Get feral exposhnow. I must, however, mention two other subjects which were con-
sidered by the conference. One is the subject of African music, on
which the following resolution was passed:
‘This conference is convinced of the great importance to the African
of the cultivation and preservation of his true indigenous folk music
and dances, in contradistinction to the quasi-European music popular
with the younger generation.’
To this were added other resolutions embodying practical sugges-
tions for the preservation and cultivation of African music. Parenthe-
tically it should be mentioned that the penetration of European music,
mostly of an inferior order, is not peculiar to Africa, but applies equally
to Asiatic countries.
The other subject to which the conference gave particular attention
was that of folk music in radio. It appointed a special commission under
the chairmanship of Dr. Solon Michaelides (Conservatoire of Music,
Limassol, Cyprus) and, following a recommendation by the commis-
sion, a special committee has been appointed by the International Folk
Music Council to co-operate with radio and other organizations in the
recording, dissemination and exchange of authentic folk music.
In conclusion, I would touch upon the question of the significance
of folk music in the general cultural life of today, and I would endea-
vour to dispel any idea there may be that folk music is a thing of the
past which has no appeal to the present generation of young people.
We must, in the present day, distinguish between the creation of folk
music and its practice. In the past, the two were inseparable, but in
many countries that is no longer the case. The evolution of folk music
by means of oral tradition belongs primarily to the pre-literate stage
of a community but its practice under present conditions is no longer
necessarily dependent upon oral transmission.
There are many factors which tend to destroy the traditional ways
of life : general education, growing ease of communication, the spread
of industrialism, urbanization of village life and the consequent loss
of a community sense. And traditional music making becomes more
and more submerged by music that is ‘laid on’ by the radio, the cinema
and the dance hall.
But, paradoxically, some of the very agencies that have helped to
destroy the traditional practice of folk music, such as primary education
and the radio, are now among those that are contributing most effec-
tively to its revival and, in many countries, folk music which 50 years
ago was the almost exclusive possession of one class of society is now
known and loved by people in all walks of life.