IJHS Newsletter 4

John WrightPretty much self-taught,John was influenced by theplaying of Angus Lawrie ofOban, Scotland. He is aplayer of internationalrepute, a lay organologistand co-author of the seminalwork Les Guimbardes, forthe Musée de l’Homme,published in 1978. Johnrecorded The Lark in theClear Air in 1974, stillavailable, and hascontributed to CD’speriodically since then.John WrightPhotograph from thecollection of the editor,(Far right)Ainus playerPhotograph byLeo Tadagawa.FeatureCommentVariety – the ‘spice of life’At the General Meeting during the AmsterdamCongress last June there was some particularlystimulating debate, especially when it came totaking the decision on the next venue.One thing that had been trotting through my mindsince Rauland was the importance of the Jew’s harpCongress in valorising minority communities,especially aboriginal ones (aboriginal in its widestsense of people who have been living in a givencountry for the longest time). Notably at Raulandwere two groups of Ainus from Hokkaido pluspeople representing the various Taiwan Aboriginalgroups. That's why I found myself pushing forTaiwan or Hokkaido as the next venue but it wassoon brought home to me that there would beproblems of funding - because we are dealing not somuch with inter-national relations (and that’s wherethe money is, if any) but inter-community ones.These communities most often form around a nonofficiallanguage or dialect and have the unfortunatehabit of frequently straddling one or more nationalfrontiers.Franz, ever practical, spoke of not confusingorganisation of the international congress with morelocalised events, stressing the point that themembers an international body like ours bydefinition of are far-flung making co-ordinationdifficult, which means that when we do manage toget together we have to make rapid pragmaticdecisions on the next international congress takingthe most feasible option. He did however think thatthe society could support more local initiatives(This is how I remember it: if I am misrepresentingyou in any way, Franz, please say so).But of course, this begs the question - how?Especially as the sands of time are running outbecause in many places, distinctive traditions ofmaking and playing Jew’s harps are in a fragilestate. This is particularly true as regards Jew’s harpmaking traditions. Let me give a concrete example -Galicia: I was present at a Jew’s harp (trompa orbirimbao) festival organised at Lugo a few yearsago by Luciano Perez (who was present at Raulandas an observer). Several local makers were presentat Lugo including two men, both in their Eighties.They were the real tradition-bearers: one was ablacksmith who forged the instrument and put ittogether, only advancing the work to a crucial point,where his colleague, the “adjuster” took over tofine-tune the instrument. The latter, as might beexpected, was also a good player and there was avirtuoso player also present at the festival, a littleyounger than the other two. It was obvious that thevery distinctive configuration of the local trompacoincided with a very special way of playing. Noneof these tradition bearers were young men and themakers were very jealous of their knowledge -especially the adjuster who hid in corners whilst hefiled and lined up things. There are youngergenerations involved in Galicia, makers doing finework - but will they have the wherewithal to continuethat distinctive tradition of both making and playing ?What can our Society do to help in valorising andencouraging plurality of styles in making and playing?- especially as one less positive outcome of crossfertilisationmay be a natural tendency, however slightfor the moment, towards uniformity of style. This wasto some extent countered at Amsterdam and at theNorwegian festivals I have attended by diversity ofactivities with several things going on at the sametime during the day and in this we are graduallygetting closer to the folk festival formula (In theSmithsonian Festival of American Folklife, this is theonly formula with no formal concerts as such).Personally I welcome this tendency because ithappens to work very well. One of the most importantaspects of these festivals is the public “workshop”with a designated presenter responsible for makingsure that things run smoothly. It is not the same as amaster-class or lecture (in