Неизследваната територия на българската градска песенна култура: приносите на академик Николай Кауфман
The Unexplored Territory of Bulgarian Urban Song Culture: The Contributions of Academician Nikolay Kaufman

Summary/Abstract: On the occasion of the centenary of the Bulgarian ethnomusicologist Academician Nikolay Kaufman, this text revisits and reassesses his significant contributions to the study of urban song culture – a field that long remained at the periphery of folkloristic and musicological interest, and which he was the first to examine in detail. Kaufman’s research reflects a broader scholarly vision of urban culture as a dynamically functioning cultural system, in which the song is not merely a historical document but also a living socio-cultural phenomenon with distinct artistic value. Kaufman’s contribution is at least twofold: on the one hand, he establishes urban song as a legitimate subject of ethnomusicological analysis and in-depth study; on the other, he provides a methodological framework for its exploration. Urban song culture is interpreted as a specific form situated between oral and written traditions in the context of urbanization, acting as a mediator between rural musical heritage and the influences of European musical culture. Kaufman recognizes in it a valuable source of ethnomusicological insight for uncovering social and cultural interactions, and his studies continue to serve as essential point of reference for contemporary interpretations and analyses.

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