Cadence and Counterpoint, Documenting Santal Musical Traditions: An exhibition and publication “conferring upon ethnic and tribal art recognition and dignity” – New Delhi
“An extensive exhibition of Santhal music explores the changing face of the distinct tradition and why we need to restore it to its original form”
The exhibition at the National Museum till May 17
On 15 April 2015 the exhibition “Cadence and Counterpoint: Documenting Santal Musical Traditions” was successfully inaugurated. During the opening His Excellency the Ambassador of Switzerland Linus von Castelmur and the Secretary Ministry of Culture Sh. Ravindra Singh released the exhibition catalogue.
The books is edited by by Johannes Beltz, Ruchira Ghose and Maria-Eve Celio-Scheurer (eds.). Niyogi Books. ISBN 978-93-83098-92-7. Rs. 1595.
Source: Johannes Beltz Shared publicly – Apr 18, 2015
Cadence and Counterpoint: Documenting Santal Musical Traditions by Johannes Beltz, Marie-Eve Celio-Scheurer (eds., Introduction and The Bengt Fosshag Collection), Ruchira Ghose (ed., Preface); with contributions by Albert Lutz (Director, Museum Rietberg, Preface), Deben Bhattacharya (Photographs from 1973), Bengt Fosshag (Building the collection), Jayasri Banerjee (On Santal music and musical instruments), Ludwig Pesch (Serenading the world: The music of the Santals), Marine Carrin (Playing with perspectives: The Santal Baha Festival), Ravi Kant Dwivedi (Photographs from 1988; Chadar-Badar Puppetry; Photographs from 2014), Mushtak Khan, Krittika Narwal and Mallika Leuzinger (From Dumka to New Delhi: Conversations), Sudhanshu Shandilya (Photographs from 2014); Appendixes and photographs (e.g. Myth of the Origin of the Santal, Myth of the Birth of the Bhodro Banam, Making a Banam); Photographs from the 1950s by Alain Daniélou and Raymond Burnier – Published by Niyogi Books, New Delhi (2015) www.niyogibooksindia.com (Rs. 1595 / $ 50) ISBN 978-93-83098-92-7
Speech by Ambassador of Switzerland Dr. Linus von Castelmur
[…] This exhibition is yet another example of many international cooperation projects between Switzerland and India, which proves that there is a mutual interest and a mutual understanding between our two nations. The friendship between Switzerland and India is still vibrant – after all Switzerland was the first country independent India signed a friendship treaty with way back in 1948. […]
Swiss museums and art institutions opened not only their doors to artefacts from far away cultures, they also began early on to open to vernacular daily life objects. Ethnic art – characterized by some as “primitive art” – was accepted as an expression of belief systems outside the mainstream religions and cultures. The distinction between “high art” versus “low art” became blurred, conferring upon ethnic and tribal art recognition and dignity. This ennoblement of vernacular humble art objects is a positive collateral to a democratic society. The understanding that ethnic and vernacular art is as worthy to be collected, conserved and exhibited as artefacts from high cultures still very much continues in Swiss museums and art spaces.
