ethnomusicology; self-presentation; immigrants; acculturation strategies
The number of immigrants in the Czech Republic rapidly increased after
the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Today, there are many immigrant
communities which differentiate in the quantity of their members. While more
than 106,000 Ukrainians and 56,000 Vietnamese officially live in the Czech
Republic in 2012, there are only 139 Congolese, 270 Iranians, 350 Cubans, 546
Kyrgyz, 1,316 Uzbeks and 5,019 Chinese (Život cizinců 2011). In Prague, but
also in other Czech cities, one can attend performances of musicians, each one
identifying himself/herself with some of above-mentioned immigrant communities
and presenting his/her skills on specific occasions, in specific places and for
different kinds of audience. I focused on musicians who perform their own
creations declared as a music originating from or having
a relationship to the country (e.g., Cuba) or region (e.g., Central Asia)
of their origin. Presenters, but also the musicians themselves, call their
performances explicitly "Ukrainian folk," "Vietnamese," "traditional" or
"Cuban" music for entertainment.
At the beginning of my research I tried to find
out characteristics of the music itself, where musicians perform, for whom and
on which occasions. I was especially interested in the musicians'
expression and reference to their ethnic identity (e.g., "Vietnamese" or
"Kyrgyz") in musical performances. The central task of my research became an
analysis and interpretation of musicians' self-presentations during their
performances. Beside the participant observation I also had
semi-structured interviews with musicians as well as with some co-organizers of
events or with the manager of a musical group. Non-formal interviews were
very useful, especially during almost "private" events for an internal
audience, e.g., a Nowruz ("Persian New Year") celebration organized by members
of the Uzbek community in Prague.
It is evident that immigrant musicians are conscious
of performing in the Czech musical environment and they are able to adapt to
different conditions, so which acculturation strategies do they invent and choose?
This became the central question of my investigation.
Theory
First, this research is based on/reflects the paradigm of
ethnomusicology or anthropology of music: What is considered to be "music,"
thus not only the sound itself, but also the human behavior related to
learning, creating, performing and listening to sounds considered to be
"musical" is the result of culturally designed/formed conceptualization
(Merriam 1964). Being iconic and indexical (Turino 1999), music has not only
the ability of expression or representation of something (Bohlmann 2005). It is
also able to create and maintain human relationships and form communities
(Kaufman Shelemay, 2001). According to Thomas Turino (2008), music reflects
social life. I am convinced that the study of musical phenomena enables
the researcher to recognize the specific intentions of people and their
perception of the environment where they live and create music.
Second, I decided to deal with musical activities
of immigrant musicians in the sense of Goffman's interactionism (Goffman 1956).
Musicians always perform for someone; they present themselves to an
audience: I consider them to be active agents consciously developing the
overall design of musical activities as their own self-presentations whose constitutive
elements are planned in advance and performed in real time in front of
listeners. The key element is the interaction of musicians with
a supposed kind of audience and context of an event - time, place and
especially occasion. All these aspects determine the personal appearance or the
"personal front" of the musicians (Goffman 1956: 14) and the "setting" of their
performances (Goffman 1956: 13). I concentrated mainly on live
performances in real time, the "front region" (Goffman 1956: 66). However,
through interviews with the musicians and my attendance at rehearsals
I also wanted to explore the "back region" (Goffman 1956: 69), that means
preparations and planning of performances, choice of repertoire and its
arrangement, appearance of musicians (the visual expression of the musicians'
intentions such as clothes, posture and gestures) and ways of behaving in front
of an audience, place and form of publicity. According to this assumption,
every self-presentation has specific traits - bearers of signs or "sign
vehicles" (Goffman 1956: 1) - which permit it to be identified and interpreted
in such a way.
