseum (Nürnberg: 1996) 158–170. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature RILM 1996-5376].

Offers a history of organ building in Nuremberg. First, it introduces the builders themselves, from the late Middle Ages to the present, both citizens of the imperial city and residents, with particular attention to the office of municipal organ builder. Second, it takes up the history of the organs in the various churches of Nuremberg within the historical boundaries of the imperial city. An extensive bibliography is appended.

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Tagged as church organ, Germany, intangible cultural heritage, Organ, Organ builders, RILM annotated bibliographies, UNESCO

by rilm | February 17, 2026 · 6:00 am

RILM’s global mission and its expansion in 2024

RILM has long been committed to documenting, safeguarding, and preserving the world’s knowledge about all musical traditions, and to making this knowledge accessible to research and performance communities worldwide via digital collections and advanced tools. RILM’s collections aim to include the music scholarship of all countries, in all languages, and across all disciplinary and cultural boundaries, thereby fostering research in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. In recent years, RILM has launched various full-text resources and developed the Egret platform, enhancing its technological capabilities. The recent addition of DEUMM Online to RILM’s suite of resources, as well as the RILM Archive of Popular Music Magazines (RAPMM) in the Summer of 2025, further solidifies its key position in the music research sector.

In 2024, RILM received accreditation from UNESCO to provide advisory services to the Committee of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The following year, it was further recognized as a civil society partner under the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. These distinctions confer upon RILM an expanded responsibility that extends beyond dissemination and documentation, emphasizing its role in safeguarding and preserving all forms of musical knowledge in written form. The UNESCO accreditation also creates new opportunities for the organization, which has already demonstrated its global reach and expertise through participation in the UNESCO World Conference on Culture and Arts Education 2024.

Partnerships with institutions such as the National College of Arts in Lahore, the Institut du monde arabe in Paris, and the Central Conservatory in Beijing underscore RILM’s commitment to inclusivity and diversity. These collaborations ensure that RILM’s collections encompass music scholarship from all countries, in all languages, and across cultural boundaries.

From its beginnings nearly 60 years ago, RILM modeled itself on a United Nations-like structure whereby international committees were established to provide the organization with the information it would need to make its bibliography truly international. This endeavor and the internationalization that has come with it, has been rare in the humanities then and now.

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Tagged as global networks, Institut du Monde Arabe, RILM, RILM 60th anniversary, UNESCO

by rilm | October 17, 2025 · 6:00 am

Intangible cultural heritage: An annotated bibliography

In celebration of UNESCO’s International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) on 17 October, RILM presents a selective annotated bibliography from over 1,000 writings highlighting influential scholarly writings on the subject. Spanning topics from cultural politics and policy to preservation strategies and research methodologies, the selection underscores the global impact of ICH practices on musical traditions–particularly through efforts to rescue, preserve, and perform them. ICH has increasingly been used in music studies to describe the nonmaterial aspects of cultural traditions that are passed down through music, dance, oral traditions, and rituals. According to UNESCO, ICH encompasses “the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills–as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith–that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.” Communities across the globe recognize living heritage as a core part of their cultural identity, continuously recreated in response to their environment and historical context.

Examples of ICH include oral traditions (languages, folklore, storytelling), performing arts (music, dance, theater, puppetry), social practices, and rituals (festivals, religious ceremonies, rites of passage), traditional craftsmanship, and knowledge systems related to nature or cosmology. ICH is not limited to inherited traditions; it also encompasses contemporary cultural expressions in both rural and urban settings. These practices foster a sense of identity and continuity, support social cohesion, and contribute to sustainable development and economic resilience, ensuring their transmission to future generations.

Puppet theater of Slovakia and Czechia. Photo courtesy of UNESCO.

In the field of music studies, ICH underscores the significance of preserving and documenting musical traditions that are transmitted orally or through performance rather than written or recorded forms. These traditions encompass folk music, traditional song structures, and distinctive musical techniques rooted in local cultural contexts. Recognizing its growing relevance, RILM adopted ICH as an indexing headword in 2022, using the term to index the preservation of nonmaterial cultural phenomena, aligning with UNESCO’s definition. RILM now uses ICH to index performing arts traditions across various countries and to document practices related to conservation, restoration, cultural policy, festivals, language, and thematic areas such as collective memory and cultural sustainability.

