Hear music from the striking and distinct vocal traditions that have developed in the Arctic from throat-singing games of women of northern Canada, or the yoik tradition of the Sámi people, or in the voices of various native Alaskan people.
Listen to music from the Sámi people from northern Scandinavian, including new music by SOLJU, Ulla Pirttijärvi and her daughter Hildá Länsman, two Sámi musicians from Utsjoki, Lapland, in northern Finland. Hear their traditional chant, yoik, along with members of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra from their debut album, Ođđa Áigodat. There’s also music from the Norwegian band Vajas (means Echo), based around traditional Sami yoiks, in addition to music from Finnish yoiker Wimme Saari, who combines these vocals with soundscapes created by sequencers and synths.
Hear music from the adventurous Inuk singer Tanya Tagaq, from her recent tour-de-force, “Retribution,” a modern take on the Arctic tradition of throat singing, and music with messages on many levels. Listen to other chant/song that evokes nature from northern Norway’s Mari Boine (Persen). Then, there’s music by formerly Alaskan-based composer John Luther Adams, his work, “Earth & the Great Weather," which incorporates the voices of various native Alaskan people, along with natural sounds of wind and thunder. Plus, hear works by the late musicologist/singer Dmitri Pokrovsky from northern Russia.
PROGRAM #4073 Arctic Voices (First Aired: 1/29/2018)
ARTIST: Soljun (Hildá Länsman and Ulla Pirttijärvi)
WORK: Odda Aigodat (New Times, New Era) [1:00]
RECORDING: Ođđa Áigodat
SOURCE: bafesfactory.fi
INFO: Due out April 2018
ARTIST: Vajas
WORK: Pub-crow [3:27]
RECORDING: Sacred Stone
SOURCE: VAJCD 601
INFO: Out of print. Some info at worldmusiccentral.org
ARTIST: Soljun (Hildá Länsman and Ulla Pirttijärvi)
WORK: Heargevuoddji (Reindeer Driver) [3:38]
RECORDING: Ođđa Áigodat
SOURCE: bafesfactory.fi
INFO: Due out April 2018
ARTIST: Wimme
WORK: Illa (Hardly) [5:43]
RECORDING: Gierran
SOURCE: Zen CD 2055
INFO: Out of print, but try Amazon.com or download from iTunes
ARTIST: Mari Boine (Persen)
WORK: Gula gula [3:43]
RECORDING: Gula gula
SOURCE: Real World #91631
INFO: realworld.co.uk
ARTIST: Soljun (Hildá Länsman and Ulla Pirttijärvi)
WORK: Odda Aigodat (New Times) [3:46]
RECORDING: Ođđa Áigodat
SOURCE: bafesfactory.fi
INFO: Due out April 2018
ARTIST: Synergy ensemble
WORK: John Luther Adams: Earth & the Great Weather- the Circle of Suns and Moons, Circle of Winds, Distant Thunder [10:08]
RECORDING: Performance from Almeida Opera in 2000
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. However, the work exists on New World Records 80459
INFO: newworldrecords.org
ARTIST: Tanya Tagaq
WORK: Cold [6:35]
RECORDING: Retribution
SOURCE: Six Shooter Records
INFO: sixshooterrecords.com
ARTIST: Dmitri Pokrovsky Ensemble
WORK: Geese Fly [3:07]
RECORDING: The Wild Field
SOURCE: Real World #91736
INFO: realworldrecords.com
ARTIST: Vajas
WORK: Star Girl [2:35]
RECORDING: Sacred Stone
SOURCE: VAJCD 601
INFO: Out of print. Some info at worldmusiccentral.org