Third, I found inspiration in the theory of stratégies identitaires (Camilleri et al.:
1990) and the typology of acculturation strategies developed by psychologist John
W. Berry (Berry, Sam in Berry et al. 1997: 291-326) who dealt with consequences
of intercultural contacts not only among immigrants. Berry regards the concept
of acculturation as a process of individual psychological adaptation of
people to a different cultural environment. Each strategy is worked out by
groups and individuals with respect to two major issues: "1) cultural
maintenance (to what extent are cultural identity and characteristics
considered important by individuals), and 2) contact and participation (to what
extent should individuals become involved in other cultural groups or remain
primarily among themselves)" (Berry, Sam in Berry et al. 1997: 296). Berry thus
defines five acculturation strategies: A first possibility is assimilation, when "individuals
do not wish to maintain their cultural identity and seek daily interaction
with other cultures" (Berry, Sam in Berry et al. 1997: 297). On the contrary,
when "the non-dominant group places a value on holding onto their original
culture" (Berry, Sam in Berry et al. 1997: 297), then the separation strategy is chosen.
When this mode of acculturation is pursued by the dominant group with respect to
the non-dominant group, Berry calls it segregation. When there is an
interest in both maintaining one's original culture and interacting with other
groups at the same time, integration is the option. (Berry, Sam in Berry et al.
1997: 297). According to Berry, this strategy seems to be the most advantageous
and the most successful option. Finally, when there is "little possibility or
interest in cultural maintenance and little interest in having relations with
others, then marginalization is defined" (Berry, Sam in Berry et al. 1997: 297).
In the spectrum of ways of presentation of musicians'
unique skills I finally identified a few variants where I let
myself be inspired by the framework and basic assumptions of the above
briefly-presented Berry's typology. Musicians employ different strategies which
are based primarily on a relationship to an external (Czech) or internal
(members of immigrant communities) audience on the other hand. There is no one
choosing the assimilation strategy: All the musicians intentionally refer to
their own ethno-cultural identity, which is not considered to be perceived as
"Czech": via their musical activities during commercial or benefit concerts
immigrants present, e.g., a "Ukrainian" or "Central Asian" identity to the
Czech audience. On the other hand they also refer to those identities during
private meetings where music becomes an "autotherapy of homesick hearts" (Janyl
Chytyrbaeva, 23.1, 2010). I didn't identify any performance which could be
associated with the segregation strategy.
I was able to recognize four different types of
musical self-presentations which reflect traits of Berry's integration, separation and marginalization. The first two are
completely opposite. On the one hand, there is the impressive musical fusion, which I regard
as an elaborate promotion of an "exotic" music for Czechs. This basically
integrative strategy is chosen by a Chinese singer, Feng yün Song, and an
Iranian guitarist, Shahab Tolouie. On the other hand, the music of invisible
enclaves is definitely
separative and it is preferred by often anonymous musicians during performances
of a private setting with a strictly internal audience. The "ethnic" music for
entertainment strategy chosen, e.g., by Cuban groups performing in bars and restaurants
has features of marginalization. Finally, I consider the last option, "indigenous" music as
an example of multiculturalism, to be "seemingly integrative." This strategy is
employed by musicians performing at "multicultural" festivals for a Czech
audience such as the Central Asian group Jagalmay.
Impressive musical fusion: integration
The first strategy is chosen by two musicians declaring themselves as
professionals having their main income from their musical activities - the
Iranian guitarist Shahab Tolouie and the Chinese singer Feng yün Song. Although
being of Persian and Chinese origin and referring to totally different cultural
backgrounds, their musical activities share many similar features. They both
create their own original compositions based on a fusion of music
considered as traditionally typical for their homelands China and Iran with
musical elements of various origins.
Feng yün Song sings "Chinese," "Korean" or "Mongolian"
folk songs performed by solo voice or with an accompaniment of different
idiophones, percussions or other, mostly "ethnic," instruments whose part is
incorporated in minimalist, experimentally-sounding arrangements. The singer
performs at two types of concerts organized by herself. Feng yün Song often
presents her creations at intimate, almost meditative "musical sessions" with
approximately 17 people in the audience, who also participate during some parts
of an improvised performance. Their active and spontaneous participation
completes the impression of musical pieces which are often designed to be
created directly on the stage of a small music club or tearoom. Moreover,
Feng yün Song organizes an annual festival related to Chinese New Year
celebrations. This event has already reached some level of publicity in the
Czech Republic - the festival is mentioned in some, although specialized, radio
or TV programs or it is possible to notice some posters and smaller billboards
informing about the festival even situated in the Prague city center. There the
singer performs the same songs as at the sessions at tearooms. However, she
also invites different musicians to participate in this event.
