The Hoerburger Collection

The Hoerburger Collection is a wide-ranging collection of folk songs, folk dances and folk music. Created by the ethnomusicologist/ethnologist Prof. Dr. Felix Hoerburger (1916-1997), the archive is today owned by the Universität Regensburg. The collection includes Hoerburger's diaries in addition to sound recordings, photos and film documenting his extensive research in Romania (1958), the former Yugoslavia (1959), Greece (1959, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1973), Afghanistan (1966), Nepal (1968) and Taiwan (1976).

Afghan Recordings

Hoerburger's unique recordings in Afghanistan provide a sonic picture of the land before the advent of the Taliban; from recordings of musical forms and genres to their use in everyday life and the tuning of traditional instruments. Hoerburger's Afghan collection has not  been subject to systematic research yet.

This collection is not only of great relevance to musicological research. The general population of Afghanistan will also benefit from the ability to once again access its own cultural heritage. The AMRC is committed to providing global access to the Hoerburger Collection in the form of a digital music archive.