Musical and Ethnographic Center named after E.V. Gippius
Employees
Musical and Ethnographic Center named after E.V. Gippius (MEC, formerly the Problem Research Laboratory for the Study of Traditional Musical Cultures) is an independent department of the Russian Academy of Music. Gnesins. The Center staff provides the educational process:
- serve group and individual classes in folklore disciplines, provide classes with demonstration materials,
- conduct expeditionary folklore practice for students,
- help in the selection illustrative material and performing repertoire.
MEC employees are engaged in field, archival and scientific research of musical folklore: vocal, instrumental, choreographic.
The Center has a phonogram archive of folklore recordings (on analogue and digital audio media), a video library, a manuscript collection, and technical equipment necessary for conducting folklore classes, field work and office scientific research.
The scientific and methodological work of the MEC staff includes participation in international and all-Russian symposia, conferences and seminars, the scientific issues of which cover various areas of ethnomusicology. Every two years, the Center holds the International Scientific Ethnomusicological Conference “Gippius Readings.”
Employees of the Center, with the involvement of teachers, students and graduate students, have been conducting constant expeditionary work in various regions of Russia since 1957. The result of many years of expeditionary work is the largest phonogram archive of musical folklore in Moscow. In recent years, work has been carried out to transfer his sound recordings to digital media.
Based on the collected field recordings, MEC staff develop sounding teaching aids for students, containing illustrative material on various topics of training courses (regional traditions, genres of traditional Russian musical culture, etc.) and prepare selections for written auditory tests.
The Center's team is constantly working on research, publishing, and expedition projects that have received support from the Russian Humanitarian Scientific Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The result of this work was 4 volumes of the “Smolensk Musical and Ethnographic Collection” (“Calendar Rituals and Songs,” “Funeral Rites. Laments and funeral poems", "Seasonally timed lyrical songs", "Wedding of the Dnieper right bank: ritual and music.").
MEC employees provide ongoing methodological advice to teachers of Moscow and regional schools and universities, employees of regional ONMCs on teaching folklore disciplines, conducting expeditionary folklore practice, and folk performance. The work is carried out both within the framework of scientific and practical seminars, regional festivals and other events in different cities of Russia and in Moscow.