outdoor festivals, there canbe a good half-dozen stages on the go at the sametime): The workshops can perhaps be perceived asmore superficial, but often they go much further inbringing out the musicians’ art in a very flexibleinformal public presentation of an invited group, anindividual artist or a group of individuals broughttogether through some specific affinity. The formulacan be quite simple: for instance everyone likes to tellhis life story or how he learnt to play, you canconcentrate on one type of instrument as representedin a number of cultures, the Jew’s harp as voicedisguiser, as a rhythm instrument... The overall resultis that individual performers are more occupiedthroughout the festival and encouraged to do thingsoutside of the framework of the formal concerts - theimportant thing is that each has his or her say. I havetaken part in many of these workshops both asperformer and presenter and I can say that they areoften joyful occasions and everybody comes awayknowing they have done something worthwhile.Of course in the United States there were little or nolanguage problems for the audience (except for myLeicester accent), and for our internationalorganisation that may sometimes complicate things -but where there’s a will there’s a way.John WrightPage 4 of 14

(Right)Tran Quang Hai in concert..Photograph by courtesy ofTran Quang Hai.FranceTran Quang Hai sends some links concerning Jew'sharp.Tran Quang Hai plays the Jew's harp:http://youtube.com/watch?v=3sae-BV1jZUHow to make a Hmong Jew's harp:http://youtube.com/watch?v=GQ1P8c_9YKk&mode=related&searchTran Quang Hai plays the Jew's Harp inWashington DC on 27 August 2006:http://youtube.com/watch?v=okdYHbzTyjkThere are many videos of Jew's harp on:http://youtube.comThis is the Jew's harp FORUM:http://37781.rapidforum.com/recenttopics, whereyou can find many articles on the Jew's Harp.For photos and other general information go to:http://tranquanghai.infoTran Quang HaiGermany – Der Freundeskreis MaultrommelWe have great memories of the "International Jew'sHarp Festival 2006" in Amsterdam, and for thosemarvellous days in the Muziekgebouw, betweenthe sky and the water, with exciting concerts andmeetings, we would cordially like to thank thesupervisors and organizers.Back in Berlin again, with all our impressions andideas, numerous visiting cards, appointments, newfriends and new CDs, we are looking ateverything that needs to be to arranged for ourfollow-up festival, for time is moving fast. We areplanning a "Day of the Jew's Harp" in Berlin.Soeren Birke will organize an annual internationalJew's harp concert in the Kulturbrauerei – a veryspecial and unique place for culture,communication, dancing, eating and drinking. Ithink this concert event will be the heart of the "Dayof the Jew's Harp" in Berlin.Many festival participants will remember the youngfilm crew that was seen in action everywhere duringthe festival. The result, the videofilm "Mundton"(25'), was presented in the Kulturbrauerei onOctober 19, 2006, in the former machine hall of theold brewery. This videofilm is a declaration of loveto the Jew’s harp, its lovers and virtuosi all overthe world. The screening was a big hit with theyoung visitors and nearly everyone wanted to test aJew’s harp and play it immediately. Various typeswent from mouth to mouth, although before eachchangeover they were “cleaned” in a glass ofVodka!In the interlude our guest, Olaf Garbow, played"Prussian Blue". Afterwards the film producersintroduced themselves - and were ecstaticallycelebrated by the audience. In fact, the entire filmteam was struck down in Amsterdam by the Jew’sharp virus! To conclude the evening, all the Jew’sharp players present came up on the stage andimprovised together under the guidance of ChrisDehler.The "Friends of the Jew’s Harp” circle is not activeat present. This is connected to the fact that ourmember, Dr. Horst Wittenbecher, died inthe early summer and his studio was our meetingplace. At his funeral, by his grave, we played alltogether for the last time. The other funeral guestswere impressed, as our Jew’s harp playingdeveloped a charm that helped to make the partingfrom Horst easier.At this point, I would like to bring up a suggestionagain that I made in Amsterdam. I am of the opinionthat the members’ “board" of the IJHSshould plan to meet next year to consider