“Perhaps This Melody Could Still Be Found Somewhere.” Transcription Orientations in Slovenia in the Context of Slavic Connections

Abstract

V prispevku skuša avtorica ugotoviti, kako so se oblikovali pogledi predhodnikov in oblikovalcev oziroma nosilcev glasbene folkloristike na Slovenskem. Pod drobnogled postavi uveljavljeno prepričanje, da je zapisovanje pesmi z melodijami narekovala šele velika zbirateljska akcija Das Volkslied in Österreich, Narodna pesem v Avstriji, ki je na Slovenskem stekla leta 1906. S pregledom in analizo starejših zbirateljskih konceptov in zbirateljskih praks želi pokazati, katere so bile prioritete v prepoznavanju nacionalnega in kako so se oblikovale, kakšno je bilo vrednotenje besedil in melodij ljudskih pesmi, hkrati pa tudi, kakšno vlogo je imelo pri tem naslanjanje na širše slovansko zaledje. Pri tem opazuje simbolične pomene, vezane na glasbene prakse, ki so segli od objav pesemskega izročila do iskanja »slovanskega inštrumenta«.

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This article examines how the views of the predecessors of Slovenian music folklore studies developed, as well as the views of the discipline’s creators or bearers. It focuses on the established belief that transcribing songs with melodies was dictated only by the large-scale song-collection campaign Das Volkslied in Österreich (The Folk Song in Austria), which was carried out in Slovenia in 1906. By reviewing and analyzing old collection concepts and practices, the article reveals the priorities in identifying ethnic elements and how they developed, what the evaluation of folksong lyrics and melodies was like, and what role relying on the broader Slavic environment played in all of this. In this regard, it observes the symbolic meanings related to music practices, which ranged from the publication of song tradition to searching for a “Slavic instrument.”