This selective annotated bibliography reflects the intersection of ICH imperatives within RILM’s mission to document, safeguard, and preserve the world’s knowledge about all musical traditions, and to make this knowledge accessible to research and performance communities worldwide via digital collections and advanced tools. RILM’s collections include the music scholarship of all countries, in all languages, and across all disciplinary and cultural boundaries, thereby fostering research in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

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Miguel Molina, Blanca de, et al., ed. Music as intangible cultural heritage: Economic, cultural and social identity (Cham: Springer, 2021). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2021-13178]

Abstract: Offers an interdisciplinary perspective and presents various case studies on music as intangible cultural heritage, highlighting the importance and functionality of music to stimulate social innovation and entrepreneurship. To understand the relationship between immaterial and material uses and inherent cultural landscapes, this volume analyzes the symbolic, political, and economic dimensions of music. The case studies highlight the continuity and current functionality of these artistic forms of expression as well as their lively and changing character in continuous transformation.

You, Ziying. Folk literati, contested tradition, and heritage in contemporary China: Incense is kept burning (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2020). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2020-59339]

Abstract: Explores the role of folk literati in shaping, preserving, and negotiating local cultural heritage. Building on the concept of the elite literati—a well-documented pre-modern Chinese social class influential in cultural production—the research defines folk literati as individuals proficient in classical Chinese, deeply familiar with local traditions, and capable of articulating them through writing. These figures serve as custodians of cultural continuity, a notion locally expressed through the vernacular phrase, “incense is kept burning.” Centered on several villages in Hongtong county, Shanxi province, the study employs oral interviews, participant observation, and textual analysis to reveal how folk literati sustain traditional practices and perpetuate stigmatized beliefs within their communities. The research highlights the contributions of eight folk literati who have actively reinterpreted and negotiated worship traditions surrounding the ancient sage-kings Yao and Shun, along with Ehuang and Nüying–Yao’s daughters and Shun’s wives. Their complex interpersonal dynamics have influenced the evolution of local myths, legends, and historical narratives, shaping the preservation of tradition in meaningful ways. These practices are examined within the broader framework of Chinese cultural policy and UNESCO’s ICH program, illustrating how global and national discourses intersect with grassroots efforts to maintain and redefine living heritage.

Qi, Yi, ed. Xiaogu chunshe: Jing Jin Ji yinyue lei feiwuzhi wenhua yichan jicheng—Xiongxian juan. Xiaogu chunshe: Jing Jin Ji yinyue lei feiwuzhi wenhua yichan jicheng (Baoding: Hebei Daxue Chubanshe/Hebei University Press; Shijiazhuang: Fangyuan Dianzi Yinxiang Chubanshe, 2020). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2020-68880]

Abstract: The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region boasts a rich array of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), with numerous musical traditions listed on the national ICH registry. Since 2015, a collaborative team of scholars from Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei has undertaken comprehensive ethnomusicological fieldwork, focusing on the documentation of the region’s musical ICH in Xiong county, Hebei province. Their research, grounded in principles of authenticity, thoroughness, and systematic documentation, covers a wide range of traditional musical forms. This includes folk instrumental ensembles like yinyuehui, nanyuehui, shifanhui, chaozihui, and chuidahui; quyi traditions such as Hebei bangzi, pingju, jingju, and local genres like shangsidiao and yunchehui; as well as traditions like xihe dagu and traditional song-and-dance forms including gaoqiao, yangge, wulong, and wushi. Their extensive collection of performance videos, vocal renditions, ritual documentation, interviews, and images of musicians, instruments, scores, and props–alongside written materials–offers a vivid snapshot of traditional music in contemporary folk life. Drawing on this first-hand fieldwork, the scholars have organized their findings into research papers and field notes, supplemented by documentary sources. These materials collectively present a true representation of traditional music, shedding light on its significant artistic and cultural value.

Akagawa, Natsuko and Laurajane Smith. Safeguarding intangible heritage: Practices and politics (Abingdon: Routledge, 2018). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2018-57263]

Abstract: The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into force in 2006 (after the 2003 Convention), framing the international and national practices and policies associated with intangible cultural heritage. These practices and policies are critically examined, providing an accessible account of the different ways in which intangible cultural heritage has been defined and managed in both national and international contexts. The concept and practices of safeguarding are complicated and often contested, and there is a need for international debate about the meaning, nature, and value of heritage and what it means to safeguard it. A significant cross section of ideas and practices is provided by some of the key academics and practitioners working in the area, whose areas of expertise span anthropology, law, heritage studies, linguistics, archaeology, museum studies, folklore, architecture, Indigenous studies, and history. An overarching analysis of international policy and practice critically frames case studies analyzing practices from a range of countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand, Taiwan, the U.K., and Zimbabwe.

