The sounds of nature, whales, and the residents of the towns and villages of Madagascar.... These are the sounds accompanying researchers from the AMU Institute of Musicology (Faculty of Arts Studies). Jakub Kopaniecki, PhD, and Łukasz Smoluch, PhD, participate in a research expedition to Madagascar, along with students and a doctoral student from the Institute of Musicology, led by Prof. Bożena Muszkalska (University of Wrocław) and Prof. August Schmidhofer (University of Vienna).
The expedition aims to investigate the musical syncretism of the former Toamasina province (primarily the Betsimisaraka ethnic group)," reports Jakub Kopaniecki, Ph.
- "We had the opportunity to attend the Festival des baleines, a music festival held in honour of the whales that arrive near the island in July and August. The festival brought together bands from many regions of the island. Along with the locals, we listened to and documented the sounds of traditional Malagasy music, observed expressive dances and colourful costumes, and played together popular hits by Malagasy artists. In addition, we observed local tromba and famadihana rituals and interviewed bands, performers, composers and representatives of the Catholic clergy," the researcher adds.
- Apart from our research on the musical culture of Madagascar, we have also been conducting recordings of the island's unique audiosphere. It consists of the sounds of nature (including whales) and the daily life of the inhabitants of towns and villages scattered around the island," concludes the explorer.
Photo: Researchers' private archive
