A silent clapboard church on a barren Arctic landscape is more than
just a place of worship: it is a symbol that can evoke fraught
reactions to the history of Christian colonization. In the Inuit
homeland of Northern Labrador, however, that church is more likely
to resonate with the voices of a well-rehearsed choir accompanied
by an accomplished string orchestra or spirited brass bands. The
Inuit making this music are stewards of a tradition of complex
sacred music introduced by Moravian missionaries in the late 1700s
– a tradition that, over time, these musicians transformed into a
cultural expression genuinely their own. Called Upstairs is the
story of this Labrador Inuit music practice. It is not principally
a story of forced adoption but of adaptation, mediation, and
agency, exploring the transformation of a colonial artifact into an
expression of Inuit aesthetic preference, spirituality, and
community identity. Often overlaying the Moravian traditions with
defining characteristics drawn from pre-contact expressive culture,
Inuit musicians imbued this once-alien music with their own voices.
Told through archival documents, oral histories of Inuit musicians,
and the music itself, Called Upstairs tracks the emergence of this
Labrador Moravian music tradition across two and a half centuries.
Tom Gordon presents a chronicle of Inuit leadership and agency in
the face of colonialism through a unique lens. In this time of
reconciliation, this story offers a window into Inuit resilience
and the power of a culture’s creative expressions.
General
Imprint: |
McGill-Queen's University Press
|
Country of origin: |
Canada |
Series: |
McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies |
Release date: |
May 2023 |
Authors: |
Tom Gordon
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
Format: |
Paperback
|
Pages: |
464 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-228-01678-6 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-228-01678-9 |
Barcode: |
9780228016786 |
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