Constantin Brăiloiu
Encyclopedia
Constantin Brăiloiu was a Romania
n composer
and internationally known ethnomusicologist.
He was born in Bucharest
. He studied in Bucharest (1901–1907), Vienna
(1907–1909), Vevey
and Lausanne
(1909–1912) as well as Paris
(1912–1914). In 1920 he founded the Societatea Compozitorilor Român (SCR, Society of Romanian Composers) along with other composers, and he served as general secretary of the organization between 1926 and 1943.
In 1928 he initiated the composer's collective Arhiva de folklore (folklore archive), which soon became one of the largest folk music archives of its time. From 1928 he and sociology professor Dimitrie Gusti
visited the various regions of Romania in order to make sound recordings. In 1931 he published the article "Schiţa a unei Metode de folklore Muzical" (Sketch of a method for music folklore), which became one of the foundational texts for ethnomusicology.
In 1943 he became cultural consultant for the Romanian embassy in Bern. Due to the political incidents in his homeland he stayed from then on in Switzerland
. In 1944 he organized another archive in Geneva
, Les Archives internationales de musique populaire (AIMP), that was part of the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (Geneva Museum of Ethnography). He served as director for the AIMP from 1944 until his death in 1958, and collected musical recordings from all over the world. In particular, between 1951 and 1958 he released 40 volumes in the series Collection universelle de musique populaire enregistrée (Universal collection of recorded popular music) on 78 rpm records
. In 1948 he became assistant professor (maître de conférence) at the CNRS
in Paris.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and internationally known ethnomusicologist.
He was born in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. He studied in Bucharest (1901–1907), Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
(1907–1909), Vevey
Vevey
Vevey is a town in Switzerland in the canton Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne.It was the seat of the district of the same name until 2006, and is now part of the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District...
and Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
(1909–1912) as well as Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(1912–1914). In 1920 he founded the Societatea Compozitorilor Român (SCR, Society of Romanian Composers) along with other composers, and he served as general secretary of the organization between 1926 and 1943.
In 1928 he initiated the composer's collective Arhiva de folklore (folklore archive), which soon became one of the largest folk music archives of its time. From 1928 he and sociology professor Dimitrie Gusti
Dimitrie Gusti
Dimitrie Gusti was a Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and voluntarist philosopher; a professor at the University of Iaşi and the University of Bucharest, he served as Romania's Minister of Education in 1932-1933...
visited the various regions of Romania in order to make sound recordings. In 1931 he published the article "Schiţa a unei Metode de folklore Muzical" (Sketch of a method for music folklore), which became one of the foundational texts for ethnomusicology.
In 1943 he became cultural consultant for the Romanian embassy in Bern. Due to the political incidents in his homeland he stayed from then on in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1944 he organized another archive in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Les Archives internationales de musique populaire (AIMP), that was part of the Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (Geneva Museum of Ethnography). He served as director for the AIMP from 1944 until his death in 1958, and collected musical recordings from all over the world. In particular, between 1951 and 1958 he released 40 volumes in the series Collection universelle de musique populaire enregistrée (Universal collection of recorded popular music) on 78 rpm records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
. In 1948 he became assistant professor (maître de conférence) at the CNRS
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
The National Center of Scientific Research is the largest governmental research organization in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe....
in Paris.
Writings
- Schiţa a unei Metode de folklore Muzical. In: Boabe de Grâu, Jg. 2, Nr. 4, 1931.
- Sur une ballade roumaine : (la Mioritza). Kundig, Geneva 1946.
- A propos du Jodel. In: Kongressbericht der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Musikwissenschaft, 4. Kongress, Basel 1949. Bärenreiter Verlag, Basel 1951, S. 69-71.
- Le rythme aksak. Abbeville 1952.
- Sur une mélodie russe. In: Pierre Souvtchinsky, Vladimir FédorovVladimir FédorovVladimir Fédorov was a French musicologist, librarian, and composer of Russian birth. He studied with André Pirro at the Schola Cantorum de Paris and studied composition privately with Paul Vidal...
, Gisèle Brelet (Hrsg.): Musique russe. Presses universitaires de France, Paris 1953. - Le vers populaire roumain chanté. Ed. de l'Institut universitaire roumain Charles I, Paris 1956.
- La rythmique enfantine : notions liminaires. Elsevier, Paris/Brussels 1956.
- Folklore musical. Encyclopédie de la musique Fasquelle, Paris 1959.
- Réflexions sur la création musicale collective. In: Diogène. (Paris) Nr. 25, 1959, S. 83–93.
- Vie musicale d'un village: recherches sur le répertoire de Dragus (Roumanie) 1929-1932. Institut universitaire roumain Charles Ier, Paris 1960.
- Problèmes d'ethnomusicologie. Minkoff Reprint, Geneva 1973. (Collected works edited by Gilbert Rouget)
- Problems of ethnomusicology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1984. (English translation by A.L. Lloyd of the collected works)
- Opere 1-5. Ed. Muzicală a Uniunii compozitorilor din Republica Socialistă România, Bukarest, Bd. 1: 1967, Bd. 2: 1969, Bd. 3: 1974, Bd. 4: 1979, Bd. 5: 1981. (Collected works, translated and edited by Emilia Comişel)
- Opere 6. Prima Parte. Editura Muzicală, Bucharest 1998. (with Emilia Comişel)