Musicology Today 2012 100 Years of Polish Musicology

Łucjan Kamieński as an Ethnomusicologist and Man 109
Figure 7.5 Łucjan Kamieński with his son Jan Jakub and students in June 1939
of Balto-slavic cultures. From the correspondence between Hornbostel and
Kamieński from 1931–1932 we know that the Poznań Archive also owned
12 phonograms with the music of Yemeni Jews, recorded by Jan Pomorski,
who in 1932 took part in an expedition to Arabic countries led by Hans Helfritz.
25 During the war the Poznań collection burnt or was lost, which Łucjan
Kamieński reported in his letter to Jan of 18 th April 1947:
25 Hornbostel asked Kamieński to let a medical student from Poznań, Jan Pomorski, take part in a field
trip. In return for this favour, Kamieński was to receive recordings of Yemeni Jews, made by
Pomorski, for the Poznań archive. In a letter of 14 th June 1932, Hornbostel informed Kamieński of
the fruits of the expedition: “Wie Sie vermutlich wissen, ist Herr Helfritz von seiner kühnen und
erfolgreichen Reise nach Südarabien glücklich zurückgekehrt. Er hat 100 technisch gute und
inhaltlich sehr interessante Phonogramme mitgebracht. 12 davon stammen von jemenitischen
Juden. Ihrem Wunsch entsprechend werden wir diese 12 nicht mit den übrigen in unser Inventar
aufnehmen, sondern sie als Ihr Eigentum im Depot behalten.“ He then informs about the possibility
of making copies for the Poznań archive.