 |
| "Parakansalak gamelan and dancers at the 1893 World Columbian Exposition in Chicago" [Bancroft 1893] |
The Benjamin Ives
Gilman Collection Recorded at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago
Benjamin Ives Gilman,
recorder
101 cylinders
1893
In 1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago was
held to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s landing in the
Americas. This 600-acre fair entertained 27,000,000 visitors in its year of
existence. It vaunted American scientific and industrial know-how, but included
46 pavilions showcasing nations from around the world.
As a part of this cultural exchange, musical performers came
to America and shared their work with visitors. Benjamin Ives Gilman, psychologist
and amateur cultural anthropologist, record 101 cylinders of music from the
participants, including music from Fiji, Samoa, Java, and Turkey.
Like the recordings of the Passamaquoddy tribe, these
recordings are unavailable to the general listener. However, whereas the
Passamaquoddy have some say over their tribal heritage – where are the Gilman
recordings? Do they also hold sensitive material not meant for casual auditors?
Are their makers’ descendants being tracked down for permission to use the
recordings? Not even the documentation telling us what’s there is available.
Why?
The National Recording
Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in
the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Up next: The
Laughing Song.
No comments:
Post a Comment