{"id":13666,"date":"2020-12-14T10:40:54","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T09:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.auxsons.com\/?post_type=focus&p=13666"},"modified":"2020-12-14T10:44:08","modified_gmt":"2020-12-14T09:44:08","slug":"do-you-speak-unesco-music-heritage-of-humanity","status":"publish","type":"focus","link":"https:\/\/www.auxsons.com\/en\/focus\/do-you-speak-unesco-music-heritage-of-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you speak UNESCO<\/span>? Music, heritage of humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"

In mid-December, Algerian ra\u00ef and Argentine chamam\u00e9 are expected to join Iraqi makam, Georgian polyphonic singing and the Barranquilla carnival on the \u201crepresentative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity\u201d. How is this UNESCO<\/span> recognition achieved? What does it bring to artists and their audiences? We get some answers from the successful supporters of maloya from R\u00e9union, Mongolian khoomei and the Breton fest-noz.<\/span><\/p>\n

Johanni Curtet was still a student when he was involved in writing the dossier for the inclusion of Mongolian overtone singing, or khoomei, on the UNESCO<\/span> list. \u201cI was studying for a PhD in ethnomusicology and was still carrying out research,\u201d he remembers. \u201cI was called up by the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO<\/span>.<\/span> I suggested ways to complete the file, to correct some oversights and offer a broader view\u201d. \u201cI didn\u2019t know the language of UNESCO<\/span> at all,\u201d he now admits. \u201cI had some idea but I\u2019d never immersed myself in the notion of intangible cultural heritage. As I reread the file, I started to wonder. I tried to understand the language and issues at stake in these files. It took a while before I understood some of the terms, even though they were in French\u201d.<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Nomindari Shagdars\u00fcren, who was the project manager at the Mongolian National Commission for UNESCO<\/span> at the time, recalls the experience: \u201cWe tried to coordinate all the different groups involved: those who were keeping the tradition alive, researchers, officials, decision-makers who work in cultural engineering. Overtone singing is very competitive. Everyone wants to make their mark. The artists weren\u2019t used to working together\u201d. The process sped up in 2009, when China had \u201cthe Mongolian art of khoomei singing\u201d listed as the heritage of humanity. This was an insult to the Mongolians across the border, who registered their own practice the following year.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Listing itself represents two years of work,\u201d says Nomindari. \u201cYou have to submit the file in March of the first year. Then it goes back and forth with questions and assessments. And then, if all goes well, the listing is considered complete at the end of the following year\u201d.<\/span> <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mangaljav - \u041b. \u041c\u0430\u043d\u0433\u0430\u043b\u0436\u0430\u0432 \/ An Anthology of Mongolian Kh\u00f6\u00f6mii - \u041c\u043e\u043d\u0433\u043e\u043b \u0425\u04e9\u04e9\u043c\u0438\u0439\u043d \u0421\u043e\u043d\u0433\u043e\u043c\u043e\u043b<\/a> - Pr\u00e9sentation de l\u2019anthologie en 2 CDs que Nomindari Shagdars\u00fcren et Johanni Curtet ont publi\u00e9 en 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n