the currentstate of affairs, to exchange ideas, and look to thefuture. Not only could they meet, they could alsocome together to make music and mutually inspireeach other. To me, this seems the right thing to doto keep the IJHS a living organization. Paris wouldbe an appropriate place to meet - or Sicily.Gerd Conrad(Translation by Gloria Custance)HungaryThe Second Hungarian Jew's Harp Festival wentpretty well on 5th August 2006. The one eveningprogram was divided into a traditional and acontemporary part. Before the concerts AronSzilagyi gave a Jew’s harp workshop for beginners.More then 60 people participated which wasn't easyto handle. In the afternoon Catherine le Maignan'sdocumentary made at the First Hungarian Jew'sHarp Fest, Glimpse on the Jew's harp was shown.The concerts started with the show of theexperimental musician Albert Leskowsky followedby a real world music performance: Leo Tadagawa(on Jew’s harp, of course) and Takaku Keijiro(Hungarian hurdy-gurdy) played traditionalHungarian songs. After Leo Alexander Horschdemonstrated traditional Hungarian and inner Asianinstruments, Anton Bruhin accompanied someCont…Page 6 of 14

(Right)Taken at the SecondHungarian Jew's HarpFestival, Kecskemét,Hungary, 05th August 2006,Photograph byTamas "Joel" Varga.(Far right)Mr. Giuseppe Alaimo andhis workshop in Resuttano(Caltanissetta, Sicily.)Photograph byLuca Recupero.Marranzanu by Mr. Alaimo.Photograph byLuca Recupero.songs. The last show of the traditional part was asurprise performance: Sayla's khöömei ensemblefrom Inner Mongolia, China. These threeMongolian women sang incredible khöömei andplayed traditional music on Jew's harp, too.Barnabas Szilagyi's Hagakure project was the firstshow after the break. It was an audio-visualjourney through time and space: Jew's harp, tablafemale vocal and electronics. After BarnabasYoram Sival, the Israeli didgeridoo player gave avery nice concert. Many different Jew's harps, didjsounds and overtone singing were looped anddubbed live. The audience enjoyed it very much.Jacob M. Nasim's Psychedelic Jew's Harp projectwas first ever played unplugged because ofunlucky twists of fate: Jacob's rig wasn't allowedonto the plane because of overweight, then in thehotel room he spent the whole night programmingthe substitute effect processor provided by the festorganizers and when it came to the moment to startthe gig, there was not a single sound coming out ofthe electronics. So, Jacob played unplugged and itwas very good, just a bit (quite a bit) different thenthe original Psychedelic Jew's Harp. The nextperformer was the great Hungarian avant-gardeJew's harp player, Miklos Paizs. He broke everyJew's harp he played during his show. Just as partof his poetry...The last player was, of course, Anton Bruhin. Heplayed his ET and hydro-tubular system, too.The Festival was professionally recorded on video.The edited DVD will come out December thisyear. It will contain many extras, such asinterviews, biographies, gallery and the trailer of aJew's Harp tutorial DVD coming out in Februarynext year.The cultural referent of the City of Kecskemet isvery positive about the IJHF in 2010 inKecskemet. The organizer institutes (KecskemetYouth Centre and Eurokult Association) expressedtheir will to organize the event. At the momentthey are mapping the possible sites.Aron SzilagyiItalyMarranzano: News from SicilyThe positive effects of the first Marranzano WorldFestival, held in Catania in Oct 2005, can still beappreciated after one year, although the secondedition of the Festival (originally planned forOctober 2006) had to be postponed until April 2007.There are clear symptoms of a positive trendtowards the re-discovery and appreciation of thisinstrument, deeply rooted in the Sicilian folk musicculture. Besides the rise in the amount of bands (notonly folk, but also rock and even dance/electronic)that feature the marranzanu, one very good news isthe increased number of instrument makers: the sonof the late Mr. Tremoglie in the town of Leonfortehas picked up the workshop of his father, wellknown both as maker and player, and another goodmaker has been reported in the town of Marineo.Another very good news item on this same aspect isto announce a marranzano-making workshop by thewell-recognized and very esteemed Mr. GiuseppeAlaimo of Resuttano (see picture), planned for lateApril 2007 in connection to the 2nd MarranzanoWorld Festival. For more info write to:mo.mu@tiscali.it or luca_recupero@yahoo.itLuca RecuperoPage 7 of 14