A non-musical program of the festival offers a promotion of her own
musicotherapeutic activities, tea culture and esotericism.
Shahab Tolouie, playing the flamenco and classical
guitar or Persian chordophones such as the three stringed lute tar, interprets his own
compositions based on "traditional Persian" and flamenco elements. The musician
invented his own musical fusion which he characterized as "ethnoflamenco."[1] This Iranian
guitarist and singer performs his compositions with an accompaniment of several
guitarists who participate in his ensemble and he occasionally works with other
instrumentalists, usually percussionists. Some compositions are only
instrumental, but the musician sometimes sings his adaptations of Persian poems
by famous "classical" authors such as Rumi or Hafez. His musical performances
resemble "Western" art music concerts - they are organized in various concert
halls, theaters or clubs not only in the Czech Republic. Shahab Tolouie
participated with his ensemble in various festivals in Moldova, Ukraine and
Turkey. However, concerts named "The Persian New Year Celebration" can be
considered as highlights of his activities. In addition to Shahab Tolouie and
his ensemble, other musicians and dancers participated at this event linked
with the Zoroastrian holiday Nowruz - the "Persian New Year" - and constituted different
performances with elaborated and impressive scenography.
It is worthy of mention that performances of these
musicians are not attended by an internal public, i.e., by members of their
immigrant communities. Only a very few Chinese or Iranians are
exceptionally present at their concerts. On the contrary, Feng yün Song and
Shahab Tolouie are musicians who desire to build their professional careers on
the basis of their special and, in the Czech Republic, quite unique abilities,
which they want to present to a basically external public. Both of these musicians
are charismatic individuals whose musical talent together with their skills
represents a useful tool which is utilizable in the creation of their
musical self-presentation. Their concerts have a carefully elaborated
conception of performance setting with the usage of professionally-made
promotional materials and apparent care for personal image and way of
presentation to their audience - the Czech public. In addition to live
performances, both musicians have realized their own professional audio recordings.
They also recognize the importance of establishing
contact with the Czech musical environment. Shahab Tolouie and Feng yün Song
work with Czech musicians and with famous individuals such as David Koller or
Emil Viklický, among others. However, this cooperation is designed rather as
a support for their personal dominance, which remains unquestionable.
A familiarity with the Chinese opera singing style, perfect knowledge of
the Czech language in the former and acquaintance with theoretical principles
of Persian music combined with guitar virtuosity in the latter case can be
considered as the constitutive element of the "know-how" of their professional
musicianship. At the same time, the musicians recognized that "pure" Chinese
opera singing or "Persian traditional music" would not be as attractive to the
external Czech public as the impressive musical fusion is [2]. Therefore, the musicians use
their specific skills related to their origins, but, on the other hand, they
feel the necessity of invention and flexibility in the sense of preference of
experimentation and fusion with distinct musical elements, apparently becoming
very fruitful and popular at the present time. A combination of the two
factors enables them to create sophisticated and attractive "exotic" music
which is acceptable to a Czech or an international audience. In such
a way, the musicians are able to reflect current multi-faceted reality
with their activities. Each self-presentation of the musicians is very
impressive: while Shahab Tolouie pays attention to his "personal front,"
gestures, behavior on the scene, texts of promotional materials and their
visual design, the presentation of Feng yün Song is not so evident at first
glance. The power and persuasiveness of her musical personality emanate from
her behavior and acting with participants of musical events which are not
explicitly presented as "unique" or "amazing." Nevertheless, Feng yün Song is
able to impress the audience not only with her singing but also with her
therapeutically guided communication.
This strategy could be thus considered as a type
of "successful" integration. The musicians who employ this strategy do not
intend to stay in the closed and invisible sphere of their communities with the
internal public. At the same time they do not want to stay on the margins
of the Czech musical scene such as those musicians choosing "ethnic" music for
entertainment marginalizing strategy or the "exotic" music as an example of
multiculturalism strategy which is "seemingly" integrative.
