Urban Ethnomusicology

by Ursula Hemetek

The urban space as a field of research does not yet have a very long tradition in the discipline. US-American ethnomusicology only began to deal with the urban area in the 1970s. Adelaida Reyes was one of the pioneers of this direction (klanglese 4) The perception of cultural heterogeneity and complexity of urban centres was accompanied by a paradigm shift in ethnomusicology, from the assumption of homogeneity to the perception of heterogeneity and complexity; the connection to minority research is evident. Adelaida Reyes describes it as follows: "in a scholarly realm built on presumptions of cultural homogeneity, there was no room for minorities. These require a minimal pair-at least two groups of unequal power and most likely culturally distinct, both parts of a single social organism. Homogeneity does not admit of such disparate components......The conditions that spawn minorities-complexity, heterogeneity, and non-insularity-are 'native' not to simple societies but to cities and complex societies" (Reyes 2007: 22-23). The department combined one of its research projects with an international symposium, "Cultural Diversity and the Urban Area" 2006 with Adelaida Reyes as keynote speaker. This was followed by a publication containing fundamental theoretical positions (link zur klanglese 4).

At the department, research on urban space is on the one hand closely linked to minority research, because urban centres are always created by migration. The focus is on the musical diversity of Vienna, also due to the department’s location (research "on the doorstep"). There is are also many student’s research projects on this topic. However, field research has also been carried out in Salzburg and Innsbruck, which has stimulated further activities in Innsbruck (see Echoes of Diversity). All recent projects in the field of minorities are related to Vienna (see Focus on Minorities), whereby special expertise on communities from Turkey, the former Yugoslavia as well as the Afghan community has been developed, which is also reflected in publications and student theses.

On the other hand, in folk music research there are seminal publications on Viennese music, a research that was initiated by the founder of the department Walter Deutsch and continued by him, Gerlinde Haid and Rudolf Pietsch (sound documents). There are a number of student papers on the topic as well. A research project on the Viennese ball tradition, initiated by Gerlind Haid and continued by Else Schmidt led to a series of documentations (see archive)