Re: [SRM - SIG] Looking for materials, contacts for Sacred Voices Project
Jerry Brown
Dear Colleagues,
In 2011, I designed the Sacred Voices Project. The goal of the Project is to conduct research at ethnomusicology and music libraries in Europe and the Middle East in order to collect data for a book and website on Sacred Voices of the World.
The Project was inspired by the enthusiastic response I received to “You Are Thunder,” the title track of a CD by the same name that I released in 2009. The verses of this song were adapted from the “Hymn to the Sound of Truth” of the Hindu Rig Veda. As an anthropologist and musician, I look forward to the opportunity to preserve and share a variety of sacred voices with students and colleagues, and hopefully with a wider audience as well.
I was recently awarded a sabbatical by Florida International University. During June through December of 2012, my wife Julie and I will be traveling to ethnomusicology libraries in England (London, Cambridge, Oxford), France, Germany, Italy, Turkey and Egypt. Toward this end, I would very much appreciate it if you could assist in identifying materials and contacts in two areas:
Sacred Voices: First, I am seeking transcribed texts (songs, hymns, chants, etc.) of sacred and shamanic voices that have been collected (or in the case of classical cultures, reconstructed) from the following peoples: Kiowa (USA), Huichol (Mexico), Mazatec (Mexico), Fang (Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, etc.), Aborigines (Northern Australia), Wise Women / Witches (England, European Continent), Conibo-Jivaro, aka Shipibo – Shuar, (Amazon Basin), Reindeer Herders (Eurasia, including but not limited to Nenets, Khants, Evenks, Yukaghirs, Chukchi, and Koryaks), Ancient Greeks (Greece), and Ancient Egyptians (Egypt).
Languages: Preferably, I am looking for English translations of these texts, but can also work with and have translations made of texts in French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian. Music and Video Collections: I am also seeking published music and video collections (CDs, DVDs) on or about these peoples.
Contacts with Ethnomusicologists / Anthropologists – Secondly, I would like to meet and interview ethnomusicologists and anthropologists who have done original field work with the contemporary indigenous peoples listed above, in order to gain deeper ethnographic insight. Once I have their (your) contact information, I can share my travel itinerary, so we can coordinate how to meet.
While this is my first research project in ethnomusicology, I have benefited greatly from the advice of my long-time colleague, Anthony Seeger (Distinguished Professor, Ethnomusicology, UCLA), who has provided insight and encouragement.
Thank you in advance for your feedback and for any additional thoughts or references you would like to provide.
Sincerely yours, Jerry Brown
Jerry B. Brown, Ph.D.
Founding Professor of Anthropology
Global & Sociocultural Studies (http://gss.fiu.edu)
Florida International University
SIPA, Biscayne Bay Campus, A1-376
Miami, FL 33181
+1 (305) 321-5612 (cell)