A. H. Fox Strangways and the music of Hindostan: Revisiting historical field recordings

Clayton, Martin (1999). A. H. Fox Strangways and the music of Hindostan: Revisiting historical field recordings. Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 124 pp. 86–118.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jrma/124.1.86

Abstract

Of the the nearly 500 musical examples in Fox Strangways's The music of Hindostan (1914), 13 were transcribed from wax cylinder recordings that he made in India. Three of these transcriptions are assessed, with reference to the recordings. In each case, Fox Strangways made decisions regarding the representation of meter that gave rise to inaccuracies. These decisions illuminate some of the problems faced by comparative musicologists of his era-even those who, like Fox Strangways, based their studies on thorough and conscientious fieldwork.