Archives West Finding Aid

Contents summary:

73-4.1-6 - Copies of 78 rpm recordings of the Hsaing Waing ensemble directed by Sein Bayda; copied to tape in Burma in 1973.

73-4.7-9 - Music of ethnic minorities.

73-4.10-13 - Ethnically Burmese music; includes a variety of styles.

73-4.14-18 - Recordings identified as "Music Council" 1-5; includes a variety of styles.

73-4.19-20 - Dubs of 78 rpm records (apparently same material as 78-11.21-22 but without processing); digital scans of record labels produced 7/2014 and stored with WAV files.

73-4.21-22 - tapes missing (appear to have been copies of 73-4.19-20 with one channel processed; see tapes 78-11.21-22 for these versions)

73-4.23-24 - "Burmese Traditional Music" Part I & II - radio programs.

73-4.25-26 - Burmese classical music.

73-4.27 - Burmese gong tunings

73-4.28 - Burmese ballroom dance music

73-4.29 - 78 rpm record dubs (from records donated by Jean Durning)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Original archive sheets tentatively identified 73-4.7-18 as recordings of "Burmese Tribal Music" (of the Kayah, Kachin, Karen and Shan); this was an error. Investigation by Tanya Lee, spring 2000, showed that tapes .7 - .9 contain music of several ethnic minorities; logs of these tapes were prepared with the help of Gavin Douglas and Yin Yin and Cliff Sloane; they include selections from Kayah, Karen, Shan, Kwalum, Kokine, Kwanglo, and other groups.

Notes from 4 original archive sheets for tapes .7 - .18: "Entry date" is listed as "4/23/68" on each sheet [what does this refer to?]; "Field No." on 4 sheets listed as "Burma I/1-6," "Burma I/7," "Burma I/8-13," and "Burma I/14-16"; Titles on 4 sheets listed as "Signature tunes of the Shan tribe," "Music of the Kayah tribe (Loikaw)," "Music of the Kachin tribe," and "Music of the Karen tribe" [this information does not appear to be completely correct]

Original archive sheet titled "Music of the Kachin tribe, Burma I/8-13" lists following contents: "8. Gongs, cymbals, and flute; 9. Mourning mouth organ; 10. Song: Male solo acc. by gongs, drums, and cymbals-gingphaw tube; 11. Manao music - male and female (duet), pipe and drums; 12. Tonka dance - Burmese oboe (Hue) gongs and cymbals; 13. Bells in Buddhist monastery"

Original archive sheet titled "Music of the Karen tribe, Burma I/14-16" lists following contents: "1. Traditional drum - Hpar Si (?); 2. Traditional poem recital; 3. Boy-girl romancing"

Logsheets for the tapes in this collection include detailed contents information (see links below); much contents information was provided by UW ethnomusicology student Ne Myo Aung 2013-2015.

Duplicate copies of 14 reels returned by Garfias 4/2002 (73-4.7-18, .23-24 Dub); notes on tape boxes photo-copied and added to doc file (reels and boxes discarded).

Photo-copies of 3 articles by Robert Garfias included in documentation file: "A Musical Visit to Burma" (World of Music XVII:1, 1975); "Preliminary Thoughts on Burmese Modes" (Asian Music VII:1, 1975); "The Development of the Modern Burmese Hsaing Ensemble" (Asian Music XVI:1, 1985)

Documentation: Collector's notes