(Far right)Photograph by courtesy ofSvein Westad.Photograph by courtesy ofSvein Westad.Logo by courtesy of AgniyaSpiridonovna ZhirkovaJapanActivities of Nihon Koukin Kyoukai [Japan Jew'sHarp Association]PublishingLast year (2005) December, we published a book“Koukin no Hibiku Sekai (A World with theResonant Jew’s Harp)” with an accompanying CD[NKK005] by Leo Tadagawa. The Englishtranslation is under preparation. A tutorial DVD“Learn to Play the Sakha Khomus with IvanAlexeyev & Spiridon Shishigin” (mainly inRussian, with Japanese titles) which was publishedin 1996 on a video tape (VHS) will be releasedvery soon.Concerts and EventsIn 2006 we have organized several concerts.• January: Robert Zagretdinov (Bashkortostan)• June: Bolot Bairyshev (Altai).• September: Ivan Alexeyev (Sakha).• October: Yedil Khusseinov (Kazakhstan).Monthly MeetingWe are having monthly meeting with a live showby special guest musicians every second Sundays.International Festival and CongressWe are planning to have an International Jew’sHarp Event (Hopefully the 6th International Jew’sHarp Festival & Congress) in 2008 summer.Internet SiteWe are running an Internet site in Japanese:http://www.koukin.jp/Leo Tadagawa.The NetherlandsI am in contact with two other Dutch Jew’s harpplayers and have decided to do a Jew’s harpmatinee in a nice theater in the center of Utrecht,NL. The venue is called Theater Kikker (frogtheatre, a very suitable name for a Jew’s harpevent) and maybe this could mean a start ofsomething bigger.The performance will include: Míku Zee (J-harp,didgeridoo), Tony Antenna's Monorail (a one manband with J-harp, Anthony Glass from the bandThe Electric Fans) and Plunk (J-harp and humanbeatbox, Ramon Kool & Danibal)http://www.theaterkikker.nl/muziek.php?id=665&agenda=algemeenI hope to establish contact with more players, but itis still a little hard. (We all sympathise. Ed.).Something of more international interest: I justdiscovered youtube and there is a humble start of agroup sharing Jew’s harp movies:http://www.youtube.com/group/jawharp. There is agrowing number of people adding there films and itwould be nice to find many more Jew’s harp filmson it and meeting other enthusiasts. (This is reallyinteresting, and I would like an article for the nextnewsletter on who, what, when, etc… Ed.)DanibalNorwayNorsk MunnharpeforumWe had our annual festival in Setesdal 22-24.September. Approx. 40 participants, from Norway,plus some coming from Estonia and Finland. Theweekend included concerts, workshops and a trip toFolke Nesland’s workshop. Further, Sylvain Triasfrom Paris, has moved with his family to Stavanger.His wife has got a job there, and Sylvain wants tostudy the Norwegian style of Jew’s harp playing.So, he was at the festival, too.Svein WestadSakha RepublicWe invite you to the extraordinary land of Olonkho,where the Khomus of the people of Sakha willescort you.The people of Sakha have preserved numerouscultural and spiritual traditions, which have theirroots in ancient times. As people and ethnos, wehave our spirituality, our language, and we did notlose our national culture and traditions.Playing the khomus is part of our cultural traditions.The music of khomus transports spiritual energy,which positively affects people, causing happyemotions and feelings. Playing the khomus helpschildren to reveal, develop and realize their creativepotential.I work as teacher in the creative association "EtigenKhomus" ("Etigen Khomus" means "entrancingkhomus") of the children's center of aestheticeducation "Aiylgy" ("Aiylgy" means "middleworld") of Yakutsk city. I am working withnumerous bright and gifted children, playing thekhomus and being interested in the national cultureof the people of Sakha. I try to attract the children toplaying the khomus and to our national traditionswith the aim of developing and strengtheningspirituality, self-realization and creativity.Page 8 of 14

