Cover image for Called upstairs : Moravian Inuit music in Labrador / Tom Gordon.
TITLE:
Called upstairs : Moravian Inuit music in Labrador / Tom Gordon.
Alternate Title:
Moravian Inuit music in Labrador
Publication Date:
2023
Publication Information:
Montreal, Que. : McGill-Queen's University Press,
Volume:
105
Physical Description:
xxviii, 432 p. : ill., maps.
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:
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. Rather, it chronicles a process of adaptation, mediation, and agency, exploring the transformation of a colonial artifact into an expression of Inuit aesthetic preference, spirituality, and community identity.
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780228016779

9780228016786