Description

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Sonic Ruins of Modernity shows how social, cultural and cognitive phenomena interact in the making and distribution of folksongs beyond their time. Through Judeo-Spanish (or Ladino) folksongs, the author illustrates a methodology for the interplay of individual memories, artistic initiatives, political and media policies, which ultimately shape "tradition" for the past century. He fleshes out in a series of case studies how folksongs can be conceived, performed and circulated in the post-tradition era - constituting each song as a "sonic ruin," as an imagined place. At the same time, the book overall provides a unique perspective on the history of the Judeo-Spanish folksong.

About the Author

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Edwin Seroussi is the Emanuel Alexandre Professor of Musicology and Director of the Jewish Music Research Centre of Hebrew University, as well as visiting scholar at Dartmouth College.