Disseminating Music amongst Moroccans in Britain: Exploring the Value of Archival Sound Recordings for a Cultural Heritage Community in the Diaspora

TY - JOUR

T1 - Disseminating Music amongst Moroccans in Britain: Exploring the Value of Archival Sound Recordings for a Cultural Heritage Community in the Diaspora

AU - Landau, Carolyn

PY - 2012/6/29

Y1 - 2012/6/29

N2 - This article presents and analyses the process and outcome of a dissemination project using the collections of an ethnomusicology sound archive amongst a cultural heritage community in the diaspora—in this case, the Moroccan holdings of the British Library's World and Traditional Music Section, and Moroccans living in Britain. Beginning with a personal introduction from within an ethnomusicology sound archive, I first discuss the motivations and questions that led to the creation of a proactive archiving project. From here, I describe how I collaboratively selected sound recordings from an archive's holdings and endeavoured to take them out of the archive and into a community. Issues that emerge and are explored include: cultural representation and ownership; communal identity formation; and musical memory and meaning. I argue how, despite certain obstacles, particularly in relation to copyright and intellectual property rights’ clearance, even the smallest of archival dissemination projects, such as the one discussed here, can reveal the potential value of legacy materials for a community whose cultural heritage is represented on the recordings. In particular, I show how archival sound recordings from the British Library have enabled Moroccans living in Britain to reclaim (when it has been lost in history) and proclaim (to future generations) their cultural heritage, as well as to evoke memories and reinforce a sense of identity. I conclude by arguing that archives and archiving in the twenty-first century might usefully be reconceptualised in various ways. In particular, by focusing on collaborative partnerships that facilitate meaningful access to existing cultural heritage materials, ethnomusicology sound archives might fulfil their archival responsibilities and cultural heritage communities in the diaspora might continue to cultivate sustainable identities using resources that were not previously available to them.

AB - This article presents and analyses the process and outcome of a dissemination project using the collections of an ethnomusicology sound archive amongst a cultural heritage community in the diaspora—in this case, the Moroccan holdings of the British Library's World and Traditional Music Section, and Moroccans living in Britain. Beginning with a personal introduction from within an ethnomusicology sound archive, I first discuss the motivations and questions that led to the creation of a proactive archiving project. From here, I describe how I collaboratively selected sound recordings from an archive's holdings and endeavoured to take them out of the archive and into a community. Issues that emerge and are explored include: cultural representation and ownership; communal identity formation; and musical memory and meaning. I argue how, despite certain obstacles, particularly in relation to copyright and intellectual property rights’ clearance, even the smallest of archival dissemination projects, such as the one discussed here, can reveal the potential value of legacy materials for a community whose cultural heritage is represented on the recordings. In particular, I show how archival sound recordings from the British Library have enabled Moroccans living in Britain to reclaim (when it has been lost in history) and proclaim (to future generations) their cultural heritage, as well as to evoke memories and reinforce a sense of identity. I conclude by arguing that archives and archiving in the twenty-first century might usefully be reconceptualised in various ways. In particular, by focusing on collaborative partnerships that facilitate meaningful access to existing cultural heritage materials, ethnomusicology sound archives might fulfil their archival responsibilities and cultural heritage communities in the diaspora might continue to cultivate sustainable identities using resources that were not previously available to them.

KW - Ethnomusicology Sound Archives

KW - Moroccans in Britain

KW - Moroccan Music Archival Recordings

KW - Cultural Representation

KW - Ownership

KW - Communal Identity

KW - Musical Memory and Meaning

U2 - 10.1080/17411912.2012.689468

DO - 10.1080/17411912.2012.689468

M3 - Article

SN - 1741-1912

VL - 21

SP - 259

EP - 277

JO - Ethnomusicology Forum

JF - Ethnomusicology Forum

IS - 2

M1 - 1

ER -