Broclain, Elsa, Benoît Haug, and Pénélope Patrix, eds. Transposition: Musique et sciences sociales VIII (2019): Musique: Patrimoine immatériel? [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2019-24678]

French Abstract: La musique occupe une place de choix au sein du Patrimoine Culturel Immatériel (PCI) de l’humanité tel que le répertorie l’UNESCO depuis sa Convention de sauvegarde de 2003. Plus largement, au-delà des Nations-Unies, le « patrimoine immatériel » semble être devenu le paradigme dominant dans les actions de patrimonialisation et de valorisation des pratiques musicales à l’échelle internationale. Devant l’ampleur de ce phénomène, il s’agit d’engager une approche transnationale et comparative des rapports entre musique et « patrimoine immatériel ». En s’intéressant aux façons dont cette notion (et/ou l’appareil patrimonial qui l’accompagne) est mise en oeuvre, reformulée ou contestée sur le terrain, et à ses interactions avec d’autres catégories et modalités d’action en usage, ce numéro de Transposition propose donc de se demander: que fait le PCI à la musique et, inversement, que fait la musique au PCI? La majorité des études réunies ici s’intéressent à des pratiques inscrites sur les listes de l’UNESCO, qui font l’objet de programmes de sauvegarde entamés depuis plusieurs années déjà. Ces situations « post-patrimoniales » y sont examinées dans leur diversité. D’autres articles nous plongent dans le vif du montage d’un dossier d’inscription, et s’interrogent sur les difficultés et les possibles conséquences de la mise en patrimoine d’une pratique musicale. Certaines des pratiques étudiées ne sont pas candidates auprès de l’UNESCO, mais sont inscrites dans des régimes de patrimonialisation locaux qui reprennent les désignations et certains modes d’action et outils afférents au PCI. Enfin, la voix est donnée à des actions de patrimonialisation distinctes ou contestataires. La singularité de la musique au sein du PCI s’esquisse alors sur trois axes principaux: celui de l’« immatérialité » de la musique prise dans ces processus de patrimonialisation ; celui des rapports spécifiques qui s’y articulent entre musique, politique et territoire, notamment au regard de pratiques subalternes ; enfin, celui du caractère performatif des constructions patrimoniales en jeu, saisies comme des fictions opératoires.

English abstract: Music holds a key place in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity as inventoried by UNESCO since its 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH. More broadly, beyond the United Nations, intangible heritage seems to have become the dominant paradigm in processes of heritage making and the recognition of music practices at the international level. Given the vast scope of this phenomenon, the aim here is to initiate a transnational, comparative approach to the relations between music and intangible heritage. Looking at the ways in which this notion–or the heritage apparatus that comes with it–is implemented, reformulated or contested in the field, and at its interactions with other categories and modes of action in use, we are invited to ask: what does ICH do to music and, conversely, what does music do to ICH? Most of the case studies here address the practices inscribed on the UNESCO lists, which are the subject of safeguarding programs already in effect for some years. These “post-heritage” contexts are analyzed in their diversity, while other discussions delve into the complexities of preparing ICH applications, revealing the challenges and implications of formalizing musical traditions as heritage. Some practices, though not UNESCO-listed, engage with local heritage-making systems that adopt ICH terminology and tools. Additionally, the study highlights alternative heritage-making efforts, including those used as forms of protest or resistance. The unique position of music in ICH can be summed up in three recurring themes: the intangibility of music caught up in these heritage-making processes; the specific intersections between music, power dynamics, and territory in this context, particularly regarding subaltern practices; and the performative nature of the heritage constructions at play, conceived as operative fictions.

Meeker, Lauren. Sounding out heritage: Cultural politics and the social practice of quan họ folk song in northern Vietnam. Southeast Asia: Politics, meaning, memory (Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2013). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2013-10998]

Abstract: Explores the cultural politics that have shaped the recent history and evolving practice of quan họ, a distinctive style of folk song originating in Bắc Ninh province, northern Vietnam. Tracing its transformation over the past 60 years–from a village-based tradition to a professionalized performance art–the research offers a richly contextualized ethnographic account of the quan họ soundscape. By weaving together analyses of folk music, cultural nationalism, and heritage discourse, it reveals how quan họ has been redefined through shifting social practices and institutional recognition. Village practitioners–ordinary individuals who sang quan họ for personal and communal enjoyment–have had to navigate growing external attention and their designation as “living treasures”. Meanwhile, professional performers, with distinct styles and representational approaches, have been integrated into the quan họ landscape to promote Bắc Ninh’s cultural identity on a national stage. The study highlights the nuanced politics of rescuing, preserving, and performing folk music, demonstrating how traditions can be consciously reframed as heritage and elevated to national icon status. Quan họ’s inscription on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 further complicated the dynamic between village and professional expressions, raising critical questions about authority, representation, and authenticity in international heritage discourse. Ultimately, this research illustrates how cultural politics shape the meanings and practices of quan họ, showing that a tradition may carry multiple significances for different communities.

