Hugh Tracey
Hugh Travers Tracey | |
|---|---|
 Hugh Tracey in South Africa, 1960. | |
| Born | 29 January 1903 |
| Died | 23 October 1977 (aged 74) |
| Organization | International Library of African Music |
| Known for | Kalimba |
Hugh Travers Tracey was an English
Hugh Tracey saw the importance of music within culture when he worked a tobacco farm in Southern Rhodesia. Here, he experienced music that displayed beliefs and morals, which inspired him to make his field recordings. He wanted to stop the loss of traditional music and culture from modernity and recorded all of his field recordings from rural areas that still held onto traditional culture and ideas. [1]
Life and career
Tracey was born in
Kalimba
The kalimba is most similar to the mbira nyunga nyunga, but varies substantially from the more popular mbira dzavadzimu which is a fundamentally different instrument. Tracey was interested in the
International Library of African Music
In 1954, Tracey founded the International Library of African Music (ILAM) and became its director. ILAM publishes the African Music Society Journal. As part of the ILAM, Tracey made over 35,000 recording of African folk music during multiple recording tours throughout Africa. Notable tours include:
- 1957 -
- 1958 - Nyasaland recording tour[5]
- 1958 - Swaziland recording tour[6]
- 1959 - Bechuanaland recording tour[7]
- 1959 - Basutoland recording tour[8]
Hugh's sons,
Death
Tracey died on 23 October 1977 and is buried at the Saronde Valley Farm, near Krugersdorp, South Africa.[2]
Recordings
Tracey's recording were published in 210 LPs by the International Library of African Music. Although commercially available, his Music of Africa series (also known as the Sound of Africa series) can be mostly found in University libraries.
Publications
- The Evolution of African Music and its Function in the Present Day, Johannesburg: Institute for the Study of Man in Africa, 1961a
- "The Mbira class of African Instruments in Rhodesia (1932)". African Music Society Journal. 4 (3): 78–95. 1969.
- Chopi musicians: their music, poetry, and instruments. London: Oxford University Press. 1970 [1948].[a]
- African music research: transcription library of gramophone records : handbook for librarians. Gallo (Africa). 1961.
- "Towards an Assessment of African Scales". African Music. 2 (1). International Library of African Music: 15–20. 1958. JSTOR 30249468.
- "A Case for the Name Mbira". African Music. 2 (4). International Library of African Music: 17–25. 1961b. JSTOR 30249527.
- "The state of folk music in Bantu Africa". African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music. 1 (1): 8–11. 1954. ISSN 0065-4019.
- "The future of music in Basutoland". African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music. 2 (2): 10–14. 1954. ISSN 0065-4019.
- "The International Library of African Music". African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music. 1 (1): 71–73. 1954. ISSN 0065-4019.
- "Recording African music in the field". African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music. 1 (2): 8–11. 1955. ISSN 0065-4019.
See also
- Music of Africa
- Chemirocha – Tracey's field recordings in Kenya
Notes
- ^ Describes the Timbila of Mozambique
- S2CID 145062827.
- ^ a b c d Jones 1977, pp. 96–99.
- ^ Tracey 1961b.
- ^ Tracey, Hugh (1957). "Recording in the lost valley". African Music: Journal of the International Library of African Music. 1 (4): 45–47. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- . Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- . Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- . Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- . Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ Tracey, Hugh (1973). "Catalogue: the Sound of Africa series: 210 long playing records of music and songs from Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa". Roodepoort, South Africa: International Library of African Music.
References
- Jones, A. M. (1971). Africa and Indonesia the Evidence of the Xylophone and Other Musical and Cultural Factores. Brill Archive.
- Jones, A. M. (1977). "Hugh Travers Tracey (1903-1977)". Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council. 9: 96–99. S2CID 251358271.
- Post, Jennifer (2013). Ethnomusicology: A Research and Information Guide. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-136-70518-2.
- Hudson, Mark (1999). "Hugh Tracey:Pioneer Archivist". In Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham & Richard Trillo (ed.). World Music: Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Rough Guides. p. 669. ISBN 978-1-85828-635-8.
- Levine, Laurie (2005). The Drumcafé's Traditional Music of South Africa. Jacana Media. ISBN 978-1-77009-046-0.
- Thram, Diane Janell (2010). For Future Generations: Hugh Tracey and the International Library of African Music. International Library of African Music. ISBN 978-1-920355-96-8.
- "Hugh Traceys Portrait". International Library of African Music. Rhodes University. Archived from the original on 2012-12-25.
External links
- African Musical Instruments
- ILAM International Library of African Music
- Review of Tracey's work in ethnomusicology
- Kalimba Magic's interview with Andrew Tracey, which includes information about Hugh Tracey.
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