Leo TadagawaBeing Japanese, Leo couldn'tunderstand why he wasinterested in the Jew's harpso much, particularly as thetradition seemed to havedisappeared in Japan. Afterencountering two ironinstruments from the 10thcentury, excavated fromneighbouring town,however, he started to thinkthat there were possibilities.Moreover, he found acountry - Sakha (Yakutia) -where the Jew's harp playeris considered as a normallyrespected person. Now Leois established as one of theregions – and world’s – greatplayers, invited to perform inconcert and on recordings,and has found other playersin Hokkaido whom heenthusiastically promotes.PictureGalleryLeo TadagawaWe’ve all had the pleasure of seeing Leo’sphotographic work over the years, so I asked him toselect a few of his favourites for publication.(Right)Players fromTop: Ulch.Middle: YakutiaBotton: Ainus.All photograph byLeo TadagawaPage 10 of 14

(all names left to right)1. Albina Dekhtereva,Spiridon Shishigin, FredCrane, Ivan Alexeev,Kim Borisov, FranzKumpl, YanaKrivoshapkina,Zhirkova.2. Ivan Alexeev, SpiridonShishigin, Anton Bruhin,Franz Kumpl, RobertZagredtinov.3. The Wright-family andNguyen Duc Minh.4. Indian master playingexprompt.5. Franz and Jan Wolf, whois the initiator of theAmsterdam IJHF..6. Anton Bruhin (CH),Spiridon Shishigin(Sakha), Phons Bakx(NL) – three grandmasters of the Jew’sharp!7. Luca Recupero and hisband in action.8. Jamming of harps anddidgeridoos, looking likethe playing of two“good”(orderly) boyswith two “bad”(wild)boys.9. Lucy & John Wright.10. Manfred Russmann andband.11. Gordon Frazier, FredCrane, Anton Bruhin,Koichi Makigami,Silvain Trias, FranzKumpl.12. Leo Tadagawa, FranzKumpl, Fred Crane,Aron Szilagy, JarkoAikens (the programmanager at HetMuziekgebouw inAmsterdam, taken inKecskemet in 25 Sep2005).Kumpl’s Amsterdam ScrapbookFranz persuaded many and various people to takesnapshots at Amsterdam – so thanks to those whodid.7513842All photographs courtesy ofFranz Kumpl9101112Page 11 of 14

(Right)(left to right) Paddy Moran,Paddy Neylan, John Wright,Noel Pepper & John Doonan.Photograph byMichael Wright.Looking BackRecently I found the photograph below of the 1974recording of the ‘Lark in the Clear Air’, and itoccurred to me that there must be photos of ayouthful Crane, Bruhin, Shishigin, Alexeyev or,indeed, any of you, so dig into your old photoalbums and lets show the younger members of ourSociety that we were like them once!Caption CompetitionA prize (if we had one) would go to the best entryfor a caption to this photograph by Leo Tadagawa,but don’t let the lack of a gift stop you!The best three will be posted in the next issue.AndFinally…CommentAny responses or comments you want to sendregarding anything in the Newsletter will be printedhere.New WebsiteIt was agreed at the AGM that we should have anew IJHS website, and I hope to update you ondevelopments in the next issueMWNoticeBoardThose of you that were at the Festival in Amsterdamwill remember the film group, blende39,interviewing and filming the participants throughoutthe weekend. Eva-Luise Volkmann updates us on itsavailability.Mundton DVDA ramble through the world of the Jew's-HarpThe Jew's-Harp chooses his player, it seduces.It was at the 5th International Jew's-Harp Festival inAmsterdam, where virtuosos and enthusiasts fromall over the world met to celebrate its unique sound,that we discovered the Jew's-Harp. We were wellprepared and knew the stories and legends, but whatwe were not ready for the effect the instrument wasto have on us.Our film shows how the Jew's-Harp seduced us. Itlooks at a small instrument that has fascinatedmusicians and audiences for thousands of years. Theplayers told us about their thoughts and experienceswith the Jew's-Harp and the DVD includes portraitsof some of the most famous Jew's-Harp players,such as Anton Bruhin, Spiridon Shishigin and TranQuang Hai.(Right)Photograph byLeo Tadagawa(Far right)Film crew at work.Photograph by courtesy ofblende39A call for help from the editor!Can I have any PR photos to keep on file forfuture publications, please? Send them to theaddress (postal or email) on pages 2 and 13,with a caption. Thanks.EditorIt is a documentary for those who are caught by theJew's-Harp and those who want to be found, andyou can buy the DVD by sending an email toinfo@blende39.de.Eva-Luise VolkmannPage 12 of 14