Music of Invisible Enclaves: Separation
Musical performances are often part of private meetings organized by
immigrant minority communities in the Czech Republic which are held on the
occasion of some important religious or secular holiday celebrated in the
native homeland (e.g., the Vietnamese Tet, the Central Asian Nowruz, the Ukrainian St. Melanie, Kazakhstan Day).
From time to time, such events have organizational support from official
diplomatic representatives or minority associations; sometimes they are the
results of the personal initiative of a few community members.
I decided to regard these events as "invisible"
due to their discrete character; except for some rare invitations situated
sporadically, e.g., on specialized websites, the events are not promoted and
invitations for interested visitors are communicated only personally. News
about those events sometimes appears in minority periodicals or on Internet
websites. For this reason the audience is always constituted only of members of
immigrant minorities, except for a few Czechs who are friends of theirs.
Although such events have a prearranged structure, it is possible to
perceive many informal elements as well. There is usually someone who moderates
the whole evening and introduces each part of the program - this also concerns
the musicians and their performance.
On the one hand, organizers invite existing musical
formations, otherwise regularly playing for a different audience, to
participate in a community event: this is the case of the folk-music group
Ignis performing at the Ukrainian "Malanka" ball or Central Asian musicians
performing at the Nowruz celebration organized in 2010 by the Uzbek community
in Prague. Those musicians are not professionals; music making is only their hobby
and their activities have a non-profit character. On the other hand,
especially at the Vietnamese Tet, or New Lunar Year, celebrations it is
possible to notice many "unknown" and almost anonymous musicians who perform
their chosen piece only at special community events as volunteers. The Czech
language is usually not used during the whole event except, e.g., for greetings
like "good evening" (dobrý večer). Musicians perform their own arrangements of
folk and "traditional," but also modern, songs which are popular in their
homeland. The performed pieces are thus related to the culture of the
community's origin or they refer to something "foreign" that is nevertheless
perceived as attractive, entertaining and preferred by the audience: we can
thus hear Persian, Arabic and Russian songs at an Uzbek meeting as well as
imitators of Czech pop singers at a Vietnamese Tet celebration. All the
performed pieces are received with an apparent and often nostalgic [3] acquaintance by the audience.
Members of the audience sometimes participate together with musicians by
dancing or music making themselves or they ask musicians to perform some
concrete compositions. These events are totally different from events where the
identical immigrant musicians perform for Czechs. The informal and pleasant
atmosphere is nourished by the familiarity of the audience with the repertoire
and their participation. Musical performances coincide with Thomas Turino's
participatory music making model (Turino 2008: 28-51). An important role is also
played by an accompanying program together with an offer of "national" food
catering such as an Uzbek plov or a Vietnamese New Year's menu.
According to the presented theoretical typology of
acculturation strategies, this case could be interpreted as separation. By their
participation at musical performances and other parts of the program, members
of immigrant minorities revive a piece of their own former world of their
homelands during such events. That is the reason why I call this strategy
the music of invisible
enclaves. It seems that
immigrant minorities often live unnoticed next to the Czech majority and they
are invisible to the Czechs although their cultural events are attended by 60
Central Asians or a few hundred Vietnamese or Ukrainians. During these
events, distinct ethno-cultural enclaves are brought back: one can feel oneself
to be in Vietnam, Central Asia or Ukraine for a while. All the performed
pieces are "insider" oriented. Therefore, any adaptation for "outsiders" is
needless as well as an invented or reinforced "authenticity." Whereas members
of the Central Asian group Jagalmay play for Czechs on the rubab lute and
a dancer presents "Uygur" dances, later the same musicians play an
electronic keyboard or a guitar and music playback accompanies belly
dancing of the same dancer in front of a Kyrgyz audience. Vietnamese
volunteers often present various popular music pieces which are not directly
related to the New Lunar Year celebration. However, the main task of those
performers is entertainment of their "own" internal audience [4]. They do not want to
impress the listeners with original virtuoso creations, nor earn money for
their special musical "craft," nor represent an idealized form of "their"
musical culture to Czechs.