Quan họ folk songs of Bắc Ninh province, Vietnam.

Norton, Barley and Naomi Matsumoto, eds. Music as heritage: Historical and ethnographic perspectives. SOAS musicology (Abingdon: Routledge, 2019). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2019-714]

Abstract: As economic, technological, and cultural change gathers pace across the world, issues of music heritage and sustainability have become ever more pressing. Discourse on intangible cultural heritage has developed in complex ways in recent years, and musical practices have been transformed by safeguarding agendas. Taking stock of these transformations, new ethnographic and historical perspectives are brought together to bear on encounters with music heritage. The cultural politics, ethics, and audiovisual representation of music heritage; the methods and consequences of music transmission across national borders; and the perennial issues of revival, change and innovation are evaluated. UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage provides an essential reference point for studies of music heritage. However, there are also important spheres of musical activity that lie outside of UNESCO’s reach and the reasons why some repertoires of music are chosen for safeguarding while others are not. Some practices of art music in Europe explored here have received little attention despite being susceptible to endangerment. Developing a comparative framework that cuts across genre distinctions and disciplinary boundaries, the study explores how music cultures are being affected by heritage discourse and the impact of international and national policies on grassroots music practices.

Pätzold, Uwe U. “Turutlah ilmu padi: Semakin berisi semakin merunduk”–Über den “Reifungsprozess” des traditionellen Pencak Silat zum neuem Bestandteil des UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage-Weltkulturerbes”, KITA: Das Magazin der Deutsch-Indonesischen Gesellschaft II/3 (2020) 173–184. [RILM Abstracts of Music of Literature, 2020-67353]

German Abstract: Am 12. Dezember 2019 wurden sowohl die „Traditions of Pencak Silat“ (Tradisi Pencak Silat) Indonesiens als auch das “Silat Malaysia” (Seni Persilatan Melayu) in die „Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” (ICH)-Programm der UNESCO aufgenommen. Der Bericht zeigt, mit einem Fokus auf den indonesischen Antrag, detailliert auf wie es hierzu kam, welche Erfordernisse, Wünsche, Hoffnungen, Ideen, Initiativen, Reflektionen und Verantwortlichkeiten seitens der Träger in den jeweiligen indonesischen Kulturen mit der schließlichen Anerkennung seitens der UNESCO einhergehen, und welche Bedeutung diese Anerkennung für alle Beteiligten haben kann. Der Autor hat diesen Prozess als passiver Beobachter seit 2014 begleitet.

English Abstract: On 12 December 2019, Indonesia’s traditions of pencak silat and silat were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. The process leading to this recognition is explored, focusing on Indonesia’s application and the various aspects involved–such as the requirements, hopes, ideas, initiatives, reflections, and responsibilities of the cultural stakeholders. This culminated in UNESCO’s acknowledgment of pencak silat as a vital part of Indonesia’s intangible cultural heritage. The significance of this recognition is highlighted, not only for the communities directly involved but also for the broader cultural landscape of Indonesia.

Indonesian pencak silat practitioners. Photo courtesy of UNESCO.

A short video describing the traditions of pencak silat.

Planke, Terje, Anne Kristin Moe, and Thomas Michael Walle, eds. By og bygd 47 (2018): Immateriell kulturarv på museum. [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2018-52212]

Abstract: Explores how Norwegian museums engage with intangible cultural heritage, particularly in traditional music and dance. Historically, museums have been closely tied to the preservation of tangible cultural materials, yet they now play a growing role in safeguarding intangible heritage as well. The impact of the UNESCO 2003 Convention’s introduction of the concept of intangible cultural heritage on museum practices in Norway is discussed. While there are no definitive criteria for determining which cultural expressions should be protected, the notion of heritage increasingly emphasizes intergenerational transmission. The case studies also highlight a linguistic complication: the term “intangible” has been translated into Norwegian as “immaterial”, creating a problematic dichotomy. Cultural expressions, though not always physically fixed, possess form and substance; objects and crafts often embody ideas and knowledge. In this sense, the museum’s evolving role in protecting and educating differs from its previous focus on preserving and conserving. By repositioning practitioners as custodians of cultural competence, the 2003 Convention marks a significant shift in the museum’s authority. It is no longer assumed that expertise resides solely within the institution, even though many museums have long collaborated with skilled culture bearers.