"Jew's harpist attached to awooden block".Drawing by Danibal.(Below)The World Record event!Photograph by courtesey ofSpiridon ShishiginAmsterdam CDThe Fifth International Jew's Harp Festival 2006- LIVE!…will come out in December and in Januarypeople will be able to order it via the website:www.muziekgebouw.nlIt is a double CD, including:CD1Wolf Janscha (Austria)Phons Bakx, Izzy van Elk, Janus Filius (Netherlands)Madosini (South Africa)John, Michael & Lucy Wright (Great Britain)Leo Tadagawa (Japan) and Arnold Marinissen(Netherlands)Bolot Bairyshev (Altai, RF)Robert Zagretdinov en Ildar Nizamov(Bashkortostan, RF)Albina Degtareva & Yana Krivoshapkina(Yakutia, RF)Albin Paulus (Austria) and Vaughan Schlepp(Netherlands)CD2Li Wang (China)Sylvain Trias & Jonathan Pontier (France)Sekaa Genggong Lestari (Bali, Indonesia)Tran Quang Hai (Vietnam / France)Nguyen Duc Minh (Vietnam)Steev Kindwald (USA / India)Morsing Tarang Jew’s Harp Quartet (Southern India)Mollner Maultrommler (Austria)Das Ohr (Switserland / Austria / Germany)Navrang (Hungary)Oorbeek (Netherlands) and Koichi Makigami (Japan)Plunk (Netherlands)RegionalNews – STOP PRESSA Guinness World Record!I received this from Spiridon Shiahigin andcouldn’t let it pass – congratulations to all!The Russian Jazz music “Tong- Jazz” took placeon 20–22 October 2006, in the Sakha Republic,Yakutia. Music groups from Yakutsk, Aldan,Mirny took part and well known Jazz musicgroups from Russia – such as, Igor Bril fromMoscow, Igor Zakharov from Yekaterinburg andI B kIJHS MembershipMembership dues are payable in January. Pleasesend your cheques or payment details to: PhilippeDallais, Grand Rue 55, 2035 Corcelles,Switzerland, or phidkat@bluewin.ch .Please notify the General Secretary immediatelyof changes or corrections to your address ascurrently listed at: Michael Wright, IJHS, c/o77 Beech Road, Wheatley, Oxon OX33 1UD, ormichael.wright@oxon.blackwellpublishing.comDeadlines!Newsletter 5Copy, images – including titles and credits – byFriday, 30 th March 2007. I’ll be sending areminder out about a month before, though don’twait until then, but send me things as and whenyou think of it!Publication will be at the end of April 2007.If reading this newsletter has inspired you towrite something, please send an email tomichael.wright@oxon.blackwellpublishing.comor write me a letter to:Michael Wright,The editorIJHH Newsletter77 Beech RoadWheatleyOxon OX33 1UDIgor Burko from Tschelabinsk. During the firstdays, there were performances by the Orchestra ofSakha Circus “Time Band”; the violin ensemble“Yakutia virtuoso” of the High music school; thechoir “Revival” and solo- singer of the Opera andBallet theatre, that are Elvira Sanievskaya,Valerie Casatkin; the brass-band orchestra,ensemble of Yakutian music college and others.On the last day, however, more than 400 Jew’sharp players and ensembles from differentschools and colleges took part in the recordbreaking attempt. They all played on the Yakutiannational instrument – the khomus (vargan/Jew’sharp) under the guidance of Igor Zakharov, aworld renowned winner of International Jazzfestivals. The ethno-group, Yakutia “Ajarchaan”began to play the first melody, followed by all theother Jew’s harp players. Igor Zakharovconducted, shook his head in disbelief, jumpedfor joy and was in ecstasy with the music. Theperformance lasted 5 minutes, and the audiencereceived this improvisation with great warmth,standing and loudly applauding at the end. Theperformance itself was organised by the Moscowcommittee of Guinness record’s book, a similarperformance having been carried out in thesummer during the National Celebration Ysyach.Spiridon ShishiginPage 13 of 14

Leo Tadagawa, John Wright, Svein Westad and Tran Quang Hai in concert on the Amsterdam Festival Summer Stage, 2006.Photograph by Lucy WrightInternational Jew’s Harp SocietyApplication for membershipNew memberRenewalName and address------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------E-mail address--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The annual dues are US$20.00, and may be paid by International Postal Money order payable to International Jew’s HarpSociety. The amount may also be paid in cash, with a risk of loss in the mail.I enclose payment in the amount of US$__________ to cover dues for the year(s) 200________I am unable to send the dues, because of technical difficulties with exchange, or other good reason.I enclose an additional amount of US$___________ as a subsidy for members not able to pay.The Treasurer’s postal address is:Philippe Dallais, Grand Rue 55, 2035 Corcelles, Switzerland: Fax: +41-(0)32-730-2266. E-mail: phidkat@bluewin.chPage 14 of 14