"Ethnic" music for Entertainment: Marginalization
Music characterized by presenters, organizers and often by immigrant
musicians themselves as "ethnic" has various forms and functions. During my
research I found out that some musicians of immigrant origin perform regularly
at Prague bars and restaurants and they entertain guests with their musical
skills. This is the case of groups playing various genres and styles presented
as "Latino" music, such as the Cuban ensemble Santy y su Marabú. The group
consists of several musicians of Cuban, other Latin American and also Czech
origin. In addition to the founding members, other musicians are often only
temporary members of the group. With their repertoire of their own arrangements
of Cuban "traditionals" performed on "typical" Cuban instruments such as the
Cuban guitar - trés cubano, the bass guitar, the conga, bonga or other regionally "typical"
types of percussions, the flute and sometimes some brass instruments and the
keyboard they appear in Prague music clubs such as the Popocafépetl or Jazzdock
and they participate in festivals and events related to Latin American dance
and entertainment. However, in a small "Cuban trio" they often accompany
private meetings with their music and perform in up-scale restaurants and bars
situated in the city center such as the bar La Casa de la Havana Vieja in Prague 1. Every
Thursday, the frontman of the group playing the trés cubano arrives there at 8
PM with two or three other musicians. Situated in a corner of the bar,
they usually perform the same songs as at various concerts, just in more modest
arrangements without sonorous instruments such as the flute or the trumpet. The
musicians play practically indifferently and without considerable attention of
the bar's guests, who only occasionally pay attention to their playing.
According to the bar's official website, the musical accompaniment of those
Cuban musicians helps to invoke a "real Cuban atmosphere." The presence of
"live" musicians from Cuba with their music is thus a marketing strategy
to increase the attractiveness of the bar.
According to my observations and accounts from
interviews, I decided to regard this strategy as marginalization. Although their
music is presented as "authentic" and "traditional" Cuban son, it is not perceived
as completely strange and unusual for a Czech audience. It is generally
known that Cuban or Latin American musical elements such as basic rhythmic
patterns have been naturalized in European popular music since the first half
of the 20th century. The members of Santy y su Marabú, professionals
with a musical education obtained in Cuba, can use their musical skills
the way they learned them without the necessity of a change or adaptation,
unlike the above-mentioned Feng yün Song or Shahab Tolouie. The original
purpose of the music of Santy y su Marabú and other similar ensembles is for
"dance and entertainment."[5] However, even during the group's
performances at summer festivals with large audiences, it is often not easy to
persuade people to dance. The music seems to be too complex for listeners,
except for occasionally present salsa connoisseurs[6]. This is the first aspect of
marginalization.
Second, the concerts of the complete group mostly
during summer festivals and sometimes in clubs are less numerous and less
important than regular playing of the Santy Trio in bars and restaurants, which
is the major income of the musicians. According to the manager of the group,
the musicians live by their music. Especially in those places and contexts, the
music performed by the Santy Trio seems to be mere, although "unique and
original," sonic accompaniment of bar or restaurant guests' conversations. The
ability of the Cubans to offer an
"authentic" form of their "own" music represents a unique possibility of application
of their skills and special musical "craft," not as a means of nostalgic
longing for their homeland, but for making a living here in the Czech
Republic. Nevertheless, the musicians are rarely noticed by the audience, who
perceive their playing as a part of the atmosphere of the entertainment in
the bar. On the other hand, the musicians seem to be satisfied with their
position and roles which they perform[7]. They are not inclined to
experimentation or inventions of something very new and original; they
do not intend to become "famous" as those who choose the impressive musical
fusion strategy. Instead of
this they are faithful to the Cuban son and they just practice and use
what they have learned. Although they sometimes perceive their activities as
routine and non-reflected by the audience, they represent for them the
advantage of living in the Czech Republic, e.g., without the necessity of
knowledge of the Czech language. While groups such as Santy y su Marabú
practice and even live by their musical activities, their music is perceived by
the local audience as something exotic and complex. Within the category of
popular music for entertainment their music therefore stays at the margins of
the Czech musical scene. These are the other aspects of marginalization in this
strategy.
