Des échelles à sept intervalles équidistants n'étaient connues des ethnomusicologues, il y a encore peu de temps, que dans deux grandes régions: Asie du Sud-Est et Afrique noire (cf. Stumpf, 1901; Hornbostel, 1911; Tracey, 1948; Duriyanga, 1948; Jones, 1964; Morton, 1968; Rouget et Schwarz, 1969). Récemment, l'existence de cette échelle a été signalée chez les Indiens Tepehua du Mexique. Notre but est d'apporter du matériel nouveau pour une quatrième région du monde, la Mélanésie, dont on ne pensait pas jusqu'à présent qu'elle pouvait avoir des échelles de ce type.

This paper examines the dances of the Jewish people in Eastern and Central Europe, from medieval times to the present. Included in its scope are: dances developed in the community Tanzhaus—an institution found in every ghetto in Europe, a place for weddings and major festivities and for recreational activities on the Sabbath; dances characteristic of the Jewish craft guilds, with occupational earmarks; dances of the Hassidim, a sect (originating in the Carpathian Mountains) the members of which made melody and dance a form of worship. These dances, performed by men only, were varied for special occasions and marked by a definite style. With the development of the Hassidic Movement, the dances spread rapidly, crossing numerous geographic boundaries. It will be shown how dances changed in form and adapted themselves to new localities, as communities of Jews migrated to the Western Hemisphere and to Israel.

In the 1980s, ethnomusicologists began developing a body of literature exploring the intersection between music and identity. By the early 2000s, identity had become one of the most commonly addressed themes in the discipline and ethnomusicologists were making important contributions to identity studies. As Timothy Rice writes in his article titled “Reflections on Music and Identity in Ethnomusicology,” ethnomusicologists have demonstrated that music “gives symbolic shape” to pre-existing and emerging identities; and that music allows communities who share an identity to “see themselves in action” and “to imagine others” with whom they share the music tradition (Rice 2007:34-35). Ethnomusicologists have furthermore argued that music may contribute an affective quality to identity and give identities a “positive valence” (ibid.:35).

This article addresses the pitches, intervals, and scales of the dombra and kyl-kobyz, the most prominent two-stringed lutes of the Kazakh people (see figure 1). The dombra has tied-on frets and is plucked; in the past the strings were made from gut, but now they are made from artificial string (usually fishing line). The kyl-kobyz is a bowed, fretless lute with horsehair strings. Both instruments have an important place in the music culture of the Kazakh people. The dombra is one of the most important cultural symbols of Kazakhstan. In the lives of the Kazakh nomads of the past and present, no family celebration was complete without it, and today it is featured at public holiday and observances. The tones of the dombra— warm and velvety, like the sounds of their native language—are familiar to every Kazakh from childhood. Whereas the dombra is ubiquitous in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the sphere of the kobyz is more limited. It belongs to the category of sacred instruments, and in the past it was the province of baksy (the Kazakh term for healers and shamans). As a consequence, during the Soviet era the instrument was forgotten for ideological reasons. Only since the 1960s and 1970s has the kyl-kobyz tradition been revived.

Since 1976, [our] goal has been to fight against the Franco/tourist mono-culture with its flamenco, bulls, sangria and the Phalangist Sección Femenina regional folklorism with its coros i danzas and white shirts and red kerchiefs that are still part of the San Fermin costume to this day. As we became interested in [the xeremies], we found ourselves with a problem: the majority of the musicians were very old people, and in order to restore its dignity, we decided [that] we would collect what was left of the musical formation and ensure its secular presence in village celebrations. And I think that something came out of it. Otherwise, look around you. What it used to be and what it has become: what a difference! (Rotger and Rubio 2015)

In 1960–61, the Northern Kunqu Opera Troupe of China (Beifang Kunqu Juyuan; hereafter, Beikun) created Escorting Lady Jing Home (Qianli Song Jingniang; hereafter, Escorting), a masterpiece of kunqu theatre that is still regularly performed and enthusiastically embraced by twenty-first-century audiences (Chen 2010). Dramatizing a journey that Zhao Kuangyin (926–976), the founder of the Northern Song dynasty (960–1125), allegedly took with Lady Jing, Escorting tells a substantive story that has deeply touched Chinese hearts and minds, and triggered numerous discussions, both causal and serious. The story has not only appeared on kunqu stages, but has also been performed as cartoons, TV shows, movies, and regional Chinese operas. There is even a Jingnianghu (Lake Lady Jing)—a tourist theme park built at a scenic site outside Handan in Hebei Province, China—celebrating Jing's historical/fictional trip home.

This article is an ethnomusicological inquiry into music in Chinese martial arts film. Film is a form of cultural performance in modern society. It conveys codified cultural messages, transforms social values, dramatizes myths, and comments on social conflicts. Film also engenders discourse that facilitates the building or rebuilding of personal and collective identities. As an ethnomusicologist, I am interested in the ways in which film music, like music in cultural performance, reflects the modern needs and desires of people crossing geographical and cultural boundaries. To study music in global cinema is to study how a modern form of performance interacts with its cultural heritages and contemporary sociocultural changes. Furthermore, the study of Chinese martial arts film music is an attractive topic in that it allows interdisciplinary dialogues among scholars in ethnomusicology, film studies, cultural studies, and Asian studies.