70 let glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta pri znanstvenoraziskovalnem centru slovenske akademije znanosti in umetnosti
MIRKO RAMOVŠ
Sedemdeset let je dandanes pri človeku povprečna doba njegovega življenja, za inštitut pa je sedemdeset let doba, ki priča o njegovi moči in vztrajanju pri delu, zastavljenem ob njegovi ustanovitvi. Zato ob jubileju Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta sicer omenjamo vzgibe za njegov nastanek in zasluge ljudi, ki so ustanovitev omogočili, vendar poudarjamo predvsem delo, ki je bilo v teh sedemdesetih letih opravljeno in ki zagotavlja, da trajanje inštitutovega življenja ne bo podobno človeškemu.
Starša sedanjega Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta sta bila Glasbena matica in njegov prvi vodja France Marolt. Dogovor o ustanovitvi je bil med njima podpisan 21. avgusta 1934, vendar je že od vsega začetka za rojstni dan inštituta veljal 1. oktober 1934. Takrat so bile tudi postavljene temeljne inštitutove naloge: sistematično in izčrpno raziskovanje slovenske ljudske pesmi, inštrumentalne glasbe in plesa na podlagi terenskih raziskav in drugega zbranega gradiva ter kritične obdelave virov; sistematiziranje in katalogizacija terenskega in arhivskega gradiva; teoretične raziskave ter objave gradiva in razprav; ustvarjanje stikov z vsemi sorodnimi tuzemskimi in inozemskimi inštituti.
V prvih letih se je inštitut ubadal s finančnimi, prostorskimi in kadrovskimi težavami, saj je bil Marolt skoraj deset let edini znanstveni sodelavec, primerne prostore pa je inštitut dobil šele leta 1951 na Wolfovi 8, že po Maroltovi smrti. Ob ustanovitvi je Marolt načrtoval tudi nabavo fonografa za snemanje na terenu, vendar je inštitut prvo snemalno aparaturo pridobil šele 1954. Tako se je intenzivno zbiralno in znanstveno delo začelo šele v letih po 2. svetovni vojni, ko je mogel Marolt okoli sebe zbrati prve strokovne sodelavce. Po notranji sestavi je inštitut razdelil na tri strokovne oddelke: za preučevanje ljudske glasbe, glasbil in napevov ljudskih pesmi (etnomuzikologija), preučevanje besedil ljudskih pesmi (tekstologija) in preučevanje ljudskih plesov (etnokoreologija). Ureditev Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta je postala zgled, ki so ga upoštevali ob ustanavljanju sorodnih inštitutov v drugih republikah takratne skupne države. France Marolt je ob ustanovitvi inštituta načrtoval tudi »restavracijo« folklornih »znamenitosti« in je v ta namen leta 1946 ustanovil strokovno plesno-folklorno skupino, predhodnico sedanje Akademske folklorne skupine France Marolt, ki naj bi po zamisli svojega ustanovitelja »iz poza-bljenja dvigala svojski gibno-zvočni folklor slovenskega naroda«.
Do leta 1972 je bil Glasbenonarodopisni inštitut samostojna ustanova, tega leta pa se je zaradi reorganizacije Sekretariata za prosveto in kulturo, ki ni bil več pristojen za financiranje ustanov, priključil Inštitutu za slovensko narodopisje SAZU kot njegova Sekcija za
TRADITIONES, 33/2, 2004, 5-13
glasbeno narodopisje. V njegovem okviru je deloval vse do 31. 5. 1994, ko je po sklepu predsedstva SAZU zopet postal samostojen inštitut, tokrat že v okviru Znanstvenoraziskovalnega centra SAZU.
France Marolt je bil vodja inštituta vse do svoje smrti 6. aprila 1951. Za njim je vodstvo junija istega leta prevzel dr. Valens Vodušek, toda že decembra je moral po dekretu oditi za ravnatelja ljubljanske Opere; v inštitut se je vrnil šele septembra 1955. Medtem je bila njegova namestnica Marija Šuštar, etnokoreologinja inštituta. Ko je leta 1972 Glas-benonarodopisni inštitut postal sekcija Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje, je bil dr. Vodu-šek vse do upokojitve septembra 1982 njen načelnik. Nato je bilo načelništvo sekcije ukinjeno. Ob ponovni osamosvojitvi inštituta 1. junija 1994 je njegova predstojnica postala dr. Marjetka Golež, ki to funkcijo opravlja še zdaj. Število znanstvenih in strokovnih sodelavcev nikoli ni bilo veliko, danes jih je v inštitutu zaposlenih devet (dr. Marjetka Golež Kaučič, dr. Marija Klobčar, dr. Marko Terseglav, mag. Urša Šivic, mag. Robert Vrčon, Maša Marty Komavec, mag. Rebeka Kunej, mag. Drago Kunej, Gregor Strle), kot zunanji sodelavci pa še vedno delujejo upokojeni raziskovalci (dr. Zmaga Kumer, Julijan Strajnar, Mirko Ramovš). Vrsto let so bili inštitutski sodelavci skladatelj Uroš Krek, mag. Igor Cvetko in mag. Marjeta Tekavec. S spoštovanjem se spominjamo pokojnih Franceta Marolta, Marije Šuštar in dr. Valensa Voduška.