"Exotic" music as an example of multiculturality:
"Seeming Integration"
The last strategy is chosen by musicians obviously presenting their
performances as "traditional music" within the context of festivals organized
in the public and open spaces of city squares or as musical accompaniment
during thematic events organized by NGOs and related to migrants and their life
in the Czech Republic. In the former case, musical performances take place on
big outdoor podiums, in the latter in small theaters or coffee houses, but
always with free admission. On the one hand, there are events which are focused
on one ethnicity ("Ukrainian soirée," Plzeň) or they are "multiethnic" on the
other (Refufest, Prague). In some cases, such events attract the attention of
almost a few hundred people: youths, families with children, inquisitive
passers-by, pensioners, tourists and homeless people, among others. The musical
program usually consists of many different performances. Each group or performer
presents some few short musical pieces. Costumes, dances and different
instruments are welcome by the public. Careful observation enabled me to find
out that the repertoire of performed pieces is not large and one can see
a performer presenting the same pieces in Prague as one month ago in
another Czech city. Nevertheless, most of the visitors watch the performers for
the first and usually for the last time. The audience briefly pays attention to
some few performances of anonymous and unknown musicians, looks at "exotic"
dances and colorful costumes, tastes different "ethnic" foods and goes away.
Only a small number of participants watch the whole musical program.
Musicians and other performers participating in those
events are not professionals who would live by their musical activities.
Performers such as an Iranian poet or a Mongolian girl singing and playing
their "traditional" instruments perform as volunteer individuals or join groups
or ensembles whose member base is unstable, often formed for a concrete
event. Among others, this is the case of the group Jagalmay, founded by Kyrgyz
journalist Janyl Chytyrbaeva from a musical family living and working in
Prague. The ensemble consists of several members who come from various countries
of the Central Asian region. Except for the three-member female "core" of the
group, the majority of the other members join the group only temporarily. All
the members of the ensemble are thus amateur musicians variously positioned and
integrated in the Czech society whose participation in the ensemble is
motivated by a desire "to console their homesick hearts." The group
presents its own arrangements of folk or semi-folk musical compositions from
diverse Central Asian countries with the accompaniment of instruments traditionally
utilized in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan such as the komuz lute, the temir komuz Jew's harp, the doira frame drum, or other
chordophones and percussion of Arabic, Persian or Turkish origin. The musicians
meet irregularly and they often enjoy spontaneous music making in privacy. The
repertoire of Jagalmay thus originates from improvisation-based contributions
of each member. Some pieces are only vocal and instrumental, while others are
accompanied by dances performed by several members or by the youngest member -
the daughter of one of the Kyrgyz singers who performs solo dance parts. All
the members wear several traditional-like costumes and different headgears
associated with a concrete Central Asian region. Clothes and head-covers
are consequently changed even during a performance according to the origin
of the song currently played.
Performances of Jagalmay and similar ensembles or
groups could be characterized as a declaration of an exoticism and
tangible difference reified on an aural and visual level. Several Central Asian
identities expressed in musicians' self-presentations then seem to be flexible
categories which can be employed according to situational circumstances: when
performing Uzbek songs, Kyrgyz musicians wear Uzbek costumes and vice versa.
When arranging their repertoire, the musicians mix together different Central
Asian elements and resultant arrangements are created within a process of
bricolage. However, they refuse musical borrowings which are not considered as
traditionally used in Central Asian musics so they do not "modernize" or
adapt their music to make it commercially more acceptable by adding, e.g.,
Western musical elements. This strategy is based on an accentuation of their
own "original" and unique traits and their instrumentalization in the sense of
their intended usage for "demonstrative" purposes. Because of their
intentionally reinforced difference or alterity, the musicians can thus perform
only at certain of the above-mentioned events and it is not possible to utilize
their music making as an attractive and cashable art or entertainment. It is
worthy of mention that ensembles similar to Jagalmay do not appear at solo
concerts organized without a relation to some extra-musical occasion.
Although the musicians have the possibility to perform
in front of an often numerous, mostly Czech, audience a few times per
year, their integration into the Czech musical sphere is only "seeming" because
they can enter it only during special occasions: Individuals and ensembles
similar to the Central Asian group Jagalmay are invited to participate in
festivals or events linked with a sphere of "multiculturalism" and
"migration," such as the Refufest, Respect festival, Ethnica Poetica, or Praha
srdce národů. According to the
organizers, a supposed purpose of such events is an increase of the
informational level of the Czech general public about different cultures, life
experience and difficulties of migrants and refugees. The most characteristic
feature of this strategy is its spectacularity: The program of those festivals
and events does not consist only of musical performances; there are usually
"multicultural" catering, exhibitions of photographs or souvenir-like objects
"typically" representing each region and its culture. The main purpose of
everything that is presented there is an "example of multiculturalism." Musical pieces are recontextualized and they
adopt this new role: The more "exotic" and "entertaining" a musical
performance, dance or costumes seem to be, the more the audience clap their
hands. Performers intentionally choose "typical" musical and other cultural
traits in an idealized form and they present their, e.g., Central Asian,
Vietnamese or Ukrainian "culture" as a collection of artifacts or
curiosities: Central Asia is associated with high white headgear of men, Jew's
harps, the Kyrgyz komuz lute or the Uzbek drum doira and singing in different Turkic languages; Vietnamese
musicians perform an extract from ca trù and "lion dances" in red and gold costumes. All the
exposed traits should be easy identified with a concrete "culture" or
"ethnicity" as its symbolic markers. However, the ethos of "exoticism" and
"alterity" is common to all of the performers. Due to this alterity [in other
words, meaning something like this: "We (immigrants) live with you (Czechs),
but we are totally different from you"] they can be part of the Czech musical
scene, but only during those special occasions and contexts. For this reason
the musical activities corresponding to this strategy stay only seemingly integrative.
Conclusion
It is evident that the way of self-presentation of musicians influences
their position and possibilities on the Czech musical scene. The chosen
acculturation strategy determines the place, audience, occasion and context of
the event and each musician has different benefits from it. There are several
types of musicianship practiced by immigrant musicians from one-off amateurs to
professionals or highly motivated amateurs. First, it seems that all the
musicians mentioned and their activities have relatively little publicity. Even
those who have chosen the most auspicious strategy, inventive and flexible
integration in the form of impressive musical fusion, have not become famous or even
known to the general public. Regular Czech listeners of immigrant musicians
could be characterized as "specialists" whose interest in this music has some
particular reasons - from a belief in the relaxation potentials of Chinese
music to the conviction that Cuban music dulcifies a meeting of friends in
the bar or the curiosity of a boy who joins his Vietnamese girlfriend at
the New Lunar Year celebration. However, the four strategies differentiate by
levels of their "visibility": While a billboard inviting to the SongFest
(Chinese New Year Celebration festival founded and organized every year by Feng
yün Song) can attract the curiosity of a random passer-by, Jagalmay's
performance at Refufest requires some interest in refugees or "foreign
cultures" in general. Finally, performances of foreign musicians at community
meetings are known only to those who obtain a personal invitation.
From the typology of acculturation strategies point of
view, the four kinds of self-presentations presented are related to different
integration and identity formation strategies. Application of this theoretical
viewpoint lets us understand why there are musicians who prefer to interact
with a Czech audience and those who prefer to stay "invisible" and known
only in their own community. Nevertheless, the aforementioned four strategies
should not be considered as completely stable and definitely bound categories applied
exclusively by such or such musician. On the contrary, the musicians often
utilize different strategies according to the situational context: this is the
case of musicians performing for a Czech audience as well as for listeners
from their minority in various circumstances. Although the first "integrative" impressive musical
fusion strategy seems to be the most
successful, I do not consider each strategy as more or less
"successful": Musicians are active agents who choose and elaborate their
self-presentations and they consciously realize their intentions there.
