The participation of phonothèque in the celebration “La Mer en fête” was an experience different from the usual activities that someone could imagine for a sound archive. It proved that the recordings of people need to be demonstrated in popular places in order to be accessible by different persons and not only by university users.
Such an extraordinary place was the big boat “Danielle Casanova”, which attracted many persons, particularly children. From 27 at 29 May, l’Association U Marinu, organized on the boat the celebration “Mer en Fête” with the help of the “Office de l’Environnement de la Corse” and many others contributors. During the activities more than 2 000 pupils passed in order to take part to the discussions, presentations, lessons, games for the environmental pollution, the flora and fauna of the sea, the history and geography of Mediterranean.
Many teachers and parents were wandering why sound archives participate in such activities, usually practiced by environmental organizations with the subjects like the disappearance of seal or starfish. Soon they understood, that sound archives have all the experience and the sources to participate to this celebration and in fact to participate to any kind of similar activities.
The kids listened recordings referring to :
- an old fisherman explaining how to utilize his nets:
- a seller with melodic voice in the fish market of Napoli:
- advices of a fisherman who explain which fish we must avoid for having beautiful and peaceful dreams:
These recordings suit perfectly with the mood of the children, the smell of the sea and the atmosphere of the boat. Besides, children and adults had the opportunity to see the method and the purpose of the recordings and by hearing the oral data of the archives to recognize sounds which seemed familiar to them either because they brought to their memory different local or foreign accents of friends as well as story-tellings of their grand fathers and mothers, or because they compared these sounds with those they listen while they walk in the streets, or when they play football. At the end, most of them wanted to find a way for recording a person who tell stories in a funny way or has a funny way of speaking.
It’s time for the sound archives to travel more and more far…
Crédits photographiques : Hélène Loukou et Soufiane Chabbi,