Do leta 1975 so raziskave potekale po internem delovnem načrtu, veliko časa je bilo posvečenega terenskemu delu po različnih krajih, tudi v Porabju, največ pa transkribiranju gradiva, njegovi analizi, klasifikaciji in katalogizaciji ter drugi dokumentaciji, tako da je urejeni arhiv postal dostopen javnosti. Ko je leta 1976 financiranje inštitutov v celoti prevzela Raziskovalna skupnost in pozneje Ministrstvo za znanost in tehnologijo oziroma danes Ministrstvo za šolstvo, znanost in šport, se je tudi v Glasbenonarodopisnem inštitutu začela odvijati njegova dejavnost najprej v okviru raziskovalnih nalog, nato raziskovalnih programov in projektov.
Ko se ob jubileju oziramo na prehojeno pot, smemo reči, da so bili v veliki večini izpolnjeni načrti, ki so bili inštitutu zadani ob ustanovitvi. Inštitutski arhiv danes obsega okoli 20.000 rokopisnih pesemskih in plesnih zapisov, ki poleg transkripcij posnetega gradiva obsegajo kopije zapisov zbiralcev iz 19. stoletja, zbirko Odbora za nabiranje slovenskih narodnih pesmi (OSNP) izpred prve svetovne vojne, rokopisno gradivo Franceta Marolta, Marije Šuštar, Karle Vuk, Tončke Marolt ter vrsto manjših zbirk zunanjih inštitut-skih sodelavcev, drugih zbiralcev in samih pevcev. V njem je nad 1700 magnetofonskih trakov in okoli 300 DAT kaset s približno 30.000 posnetki pesmi in inštrumentalne glasbe, vključno s presnetki gradiva drugih zbiralcev, na njih pa so tudi številni etnološki, etnomuzikološki in etnokoreološki podatki. Rokopisni in zvočni arhiv dopolnjuje obsežno vizualno gradivo (fotografije, diapozitivi, filmi in videokasete). Veliki napori so bili vloženi v zaščito in preureditev zvočnega arhiva, poteka tudi zaščita rokopisnega gradiva (kopiranje in digitalizacija), ustvarja se računalniška baza podatkov. Za rokopisne zapise in dosedanje transkripcije zvočnih posnetkov je narejena katalogizacija, tako da je vsako
pesem mogoče najti po šestih vidikih: po tekoči številki, po kraju zapisa, po vsebini besedila, po prvem verzu, po začetku melodije in po metričnem obrazcu. Podobno je urejena tudi zbirka plesnih zapisov.
Rezultati raziskav so objavljeni v številnih razpravah, znanstvenih in strokovnih člankih, še posebej v zborniku Traditiones, ki je že od samega začetka znanstvena revija Inštituta za slovensko narodopisje in Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta. Znanstveno serijo Slovenske narodoslovne študije je France Marolt osnoval že ob samem rojstvu inštituta. Žal je po izidu njegovih štirih študij (Tri obredja iz Zilje, Tri obredja iz Bele krajine, Gibno-zvočni obraz Slovencev, Slovenski glasbeni folklor) usahnila. Nova znanstvena serija Folkoristika se je rodila leta 2003. V njenem okviru so pri Založbi ZRC še istega leta izšli Etnomuzikološki članki in razprave Valensa Voduška, leto pozneje pa monografija Ljudsko in umetno - dva obraza ustvarjalnosti Marjetke Golež Kaučič. Pri zbirki ZRC sta izšli monografija Uskoška pesemska dediščina Bele krajine Marka Terseglava in študija Vloga, zgradba, slog slovenske ljudske pesmi Zmage Kumer. Slednja je svojo monografijo Slovenska ljudska pesem objavila pri Slovenski matici.
Ena najpomembnejših nalog Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta so znanstvene in poljudne izdaje gradiva. V okviru korpusa Slovenske ljudske pesmi, ki naj bi zajel celotno pesem-sko gradivo slovenskega narodnostnega ozemlja, so doslej izšle štiri knjige pripovednih pesmi, vse z ustreznim znanstvenim aparatom, peta je v pripravi. Na podlagi starejšega gradiva in novejše etnomuzikološke raziskave slovenske Koroške v Avstriji je bilo objavljenih pet knjig pesemskega gradiva (Kanalska dolina, Ziljska dolina, Zgornji Rož, Spodnji Rož, Podjuna). Monografska podoba pesemskega izročila ožjega območja je bila predstavljena v knjigi Ljudska glasba med rešetarji in lončarji v Ribniški dolini in v Porabski pesmarici. V zbirkah, opremljenih z uvodi in bogatimi opombami, so izšle posamezne zvrsti pesmi: erotične, vojaške, koledniške, svatovske, mrliške, o svetnikih, o Mariji, slovenske nabožne molitve, otroške. Velika antologija Pesem slovenske dežele je predstavila najlepše primere slovenske ljudske pesmi in jih znanstveno ovrednotila. Tujemu bralcu in poslušalcu je bila namenjena trijezična predstavitev slovenske ljudske pesmi v zbirki Rožmarin. Iz želje, da bi se ljudska pesem bolj usidrala v zavesti slovenskega človeka, sta nastali dve poljudni pesmarici. Na podlagi raziskav ljudskih glasbil in godčevstva sta bili pripravljeni dve deli: knjiga Slovenska ljudska glasbila in godci, ki je pozneje izšla tudi v nemškem jeziku, in Citira, ki v dvojezični slovensko-italijanski izdaji predstavlja rezijansko inštrumentalno glasbo. V treh zbirkah so izšli izbrani primeri ljudskih plesov Koroške, Primorske in Prekmurja, medtem ko je bila v antologiji Plesat me pelji ob najznačilnejših primerih predstavljena podoba slovenskega plesnega izročila. Pod naslovom Polka je ukazana pa je bila v sedmih knjigah z izčrpnimi uvodi objavljena plesna dediščina po pokrajinski pripadnosti. Tiskane zbirke dopolnjujejo komentirane izdaje zvočnega gradiva na gramofonskih ploščah, zgoščenkah in kasetah, v zadnjih letih pod naslovom Iz arhiva Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta.
Glasbenonarodopisni inštitut ima dolgoletne stike s številnimi sorodnimi ustanovami po svetu. O ugledu inštituta v strokovnem svetu priča dejstvo, da je pobuda za medsebojne stike prišla pogosto od tujih strokovnjakov in da so sodelavci vabljeni tudi v članstvo
različnih strokovnih odborov in komisij. Sodelavci inštituta se udeležujejo domačih in mednarodnih znanstvenih posvetovanj in kongresov, večinoma kot referenti, bili pa so nekajkrat tudi sami organizatorji odmevnih mednarodnih znanstvenih srečanj. Nekateri se udejstvujejo tudi pedagoško, bodisi kot predavatelji na visokih šolah ali raznih seminarjih, ki jih te prirejajo.
Glasbenonarodopisni inštitut ZRC SAZU je že vseh 70 let središče etnomuzikološke-ga dela v Sloveniji, čeprav so se tudi nekateri posamezniki zunaj njega strokovno ali ljubiteljsko ukvarjali z ljudsko dediščino in se še vedno. V njegovem okrilju deluje edini znanstveni zvočni arhiv na Slovenskem. V inštitut prihajajo vsi, ki želijo kakršnokoli pojasnilo, nasvet, gradivo o pesmih, glasbilih in plesih, njegovi obiskovalci iz Slovenije in tujine niso samo strokovni kolegi, temveč tudi posamezniki, ljubitelji, skladatelji, študenti in dijaki. Delo sodelavcev Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta se ni nikoli omejevalo zgolj na zbiranje, dokumentiranje in znanstveno raziskovanje, ampak je, upoštevajoč praktično uporabo gradiva in popularizacijo ljudske glasbe in plesa, segalo in še danes sega na širše kulturno-prosvetno in družbeno področje. Vsi sodelavci so že vsaj petintrideset let avtorji številnih radijskih in televizijskih oddaj. Prav Glasbenonarodopisni inštitut je bil pobudnik ene najbolj priljubljenih oddaj Radia Slovenije Slovenska zemlja v pesmi in besedi in sprva njen edini ustvarjalec. Sodelavci predavajo na folklorno-plesnih in pevskih seminarjih Sklada za ljubiteljske dejavnosti Republike Slovenije, strokovno ocenjujejo srečanja ljudskih pevcev, godcev in folklornih skupin, strokovno sodelujejo s kulturno-umetniškimi skupinami in se tudi sami umetniško udejstvujejo kot avtorji plesnih in glasbenih priredb pri folklornih skupinah ali gledaliških predstavah.
