For our last blog I'm going to introduce some folk music from these two regions; the Nordic music of northern Europe and the indigenous music of the Artic and subarctic regions spanning from north-eastern Russia, across northernmost North America and into Greenland (I will use the term Inuit to refer to these groups of people, though they go by many other names across the region.)
Scandinavia is home to Nordic folk music, one of my very favorite genres. I am going to talk about a very specific type of Nordic folk tradition called kulning, or herding calls. The practice developed mainly in Sweden, but also in parts of Norway and Finland. Kulning is similar to yodeling, it is a type of singing used to call herds of cows and other grazers home from the fields and mountains. Kulning is usually done without accompaniment and is high-pitched with traditional, melancholic, Nordic-style ornamentation. The practice was almost exclusively performed by women. I've included two samples, one includes a video component so one can see the tradition in it's natural setting.
Helle Thun
Jonna Jinton
For modern music of this region, I chose a band I had the privilege of seeing live in concert recently, though it is often said of this group, "they don't give concerts, they hold rituals." The experimental-folk, pagancore band is comprised of members from Denmark, Germany, and Norway, and they create original songs using a diverse array of very old techniques and instruments, aided by modern technology. Many of their songs last ten minutes or more, so I have chosen a shorter live performance to keep your attention, but the screen does not do this group justice, and I cannot recommend seeing them in person enough. This is Heilung with one of their original songs, Anoana.
Before the colonization of North America by Europeans, music in Inuit culture was reserved mostly for spiritual ceremonies. There was not a word for music as most think of it in the native tongue, it was included in the word designated for all the sounds of nature and life. One kind of music unique to the Inuit is referred to as Inuit throat-singing. This type of singing developed as a form of entertainment for girls and women, and as part of a competitive game. One participant leads, rapidly firing off various sounds inspired by animals and nature, while the other imitates, only half a second behind, until one of them messes up or starts laughing.
Music of this region has changed drastically from exposure to outside influence. Here is a group that brings Inuit throat singing into modern pop culture. Like their indigenous neighbors to the south which we studied in class, Inuit music is very percussion-based, and this group carries that aspect of the music forward. Their blend of traditional throat singing with the addition of a live DJ and electronic dance music has proved to be an award-winning combination. This is Anirniq by Silla + Rise.
Both of these artists are great examples of centuries-old traditions, specifically vocal traditions carried by women, remaining in modern music.
For my ritual I have decided to speak about something a little lesser known than weddings, graduations, and funerals, although I would imagine at least one or two other students in this class who are from the southeast US have experienced it at some time in their lives. In the Baptist church and in other (mainly protestant) denominations, at the end of most services there is a ritual called the altar call. The altar call practice has been around since the first Great Awakening, but became popularized under the preaching of Charles Finney and the term "altar call" was not coined and widely used until the 1800's. The altar call consists of a designated period of time at the end of service for individuals in the congregation to approach the altar, convert to Christianity, and possibly join the church. Today, the Reverend typically promotes a level of anonymity by encouraging the congregation to keep their heads bowed and eyes closed in prayer except for those who choose to come forward. They may also invite individuals who are under any sort of conviction to raise their hand from their seat to simply request that the Reverend privately pray for them. When the practice first emerged, it was largely debated among Reverends as too high pressure, and apt to lead to a great number of false conversions. The altar call faced a great deal of scrutiny in it's early days, but now most church-going protestants who disagree simply steer clear of churches who uphold the custom. When I was in my early teens my own family became somewhat divided over the necessity of altar calls, excited testimonies, and shouting in praise (all of which have a tendency to happen in the same churches) and we had a bit of a mini-schism.
I, being in truth too young to understand the controversy, just wanted to go to church because I was homeschooled and it was my only social outlet. So when my family finally stopped attending, I found another church closer to home that I could get a ride to and continued. This church was much smaller than I was used to and only had one group of musicians who accompanied the services, and I joined it as a vocalist. As well as leading the congregation in hymns each Sunday morning, it was our job to perform the background music for communions, weddings, funerals, and altar calls. During an altar call, singing is usually kept to a minimum in order not to drown out the Reverend and the hymns are played instrumentally for most of the ritual, but the messages of the distinguished and beloved hymns are not lost on the congregation.
Here are two traditional altar call hymns, you may recognize one of them even if you were not raised in a church of any kind. The fact that Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior (Do Not Pass Me By) is one of the most commonly used hymns for this ritual, and was chosen for the scene of the sinking of the Titanic in the 1997 blockbuster film, is no coincidence, it also happens to be one of my favorite hymns.
I continued to be a part of the church and this practice until my late teens when I began to understand controversy, and I left mine due to one that had little to do with altar calls. I recently got to experience one though. My paternal grandmother passed away a few weeks ago and being the devout Baptist she was, she requested the Reverend run her funeral service like a traditional sermon, complete with an altar call at the end. We used her favorite hymn as the service theme and the altar call song, this is Come and Dine.
