Tunisia officially received Wednesday the certificate of inscription of Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger (1910-1932)’s documentary heritage on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
The inscription certificate was handed over to Minister of Cultural Affairs Hayet Guettat Guermazi at a ceremony held at Ennejma Ezzahra palace.
This testifies to keenness to enhance national heritage, the minister told attendees, mainly Minister of Education Ali Boughdiri in his capacity as President of the Tunisian National Committee for Education, Science and Culture, Regional Director at UNESCO Office for the Maghreb, based in Rabat, Eric FALT, Director General of National Archives Hedi Jalleb, Director General of Ennejma Ezzahra palace Saloua Ben Hafaidh as well as ambnassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions in Tunisia.
The inscription is an acknowledgment of the universal value of the musicologist’s documentary heritage for researchers in Tunisian and Arab musicology.
The documentary heritage of Baron Rodolphe d’
Erlanger – varied in shape and content- demonstrates his deep attachment to Arab music. Inventory, scientific description and digitisation took six years; many researchers and experts in documentation, archives, digitisation and musiciology were involved in this process.
Eric Falt said the move is unprecedented in the Arab world. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation seeks to safeguard heritage for the next generations.
An exhibition held as part of this ceremony displayed copies de manuscripts and music notations.
Upon a proposal by Tunisia, the documentary heritage of Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger was inscribed by UNESCO on its Memory of the World Register last May 25, 2023, along with 64 documentary collections. This took the overall number of inscribed collections to 494.
Baron Rodolphe d’Erlanger (1872-1932) was the first orientalist to settle in an Arab country, namely Tunisia, and get in touch with scholars and music masters in a bid to launch a cultural and civilisationa
l project designed to promote Arabic music.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse