UL ILFA Researchers at the Baltic and Nordic Ethnomusicologists’ Conference

On October 8–10, the Baltic and Nordic Ethnomusicologists’ Conference took place in Helsinki. Organized by the Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology to mark its 50th anniversary, the event aimed to foster networking among ethnomusicologists in the region within the framework of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD).

UL ILFA researchers Valdis Muktupāvels and Ieva Vīvere, together with Estonian ethnomusicologists Taive Särg, Janika Oras, and Žanna Pärtlas, presented a joint topic on the role of ethnomusicologists and their networks in the folklore movements of Estonia and Latvia.

Taive Särg’s paper focused on the revival of the Estonian regilaul (runo song, a traditional recitative) in the 1960s–1980s and the role of researchers, composers, and singers in this process.
Ieva Vīvere’s presentation addressed the development of the network approach and analyzed the network of the Latvian folklore group Skandinieki, with special attention to how the folklore movement was reflected in the Latvian press abroad.
Valdis Muktupāvels presented the results of an autoethnographic study on the revival of ancient folk instruments, which followed different principles compared to the modernization of folk instruments.
Janika Oras examined the role of ethnomusicologists in preserving the traditional polyphonic singing style of the Seto people in collaboration with Seto singing groups.

In the photo from left to right: Taive Särg, Valdis Muktupāvels, Janika Oras, Žanna Pärtlas, and Ieva Vīvere.

The participation of UL ILFA researchers took place within the project “The Folklore Movement in Latvia: Resources, Ideologies, and Practices” (Project No. lzp-2021/1-0243).