V prihodnosti čakajo sodelavce inštituta novi izzivi, saj se bodo morali opredeliti, kaj bo predmet njihovih raziskav. Če naj ostanejo zvesti ciljem, ki so bili inštitutu zadani ob ustanovitvi, bo to še vedno tista glasbena in plesna dediščina, ki najočitneje opredeljuje etnično identiteto Slovencev. Pred njimi je nadaljevanje velikega projekta za znanstveno izdajo celotnega ljudskega pesemskega gradiva. Vendar je izvedba vprašljiva, če redakcijsko delo ne bo ovrednoteno kot znanstveno in od financerja ustrezno podprto, da bo v delo mogoče vključiti nove sodelavce. Seveda raziskave ne bodo mogle obiti sodobnih transformacij glasbene in plesne dediščine in novih oblik, ki se pojavljajo kot posledica drugačnega doživljanja ljudske glasbe, pogosto tudi pod vplivom kulturne globalizacije. Posebna pozornost pa bo morala biti tudi v bodoče namenjena zaščiti, ohranitvi, preureditvi in objavljanju zvočnega gradiva, zbranega v arhivu Glasbenonarodopisnega inštituta.
70th anniversary of the institute of
ethnomusicology at the scientific research centre of the slovenian academy of sciences
and arts
MIRKO RAMOVŠ
A period of seventy years denotes an average life span of a man or a woman; for a research institute, however, these seven decades signify determination and persistence to continue in fulfilling the objectives determined at its very beginning. This is why this paper, even though it mentions why the Institute had been established and the people who were instrumental in its creation, primarily focuses on its research activities taking place in the course of seventy years; it is namely these that give assurance that the Institute's longevity will be much longer than man's.
The parents of the present Institute of Ethnomusicology were Glasbena matica, a music association, and France Marolt, who became the Institute's first director. Although both parties signed a formal agreement on August 21, 1934, October 1, 1934 is celebrated as the Institute's real birthday. This was when its objectives were defined and set on paper: systematic and detailed research of Slovenian folk songs, instrumental music, and dance, all on the basis of the material collected in the field or elsewhere; critical examination of sources; systematization and catalogization of field and archival material; theoretic research and publication of data and papers; establishment of contacts with all similar domestic and foreign institutions.
During its initial years, the Institute was faced with a number of financial, personnel, and space problems. For a number of years, Marolt was the sole researcher employed at the Institute, and the lack of space was not resolved until 1951, just after Marolt's death. The official address of the Institute was Ljubljana, 8 Wolfova Street. Despite Marolt's initial plans to obtain a phonograph recording device for fieldwork research his wish came true only three years after his death, in 1954. Thorough research work and the collecting of material and data truly started only after the Second World War, when Marolt was able to find the first expert coworkers.
The Institute had three departments, one for the research of folk music, instruments, and folk song tunes (ethnomusicology), another for the research of folk song texts (textolo-gy), and a department for folk dance research (ethnochoreology). Many similar institutes in other Yugoslav republics later copied this arrangement. One of France Marolts initial objectives was the »restoration« of folklore »characteristics«, and to this end he founded a professional dance/folklore group that was the predecessor of the present Akademska folklorna skupina France Marolt (France Marolt Academic Folklore Group); according to his concept the group was to »resurrect the specific movement and sound folklore of the Slovenian nation.«
Due to the 1972 reorganization at the Secretariat for Education and Culture, which was no longer competent for the funding of Slovenian institutions, the Institute, although an independent institution up to then, became part of the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology (Inštitut za slovensko narodopisje, ISN) at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, as its Ethnomusicological Section (Sekcija za glasbeno narodopisje). Over twenty years later, on May 31, 1994 the Institute once again regained its independent status and started to operate, like other institutes of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, within the Academy's Scientific Research Centre.
