Nukapianguaq (pronounced Nuhk-ah-pee-ang-guaq) attempts to present Inuit music in a choral setting that remains as faithful as possible to the aesthetics of the original tradition. Inuit chants are usually reflective in nature and spiritual in intent. They frequently aim at a kind of inner awareness and harmony with life that is comparable to the liturgical music of India and Tibet. A marked exception is the war chant which finishes the piece, which should end in a suitable frenzy. The chants included here do not have lyrics. The syllables used on the field recordings on which this piece is based have been identified by an Inuit teacher as a kind of 'scat'. Often the singer will improvise with verbal sounds that rhyme with the name of the child who is being sung to sleep, or the name of the person the singer wishes to honor. |