Roda, Jessica. “Des Judéo-espagnols à la machine unesquienne: Enjeux et défis de la patrimonialisation musicale”, Cahiers d’ethnomusicologie XXIV (2011) 123–141. [RILM Abstracts of Music of Literature, 2011-25833]

French abstract: À travers l’expérience d’une « participation observante » au sein de la section du Patrimoine culturel immatériel (PCI) au siège de l’Unesco à Paris, cet article vise à saisir les enjeux éthiques de cette nouvelle machine patrimoniale institutionnelle qui fait tant couler d’encre. Les débats et les discussions qui animent le processus autour de la liste représentative de la Convention de 2003 pour la sauvegarde du PCI sont mis en exergue, en prenant à témoin la première réunion de l’Organe subsidiaire qui a eu lieu en mai 2009. Plusieurs tensions et paradoxes de l’entreprise patrimoniale émergent, notamment les controverses autour de la notion de patrimoine, l’utilitarisme de la culture, et l’évidente modification du statut des pratiques culturelles qui acquièrent le label UNESCO.

English abstract: Draws on participant observation within the intangible cultural heritage sector at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to examine the ethical complexities of an increasingly prominent institutional patrimonial framework. Anchored in the deliberations surrounding the Representative List established by the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the research focuses particularly on the inaugural meeting of the subsidiary committee held in May 2009. Through this vantage point, the study reveals the tensions and contradictions embedded in the patrimonialization process–highlighting debates over the definition of heritage, the instrumentalization of culture, and the transformative impact of UNESCO recognition on the status and meaning of cultural practices.

Howard, Keith D. ed. Music as intangible cultural heritage: Policy, ideology, and practice in the preservation of East Asian traditions. SOAS musicology series (Farnham: Ashgate, 2012). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2012-6417]

Abstract: Examines the policy frameworks, ideological underpinnings, and practical approaches to the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in East Asia. For the first time, Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan—pioneering states in legislating and institutionalizing Indigenous traditions—are analyzed collectively. The growing urgency to safeguard ICH, amplified by increasing UNESCO involvement, reflects a regional response to the perceived erosion of cultural diversity driven by globalization, modernization, urbanization, and mass media proliferation. The research offers a foundational overview of state-level policies and practices related to musical ICH in each country, complemented by a series of ethnographically grounded case studies. These include traditions ranging from Confucian ritual and Kam big song to the Okinawan sanshin, illustrating how policy implementation has shaped musical heritage. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the case studies present both insider and outsider perspectives, critically engaging with the intersections of policy, ideology, and practice.

Hafstein, Valdimar Tr. Making intangible heritage: El condor pasa and other stories from UNESCO (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2018). [RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2018-54282]

Abstract: Recounts the development of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Convention through the lived experiences of a folklorist and official delegate, offering an ethnographic perspective that moves beyond formal narratives. It reveals the institutional dynamics of UNESCO, the evolving concept of ICH, and their global implications. In addition to accounts of compromise and solidarity, the research exposes the behind-the-scenes diplomacy—alliances forged and dissolved, moments of confrontation and resistance—that shaped both the 2003 Convention and the conceptual framework of intangible heritage. The study explores the internal narratives circulating within UNESCO about the origins of ICH, examining how these stories construct coherence, highlight contrasts, and serve as guiding frameworks for action at both international and local levels. By viewing UNESCO through an ethnographic lens, the research demonstrates how folklore concepts migrate beyond academia, influencing global policy and reshaping how communities understand and enact their cultural practices. Case studies range from the Jemaa el-Fna marketplace in Marrakech to the Ise shrine in Japan, illustrating the multifaceted outcomes of safeguarding intangible heritage. These include the creation of heritage lists, the revitalization of festivals, the emergence of new community identities, and the orchestration of cultural difference in contemporary societies. The study critically engages with both the positive and problematic outcomes of heritage-making, offering a nuanced account of how global frameworks intersect with local societies.

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Filed under Dance, Dramatic arts, Resources, RILM, World music

Tagged as craftsmanship, instrument restoration, intangible cultural heritage, nonmaterial, oral traditions, performing arts, preservation, RILM annotated bibliographies, Ritual, social practices, UNESCO

by rilm | August 22, 2025 · 6:00 am

International Day for the remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition (23 August)

This Saturday, 23 August, is UNESCO’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, which seeks to “inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples”. The date coincides with the 1791 uprising in Saint Domingue, today the Republic of Haiti, that so heavily impacted the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. In regions like the Caribbean, northern South America, and Brazil, music and culture have been deeply shaped by the historical conditions of African slavery and fusion and syncretization that arose from European colonialism. Today, the Afro-Latin musical roots of genres such as salsa, Cuban son, Brazilian samba and bossa nova, Dominican merengue, and Panamanian and Puerto Rican reggaetón, among many others, continue to echo the enduring legacy of slavery in the Americas.