France Marolt was the Institute's director until his death on April 6, 1951. Two months later Valens Vodušek succeeded him, but in compliance with a political decree Vodušek was appointed Head of the Ljubljana Opera House in December of that year. His substitute, who worked at the Institute as an ethnochoreologist, was Marija Šuštar. Vo-dušek resumed his previous position in September of 1955 and acted as the Institute's director until his retirement in September 1982. When the Institute regained its independence in 1994 its director became Marjetka Golež, who has been in this position since then. Never a large one, the Institute now has nine researchers (Marjetka Golež Kaučič, Marija Klobčar, Marko Terseglav, Urša Šivic, Robert Vrčon, Maša Marty Komavec, Rebeka Kunej, Drago Kunej, and Gregor Strle) and three nonresident researchers (Zmaga Kumer, Julijan Strajnar, Mirko Ramovš) who had been on the Institute's staff but are now retired. Other researchers once employed at the Institute were composer Uroš Krek, Igor Cvetko, and Marjeta Tekavec. Our respect and fond memories go to our late colleagues France Marolt, Marija Šuštar, and Valens Vodušek.
Until 1975, research was carried out according to the Institute's internal plan. Extensive fieldwork projects were done in different parts of Slovenia as well as in Porabje, an area just across the Slovenian border with Hungary. Most of the time, however, was spent on the transcription, analysis, classification, and catalogization of recorded and other material. The Institute's archives thus became accessible to public. In 1976, the financing of research institues was transferred to the Slovenian Research Community, and later the Ministry of Science and Technology (which has since been renamed the Ministry of Education, Science, and Sport). Due to these changed circumstances the Institute, as well as other similar institutions in Slovenia, had to organize its activities within different reae-arch projects and programs.
Looking back at all the years of the Institute's existence it may be said that most of the objectives formed seventy years ago have been realized. Its archives contain over 20,000 manuscript records and dance notations. These include transcriptions of recorded material, copies of 19th-century collectors' records, the collection of the Committee for the Collecting of Slovenian National Songs (OSNP) that originated before the First World War, manuscript collections of France Marolt, Marija Šuštar, Karla Vuk, and Tončka Ma-rolt, and a number of smaller collections of nonresident associates, of other collectors, and of singers of folk songs themselves. There are over 1,700 magnetic tapes and approxi-
mately 300 DAT-cassettes with nearly 30,000 recordings of songs and instrumental music that also comprise re-recorded material of other collectors; all of these contain numerous ethnological, ethnomusicological, and ethnochoreological data. Aside from its sound archives, the Institute has a large collection of visual material such as photographs, slides, films, and videocassettes. A considerable amount of work has been invested into suitable protection and reorganization of the sound archives; the much-needed protection of manuscript material (copying and digitalization) and the creation of an electronic database are still in progress. Manuscript records and transcriptions of the sound recordings that have been completed so far have been classified according to six aspects: each song can be found by its successive number, location entry, contents, first verse, initial melody, and metric pattern. The Institute's dance collection has a similar structure.
Research findings have been published as treatises in numerous publications, especially in Traditiones, a journal published by the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology and the Institute of Ethnomusicology since their beginning. Slovenske narodoslovne študije (Slovenian Ethnographic Studies), a series started by France Marolt, which published four of his studies (Tri obredja iz Zilje/Three Ritual Customs from Zilja, Tri obredja iz Bele krajine/Three Ritual Customs from Bela Krajina, Gibno-zvočni obraz Slovencev/Dance and Music Image of Slovenians, and Slovenski glasbenifolklor/Slovenian Music Folklore) unfortunately did not continue afterwards. Folkloris-tika (Folkloristics), a new journal that originated in 2003 and is published by the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, has published two studies so far: Etnomuzikološki članki in razprave/Ethnomusicological Articles and Treatises) by Valens Vodušek, 2003) and the monograph Ljudsko in umetno - dva obraza ustvarjalnosti (Folk and Art - Two Aspects of Creativity) by Marjetka Golež Kaučič (2004). Two studies, a monographic study Uskoškapesemska dediščina Bele krajine (Song Heritage of the Uskoki in Bela krajina, 1996) and Vloga, zgradba, slog slovenske ljudske pesmi (Role, Structure, and Style of Slovenian Folk Songs) by Zmaga Kumer, were published in the Scientific Research Centre series. Another monograph by Zmaga Kumer, Slovenska ljudska pesem (Slovenian Folk Song), was published by Slovenska Matica Publishing Company.
One of the most important tasks of the Institute is the publication, be it in scientific or in popular form, of its material. Four books of narrative songs, all furnished with the necessary scientific apparatus, were published within the Slovenske ljudske pesmi (Slovenian Folk Songs) corpus; the fifth is in process. Five books of songs, based on older sources and on a recent ethnomusicological research in Carinthia, Austria were published so far: Kanalska dolina, Ziljska dolina, Zgornji Rož, Spodnji Rož, and Podjuna. The books titled Ljudska glasba med rešetarji in lončarji v Ribniški dolini (Folk Music among the Sieve-Makers and Potters of Ribniška Dolina) and Porabskapesmarica (The Songbook of Porabje) are two monographs on the song heritage of two small areas. Each type of folk songs (erotic, military, and wedding songs, carols, songs about death, saints, Virgin Mary, Slovenain hymnals, and children's songs), was published in its own collection, equipped with extensive introduction and footnotes. The exhaustive anthology of songs, Pesem slovenske dežele (Songs from
Slovenian Lands), contains the most beautiful examples of Slovenian folk songs, along with their detailed analyses. A trilingual publication on Slovenian folk songs, written primarily for foreign readers, is named Rožmarin (Rosemary). The wish to bring Slovenian folk songs closer to the people of Slovenia resulted in two popular songbooks. Findings of the research of folk instruments and musicians were published in two books, Slovenska ljudska glasbila in godci (Slovenian Folk Instruments and Musicians, later published also in German) and Citira (Fiddle), which examines instrumental folk music from Resia and was published in Slovenian and Italian. Examples of folk dances from Koroško, Primorsko, and Prekmurje were published in three separate volumes. Plesat me pelji (Take Me to a Dance) is an anthology of Slovenian dance heritage, based on the most characteristical examples of folk dances. Polka je ukazana (A Polka is Ordered) is a series of seven volumes, each with an extensive introduction, that examines the dances of different Slovenian regions. Songs from the Institute's archives, with commentary, came out on gramophone records, compact discs, and cassette tapes; more recent ones under the title Iz arhiva Glas-benonarodopisnega inštituta (From the Archives of the Institute of Ethnomusicology).
The Institute of Ethnomusicology has been having contacts with a number of similar foreign institutions for many years. Initiatives for professional cooperation, which often come from the ranks of experts form different countries, and invitations to serve on committees and boards, are yet another proof of the Institute's reputation abroad. The Institute's researchers read papers on domestic and foreign conferences and have organized a number of successful international conferences. Some members of the staff lead seminars or lecture at different universities.
Even though there have always been others who are interested in folk heritage, be it in their professional or in their amateur capacities, the Institute of Ethnomusicology has been the center of ethnomusicological activities in Slovenia since its very beginning. It has the only scientific sound archives in Slovenia. The Institute welcomes all who come in search of expert advice, explanations, and information on songs, instruments, and dances. Domestic visitors are not solely from the ranks of professional colleagues, but are also amateur lovers of folk heritage, composers, students, and others. The work of the Institute's researchers has never been limited solely to collecting, documenting, and interpreting Slovenian heritage, but is also geared toward the popularization of folk music and dance through venues of culture and education. For over thirty-five years, the Institute's researchers have been authors of numerous radio and television programs, and it was the Institute that was the initiator, and at first also its only creator, of one of the most popular programs on Slovenian radio, Slovenska zemlja v pesmi in besedi (Slovenia in Song and Word). They also lecture in folklore dance and song seminars organized by the Republic of Slovenia Amateur Activities Fund, appraise and assess meetings of folk singers, musicians, and folklore groups, supervise folklore groups activities, and are themselves authors of dance and music arrangements for folklore groups and theater performances.
New challenges await the Institute's staff in the future. The object of their research
will have to be redefined. If they want to continue fulfilling the objectives set at the Institute's beginning their primary focus should continue to be that aspect of Slovenian music and dance heritage that most clearly defines the Slovenian ethnic identity. Another arduous undertaking is the continuation of the publication of the entire folk song material. But unless editorial work is assessed as scientific work and financed as such, which will make it possible for other researchers to take part in the Institute's research projects, this task may not continue. Work in the future shall have to include modern transformations of Slovenina music and dance heritage and their new forms that are the result of different notions of folk music, often under the influence of the present cultural globalization. As in the past, a special attention will have to be given to the preservation, reorganization, and publication of song material contained in the Institute's archives.
Mirko Ramovš
Glasbenonarodopisni inštitut ZRC SAZU, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, gni@zrc-sazu.si