Materiāla atlases principi vācbaltiešu publicētajos tautasdziesmu krājumos 19. gadsimta pirmajā pusē
Material Selection Principles in the Folk Song Collections Published by Baltic Germans in the First Half of the 19th Century

Summary/Abstract: Folklore texts, when they are documented and published, lose their connection to performance and to the context of oral presentation. At the same time, they become a testimony to the collector’s, compiler’s, publisher’s and reader’s view on the material. The focus of this article is on the first collections of Latvian folk songs gathered and published by the Baltic Germans: The First Collection of Latvian Epigrams and The Second Collection of Latvian Epigrams and Wisdoms, compiled by Gustav Bergmann (1749–1814), the pastor of Rūjiena, from the data sent in by various pastors, as well as the Collection of Songs of the Inhabitants of Palzmar, compiled by Friedrich Daniel Wahr (1749–1827), the pastor of Palsmane and Aumeisteri. In order to determine the possible relation of these folk songs to specific Latvian traditions and festivities, these collections were compared with the authoritative publications of Latvju dainas (Latvian Dainas) by Krišjānis Barons. By analyzing and comparing the proportion of published units both between the first two collections and with the Latvju dainas, it is possible to gain an insight into the strategies and conditions whereby the former were compiled. These collections also echo colonial stereotypes and contemporary insights about the repertoire of Latvian songs, as well as testify about the involvement of pastors in parish life, i.e. in the traditions and everyday life practised by Latvians at that time.

• Details
• Contents