This book is an in-depth and comprehensive contextualization of the emergence of the audiovisual dimension of ethnomusicology, and the use of film as a medium of “representation” and research. Its primary aim is to outline the principles and developmental history of audiovisual practices set within the parameters of the discipline, as well as the diverse theoretical and methodological approaches adopted by filmmakers. The author wishes to “stimulate a critical reflection about how audiovisual means are used by ethnomusicologists and/or filmmakers to represent musical cultures,” as well as to “examine the most representative ethnomusicological films” (39).
Audiovisual Ethnomusicology begins with an engaging preface by Timothy Rice, who shines light on the fact that very few authors have ever examined a particular theme or issue facing the field (16), as a common thread or throughline, in this case, filmmaking. The main body of the book spans seven thorough chapters with much overlapping content and a one-page conclusion. In Chapter 1 (“Framing Sounds: The Audiovisual Representation of Music”), D’Amico provides the reader with the necessary conceptual footing, historical background, terminology (“audiovisual-scape,” “ciné-ethnomusicology”), and the names of major “players” in the filmmaking scene (John Baily, Steven Feld, Mantle Hood, Gerhard Kubik, Arthur Simon, Hugo Zemp). Chapter 2 (“The Ethnomusicological Film”) nuances the breadth, content, scope, and typology (expository, observational, impressionistic) of films associated with this topic. Chapter 3 (“The Styles of the Ethnomusicological Film”) paints in broad strokes the styles associated with various cinematic schools of thought or institutions associated with audiovisual ethnomusicology, including the Institut für den Wissenschaftlichen Film (Institute for Scientific Film) in Germany, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Audiovisuel (National Center for Scientific Research—Audiovisual) in France, and the National Film and Television School in England. Hugo Zemp and those associated with his productions are deservedly treated as an “institution” all to themselves. Chapter 4 (“Filming Sounds around the World”) discusses the history of ethnomusicological films in several areas of the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, the United States, Latin America, Australia and Papua New Guinea, and Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, and Portugal). Eastern Europe, Russia, and Western Europe are curiously lacking in this mix. Chapter 5 (“Analysis of Sounding Images”) features sections on visualizing music, videographic transcription, animation techniques, and choreometrics (as conceived by John Lomax). Chapter 6 (“Filming Music in Action”) focuses on uses of film pertaining to organology, musical interaction, and transmission, demonstrating how “[t]he audiovisual document may reveal significant information relating to performance techniques, the use and construction of musical instruments, and processes of interaction between producers and users of the musical event” (267). Chapter 7 (“Music on Screen”) discusses films on “big and small screens” (305), and different kinds of music documentaries predominant in both broadcast media and the festival circuit. There is a comprehensive bibliography, a lengthy filmography, and a very helpful twenty-five-page appendix of “Ethnomusicological Films Listed by Content Categories” (445–470). The text has extensive, voluminous footnotes.
One section missing from this book that would have been helpful is a subject index. Furthermore, it must be mentioned that there is a conspicuous notes section in the prefatory materials (found after the title page and the acknowledgments) that contains proofreader comments meant for the author only. Lastly, anyone interested in the recent progressive discussions that attempt to overlook or merge the distinctions between musicology and ethnomusicology might be disappointed, as the focus and wording herein are solely on the latter.
Audiovisual Ethnomusicology is an encyclopedic compendium of films and film-related scholarship published in the English language. This engaging work is the only current book on the market that encapsulates this scene and will thus be valuable to anyone interested in the visual aspects of musical performance practice and the utility of film as a medium of presentation and research in ethnomusicology.
Audiovisual Ethnomusicology is an engaging encyclopedic compendium of films and film-related scholarship published in the English language. Although there are other recent texts, such as Benjamin Harbert’s American Music Documentary: Five Case Studies of Ciné-Ethnomusicology (Reference Harbert2018) or Michael B. MacDonald’s CineWorlding: Scenes of Cinematic Research Creation (Reference MacDonald2023), which focus in detail on more specific aspects of ethnomusicological filmmaking, no other study is as ambitious as this in breadth and scope. This is the only book on the market that encapsulates the entirety of this scene and will thus be valuable to anyone interested in the visual aspects of musical performance practice and the utility of film as a medium of presentation and research in ethnomusicology.
