18th International Meeting

StubickeToplice
Croatia

13-17 April, 2011

at the invitation of

Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku

Bernard Garaj, 
Slovakia
bgaraj@ukf.sk

Rural musical instruments at the turn of two centuries: the case of bagpipes in Slovakia

The aim of this paper is to identify fundamental transformations rural musical instruments have undergone in the past twenty years from the point of view of their position and importance in folk culture, social and functional bounds, and technological development. The example of bagpipes points to an almost forgotten instrument in the 1970s having found a way leading to revival, so it can be considered an exceedingly successful story not only in Slovakia, but also an important source of inspiration for neighbouring countries. An attempt to understand the whole context of problems is, in this paper, represented by institutionalized forms of instrumental tradition revival (festivals, workshops, happenings, associations and societies) including individual contributions of makers and interpreters in the area of technological, design and interpretative practice.