In conclusion, the way immigrants treat their music, how
they adapt and arrange it, how they conceptualize the "authenticity" or
"representativeness" of their music (representing "their" culture to Czechs),
and the way of their overall self-presentation reflect the character and level
of their integration in the Czech environment. The framework of their
activities is based on the identification and fulfillment of expectations of an
audience with whom they aspire to interact. Different features of each musical
self-presentation then imply their acceptability and appropriateness in each
context: the greater the attractiveness for a Czech audience, the higher
the probability of commercial success, for example. In any case, by performing
"their" music in the Czech Republic, the immigrants utilize their unique
skills. This can serve many purposes from a hobby or autotherapeutic
activity curing homesickness to musicking as livelihood.
[1] "I use flamenco techniques in that, but it
is not pure flamenco, so that is why...because since I add ethnic
elements.., I felt the best word to describe this style would be
‘ethnoflamenco' " (Shahab Tolouie, 16. 1. 2012).
[2] "Basically this kind of fusers were those who presented their music
to the world, their culture to the world... If Ravi Shankar played only
traditional music, he would not be too well known. Of course they have great
traditional... you know Indian masters, but one of them goes and starts fusing by
collaborating with George Harrison, with
this and that... And this way he presents the music to the world and make it
a little bit understandable for the Western audience. So this is, this was
something that I realized, that was missing in our music. We have
traditional music, we have pop musicians who are understandable only for
Persians or for Iranians in general, but there was one category missing over
there. It was fusionists. And that's what I got in Spain. When I was
studying with my teacher I realized, OK, I play something which is
a copy. And they will never play better then me, you know in my Persian
music, they can never play better Persian music then me and I can never
play and feel flamenco better than
them. Because... always this kind of traditional music has a root in culture
and in history. And to play the traditional music, you have to be born over
there, to understand it, exactly... Of course, I can play Moravian music,
but I can never play it like
Moravians. Because it's a culture, you know. So I realized, it's
better to get the technique and to mix it, to fuse it in my way and to express
it my own way." (Shahab Tolouie, 16. 1. 2012).
[3] As noted by Viktor Rajčinec, the leader of the
Ukrainian folk music group Ignis: "We played in Plzeň.
You have also been there, I remember it...so it was interesting that people
were coming out of the hall, I was putting the musical instruments in the
car and then some old people came to me and they told me: "We haven't heard
those songs for twenty years...and we started to remember...twenty years..." So you
see, it's great that we played it and they remembered....And in Eastern Slovakia,
it was the same situation. They were so impressed. They said: "It's balm for
the soul"...or: "Oh, this song, I sang it as a child!" (Viktor Rajčinec, 5.2.2010).
[4] According to
a Vietnamese co-organizer of the Vietnamese community Tet celebration in
Teplice, "During the whole year, all the people are interested in business;
they are stressed and have a lot of worries...so then the people want to
relax and they want to be entertained. Basically, the program should be
designed to entertain everybody, all generations." (Thuy Duong Trinh,
22.2.2010).
[5] As Kalanda Kititi, a Congolese guitarist
said: "In my concerts,
I want people to come, dance and have a good time, you see?...When
there are Africans, they dance; that's the greatest atmosphere. It's necessary
to feel relaxed, so often they dance....But Czechs...they are shy, they wait until
others are already dancing and then they join, so it's good atmosphere when the
Czechs start to dance with the Africans." (Kalanda Kititi, 16.4.2010).
[6] "There are some few people
who come to dance the salsa; they know the steps...But the majority of the Czech
audience...it's very difficult to get the Czech audience to dance. People are shy
and withdrawn." (Bibiana Jiménez
Smith, 12.1.2012).
[7] The manager of Santy y su marabú told me the following: "There
are places, restaurants...expensive restaurants in good prestigious locations in
the city center of Prague as on Pařížská street, for example...And there the
group is limited...just play...minimum volume...so as not to disturb the guests so
they can chat...And the group is disgusted by it...Because to play and sing with
minimum volume, that's silly...But they take it as their job: "Yea, it's our job,
we are paid for it...so we play what and how they like and we get paid.""
(Bibiana Jiménez Smith, 12.1.2012).
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