To observe the International Day, read the entry on slavery in Ilan Stavans’s Latin music: Musicians, genres, and themes, which traces the abhorrent practice globally, with a detailed section on the Haitian Revolution, the first and only successful slave rebellion to dismantle the plantation system and achieve political independence. The rebellion reverberated across the New World and sparked a wave of newfound consciousness and hope among Black populations throughout the Americas, while simultaneously triggering reactionary and often violent responses from European and criollo planters and other ruling elites.

*Prise de la Ravine-à-Couleuvres* (Capture of the Ravine-à-Couleuvres, 23 February 1802), by Karl Girardet, engraved by Jean-Jacques Outhwaite.

Latin music: Musicians, genres, and themes provides an in-depth exploration of the rich and diverse world of Latin American music, examining its history, cultural significance, and the wide range of genres it encompasses. Spanning five centuries and 25 countries, the encyclopedia, covers the evolution of Latin music from its roots in Indigenous, African, and European traditions to its contemporary global influence. It offers detailed profiles of influential musicians, including iconic figures such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Placido Domingo, and Carlos Santana, shedding light on their contributions to the development of Latin music and their lasting legacies. The two volumes delve into key genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, tango, and reggaetón, discussing their origins, stylistic characteristics, and cultural impact across different Latin American countries and communities. In addition to genre exploration, Latin music touches on broader themes of identity, migration, and the ways in which Latin music has become a vehicle for social and political expression. The encyclopedia’s 244 entries also include sociopolitical factors that have shaped Latin American music’s growth and dissemination. This is a key resource for music researchers looking to understand the musical traditions, key figures, and cultural contexts that have defined music in Latin America and its enduring global appeal.

Find the entry on slavery written by Ruthie Meadows in Latin music: Musicians, genres, and themes located in RILM Music Encyclopedias.

The first image is of Sexteto Habanero (circa 1925), an early Cuban son band from Havana, Cuba.

Improvisation schemas and the Turkmen dutar

The Turkmen dutar is a long-necked, two-stringed lute distinguished by its pear-shaped resonating body and thin wooden soundboard. Both the body and soundboard are carved from mulberry wood, while the neck is crafted from the dried trunk of an apricot tree. To construct the instrument, the mulberry wood is carefully rounded, hollowed out, and polished to shape the body. The soundboard wood undergoes a drying process—baked for up to 24 hours to eliminate moisture—before being affixed over the hollowed chamber using traditional bone glue. Traditionally tuned a fourth apart, its two strings serve distinct musical functions: the higher-pitched string carries the primary melody, while the lower-pitched string is often muted by the thumb of the playing hand to produce a shifting parallel melody. Alternatively, the lower string may ring open to function as a drone in certain pieces or passages. Believed to descend from ancient Babylonian and Egyptian lutes, the dutar today is primarily used to accompany Turkmen bards known as bagşy (or bakshy). In the south central Ahal region of Turkmenistan, however, dutar players have cultivated a solo instrumental repertoire. Historically passed down orally, this body of music has, in recent decades, seen partial transcription into a modified form of Western notation for pedagogical purposes. Formally sophisticated and largely through-composed, the repertoire still allows space for variation and interpretive flexibility.

Oghlan Bakhshi (middle), a virtuoso Turkmen dutar player, performs with his group.

In Turkmen music, the term hasap, which literally means account or reckoning, carries a range of other nuanced meanings. In everyday use, one might request a hasap when settling a bill at a restaurant or inquiring about the score of a game. Within musical contexts, hasap denotes various interpretive and structural concepts. Musicians may refer to a particular master’s hasap for a given piece, or more generally to the shared hasap of a composition. Along with related terms such as nusga, forma, and skema, hasap can indicate a skeletal melodic framework that individual performers elaborate through ornamentation and stylistic variation. Comparative transcriptions of extended passages–whether interpreted by multiple dutar players or revisited by the same performer–often reveal consistency in underlying structure, with variation appearing primarily in melodic embellishment, rhythmic phrasing, and the treatment of the lower string.

Excerpt from the song *Balsaýat*, transcribed by Ýazmyrat Rejepow.

Turkmen dutar players navigate the dual imperative to both preserve and creatively reinterpret traditional repertoire. To do so, they draw on a repertoire of internalized formulas, compositional schemas, and aesthetic principles to generate new musical material–whether in improvisation or composition. These strategies parallel those found in other music traditions, such as Hindustani music, Persian classical music, and jazz, where deep immersion in a musical system enables spontaneous creativity within established boundaries. Like Persian musicians who internalize the radif through prolonged apprenticeship, Turkmen performers absorb such frameworks, often without formal codification. Turkmen dutar players, however, tend to reapply these principles not just in improvisatory spaces, but within the reinterpretation of the inherited compositions themselves.

