Produced by JVC in collaboration with a Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings editorial board of scholars and Multicultural Media, The JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance is a thirty (30) DVD volume containing over 500 performances from 100 countries. 1200 pages of text in 9 books (now on CD-ROM) accompany the 30-volume set. The collection is split into eight geographic regions with one book per region. There is an Introduction book which also contains a detailed cross-referenced index. Each book contains full glossaries, detailed descriptions, and individual essays on the social, cultural, and historical background of the music, dance, instruments, costumes and rituals. They also include maps, charts, photos, and source credits. The original editorial content was written by a team of ethnomusicologists appointed by the National Museum of Ethnology in Kyoto, Japan, headed by Dr. Tomoaki Fujii, was translated and edited by a team of scholars appointed by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. This collection was supervised by Dr. Anthony Seeger.  

The three supplementary sets were co-produced a few years later by Multicultural Media with JVC and Smithsonian Folkways to augment and strengthen three of the geographic areas from the first collection: the Americas, Europe and Africa. These three new collections were written and edited by a team of ethnomusicologists (Anthony Seeger, Mantle Hood, Lorraine Hiromi Sakata, Kwabena Nketia, Robert Witmer, Lisbet Torp, Patience KwaKwa, Frank Gunderson, among others) and Mark Greenberg as overall editor and writer for the 11 books. These three sets include 11 volumes of all new material, not duplicated in the first collection, with one book each for each DVD volume.  

These three sets are: The JVC Smithsonian Folkways Video Anthology of Music and Dance of the Americas; The JVC Smithsonian Folkways Video Anthology of Music and Dance of Africa; and The JVC Smithsonian Folkways Video Anthology of Music and Dance of Europe.

A combined purchase of all four collections is available for a special new price: 

JVC Smithsonian Folkways DVD Collections of World Music and Dance Complete Collections

"This series is essential for scholarly collections serving all grade levels (yes, kindergarten through Ph.D. programs)" - Library Journal

"From country lanes to city streets and from a family's hut to a public performance hall, these videos display a trove of traditional instrumental, vocal and choral folk music" -Booklist

"The booklet will be very helpful to teachers as the information is concise and pertinent, including suggestions for reading and listening and a glossary... A valuable resource." -School Library Journal

"The absence of narration allows uninterrupted absorption of the filmed and recorded material. The printed notes explain what you see and hear."- Sing Out! Magazine