This according to “Principles of transmission and collective composition in Turkmen dutar performance” by David Fossum (Analytical approaches to world musics 5/2 [2017] 37 p.; RILM Abstracts with Full Text, 2017-43691) and the entry on the dutar in Musical instruments: A comprehensive dictionary (1964); find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias.

The Turkmen dutar is on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Below, Oghlan Bakhshi performs the traditional Turkmen song Boy bibi. The video after it, created by UNESCO, is on dutar making and performance.

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Filed under Asia, Ethnomusicology, Instruments, Nature, World music

Tagged as Central Asia, dutar, hasap, Improvisation, Instruments, Lute, repertoire, transmission, Turkmenistan, UNESCO

by rilm | June 18, 2025 · 6:00 am

Francis Bebey globalizes African music

The Cameroonian composer, writer, sculptor, and musicologist Francis Bebey was widely recognized as one of Africa’s foremost songwriters. His talent, however, reached far beyond music. Bebey earned a B.S. in mathematics from a college in Douala and later pursued further education at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he was deeply influenced by classical guitarist Andrés Segovia. He studied broadcasting at the Studio-école de la Radiodiffusion Outre-Mer in Paris and at New York University. Although known mostly for his literary work, Bebey was also an accomplished classical guitarist and composer. His musical journey began in his youth with a band in Cameroon, where he composed original music noted for its poetic lyrics and emotive vocal delivery. By 1967, he had recorded several pieces and performed in major cultural hubs, including New York City, Paris, and across Africa. His style was notably experimental, blending elements of Latin American, Western, and African musical traditions with rolling synthesizer patterns looped over drum machines. Among his most acclaimed recordings are Akwaaba (1985), Amaya (1987), and Dibiye (1998).

Francis Bebey toured extensively across the United States, Canada, Europe, and Africa, offering solo recitals and lecture concerts. His repertoire was a blend of African folk songs and original compositions, often rooted in traditional African musical elements. Among his most acclaimed works are The Ashanti doll is sleeping (1967), Black tears (1963)–a wordless poem dedicated to the participants of the March on Washington, D.C.–The Poet’s virile prayer (1973), which features text by Aimé Césaire, and Concert for an old mask (1965).

La Condition Masculine

Bebey and his son, Patrick, perform Esok am and Mon secret.

Bebey was also a distinguished literary figure, leaving behind a diverse body of work that includes poetry, short stories, novels, and essays. His first novel, Le fils d’Agatha Moudio (Agatha Moudio’s son, 1971), published in 1967, was widely acclaimed as a masterful work of burlesque and was awarded the Grand Prix Littéraire de l’Afrique Noire. In 1968, he released Embarras et cie: Nouvelles et poèmes, a collection of nine short stories, each paired with a poem. Bebey noted that his extensive experience as a radio broadcaster significantly shaped his storytelling style, which he wrote with listeners, rather than readers, in mind. His later literary works include La poupée Ashanti (1973, The Ashanti doll) and Le roi Albert d’Effidi (1973). Bebey also contributed a book on broadcasting in Africa and two important texts on African music, most notably Musique de l’Afrique (1969). By 1972, he had joined UNESCO in Paris as the head of the music department, where he continued to champion African music traditions–traveling extensively, primarily in Africa, studying, recording, and filming musicians across the continent. In a 1982 interview, Bebey explained, “What I’m aiming to do is to use Western technology to invigorate African music and spread its message internationally.”

This according to the entry on Francis Bebey by Eileen Southern in the Biographical dictionary of Afro-American and African musicians (1982). Find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias.

Bebey’s book *Musique de l’Afrique* was published in 1969.

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Filed under Africa, Ethnomusicology, Europe, Musicologists, Performers, Popular music, World music

Tagged as Africa, Black composers, Cameroon, Composers, drum machines, Experimental music, Francis Bebey, Musicologists, Paris, sculptor, storytelling, Synthesizers, UNESCO

by rilm | March 7, 2025 · 6:00 am

RILM’s UNESCO accreditation

Since its founding in the mid-1960s, the Répertoire International de Littérature Musicale (RILM) has advanced a globalist perspective, fostering international networks that have connected scholars from around the world. During a period when Europe was politically split by the Iron Curtain and non-European entities aligned with either the Eastern or Western blocs, RILM’s founder, Barry S. Brook, worked to create opportunities for multilateral collaboration on a global scale. Brook envisioned RILM as an international initiative modeled after UNESCO’s administrative structure, where each participating country established its own national committee to contribute bibliographic records to the central database in New York.

This model established an intellectual framework for collaboration, promoting equality among all participating nations. In recent years, RILM has taken this approach even further by earning UNESCO accreditation as a non-governmental organization (NGO), enabling it to provide advisory services to the Committee of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The milestone marks a significant advancement in RILM’s ongoing mission to document, preserve, and share the world’s musical knowledge. As RILM’s director, Tina Frühauf, notes, the organization’s UNESCO accreditation underscores its dedication to safeguarding global musical heritage.

Watch an interview with Frühauf below, where she discusses UNESCO accreditation, the recent addition of DEUMM Online to its suite of resources, and the upcoming release of the RILM Archive of Popular Music Magazines, a new resource that further strengthens RILM’s role in the field of popular music research.

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Filed under Resources, RILM, RILM news

Tagged as global musical heritage, intangible cultural heritage, multilateralism, Non-governmental organization, RILM news, UNESCO

by rilm | January 28, 2025 · 6:00 am

The rubāb’s cultural heritage in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s national instrument, the rubāb, a short-necked lute, is also popular in northwest India and Pakistan and may be the ancestor of the sarod. Carved from a single piece of mulberry wood and covered with skin, the instrument has a lively and percussive sound. The Afghan rubāb is often decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay, which accentuates the wood’s deep tones and textures.

The sound of the Afghan rubāb is easily distinguished from that of other Central Asian lutes, due to its unique construction and sympathetic (or resonance) strings. An unusually shaped instrument often richly ornamented with inlaid bone or mother-of-pearl, the rubāb is appreciated by musicians and collectors alike. Although the instrument first appeared between the 18th and 19th centuries, its sound as we know it today emerged in the 20th century. The musician and teacher Ustad Mohammad Omar, a singer from Kabul, led a highly prestigious band for many years and made the rubāb famous in Afghanistan and internationally. Legend has it that, inspired by another lute, the sarod, he altered the instrument to better suit the aesthetics of kiliwali, another genre of Afghan music. Luthiers in Kabul, most notably the celebrated Juma Khan Qaderi, began reproducing Mohammad Omar’s rubāb alterations. Distinct from other Afghan rubābs in the way it is played and its characteristic sound, the Kabuli rubāb quickly took hold in Central Asia, gradually supplanting all other Afghan rubāb practices.

In December 2024, UNESCO recognized the art of building and playing the rubāb as intangible cultural heritage in Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Master players of the rubab are deeply respected as elders within their communities, often taking the lead in initiating specific ceremonies and rituals. The craft of making a rubāb traditionally involves carpentry, woodcarving, marquetry, and inlay work, typically passed down as a family tradition through hands-on practice. Although rubāb craftsmanship is predominantly done by men, performers are of all genders, ages, ethnicities, and religious backgrounds. The rubāb has long been referenced in poems and literature, with various cultures sharing myths and stories about the instrument, which are often narrated by elders and masters during social gatherings.

An older woman teaches teaches a boy to play the rubāb.

This cultural heritage, however, is currently threatened in Afghanistan under the Taliban authorities’ near-total ban on music, considered corrupting in their strict interpretation of Islamic law. Since coming to power in 2021, Taliban authorities have banned music in public, from performances to playing tracks in restaurants, in cars or on radio and TV broadcasts. They have shuttered music schools and smashed or burned musical instruments and sound systems. Taliban authorities have encouraged former musicians to turn their talents to Islamic poetry and unaccompanied vocal chants–also the only forms of music allowed under their previous rule from 1996 to 2001. There is local resistance to the Taliban’s decrees, however. As a rubāb builder named Sakhi asserts, the cultural value of the rubāb in Afghanistan must not be lost. He states, “The value of this work for me is . . . the heritage it holds. The heritage must not be lost.”

This according to The Garland encyclopedia of world music. South Asia: The Indian Subcontinent (2013, find it in RILM Music Encyclopedias) and “Le timbre du rubāb de Kaboul” by Roy Sylvain (Cahiers d’ethnomusicologie 34 [2021] 77–94; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2021-10988).

Below is a performance of an Afghani folksong by Quraishi on rubāb and accompanied by Samir Chatterjee on tabla.

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Filed under Asia, Instruments, Performers, Politics, Popular music, Religion, World music

Tagged as Afghanistan, Central Asia, instrument building, Islam, Lute, rubāb, Taliban, UNESCO

Tag Archives: UNESCO

Two fiddles and one concern: The Karakalpak ķobyz and the Albanian lahutë–UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Annotated bibliography

RILM’s global network of institutional partners

A global instrument, a German tradition: Organ craftsmanship–A UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Annotated bibliography

RILM’s global mission and its expansion in 2024

International Day for the remembrance of the slave trade and its abolition (23 August)

Improvisation schemas and the Turkmen dutar

Francis Bebey globalizes African music

RILM’s UNESCO accreditation

The rubāb’s cultural heritage in Afghanistan

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