For this post, I decided to interview my mom, Heidi, about her relationship with music.
For context, she was born near Quakertown, Pennsylvania in 1968 and moved to the Florida Keys at age 7 when her mother divorced her father and entered a new relationship. I am not sure what caused them to settle in North Carolina, but she met my father here and finally put down permanent roots before having my sister in 1995 and me in 1998. Having grown up under her it is easy for me to see the influence of both her biological father and her step-father, as well as her mother, on her musical tastes.
I asked her first what factors played a role in developing her taste in music in early life. She answered that her father often played classical music on the radio and this was the extent of her exposure to music for a long time. The only exception was when she received a vinyl record player and some records for her birthday, but she was so young she cannot even remember whose records they were. She did remember that singing along with those records was her first memory of making music, and that a record player was the first device she had for playing recorded music. She also remembered receiving an Amtrak in her childhood.
After her parents divorced and her step-father "Papa Frank" came into her and her mom's life, her relationship with music changed dramatically. Their lifestyle changed from somewhat cloistered to nomadic and hippy, and all kinds of music were around all of the time. Even though she has always been adamant that this way of life was damaging to her as a child, she still appreciates being exposed to Rock 'n Roll at a time that was so vital for it. I asked if she had a favorite artist of all time, and without much hesitation she named Aerosmith. I asked if there was an artist she could choose to define or represent her generation, she again chose Aerosmith but she also gave a nod to Madonna for the title.
My mom's favorite song of all time, Dream On by Aerosmith.
Lastly, I asked my mom how she had connected to her community through music in the past. She stated rather bluntly that she was introverted and neglected to connect with her community most of the time by design. She did admit that when she and my dad had been more involved in the church, she had been convinced to play the piano while he lead the choir, but she did not really enjoy doing it. She also allowed one of her close coworkers to convince her to accompany him to an Elle King concert recently, an artist that she enjoyed but she found that concerts were not her cup of tea. She remains a homebody and prefers a private relationship with her music, which she enjoys at a low volume while she reads and performs housework on her days off from work.
I can give a couple of personal examples of how gender roles have affected my journey and maybe even my taste in music, in positive and negative ways.
Just like most public-schooled children, my sister and I were required to learn a musical instrument for our homeschool curriculum. Understandably, my parents would not budget for two teachers and two commutes, so it was up to my sister and I to agree on an instrument. I wanted to learn the banjo, she wanted to learn violin. While I always loved violin music, what I couldn't agree with was my parents deciding we would both learn violin on the basis that it was the more "ladylike" choice. Though I stuck violin lessons out for a year, my heart was never in it and I didn't get along with my teacher, and to this day I would not claim to even dabble on the violin.
My draw to the banjo was definitely something I picked up in church. I went to a fairly large church where music was taken seriously and there were several groups who spent many, many hours together practicing and writing songs. My own parents were involved in our first churches music program, my dad lead the choir as well as served as a deacon and my mom accompanied the choir on piano and taught Sunday school. My favorite band in our church was always the mens' bluegrass quartet, though they were certainly not the only talented group. The banjo picker in this performance happened to also be my calculus professor at community college. This is Stay by the Brook by the Holly Springs Bluegrass Quartet.
I think in folk, expectations of gender influence the music in some very direct ways. This is especially perceptible in songs that emerge during war and famine. While no one can deny the popularity and vital energy of rebel songs, if you listen to enough of them you may begin to notice a pattern, they are typically sung by men, while the womens' songs of the time may sound a bit different, perhaps even sometimes contrary in message. While men left home and faced war, women were left alone and felt the loss in different ways, often without ever feeling anything close to glory or freedom. In this next song, while the circumstances of the woman's fate aren't clear, the tone of her message is one that is heard throughout this sub-genre of womens' music. This is Land o' the Leal sung by Hannah Rarity.
Thanks for visiting my blog! I'm Sadhbh Alexander, I was born and raised (and still live) in Cooper's Gap, North Carolina, which you've almost certainly never heard of. I was homeschooled and grew up in the Baptist church so music was always around, but not in many contexts outside of a religious one. I have a Pennsylvania Dutch mom who grew up in the midst of a large Amish community and my dad was a deacon and the son of a southern Baptist preacher. My relationship with music changed when my parents introduced me to a woman named Deborah Brinson when I was about 9 years old. Ms. Deborah had been tutoring my older sister and she didn't normally take on students my age but after hearing from my sister about what she had been learning, I became relentless in asking Ms. Deborah to take me on as well. Deborah Brinson was (and I assume still is, but she is very elusive) an Irish folk singer, songwriter, and harpist. My sister was not only coming home from her lessons with increasing musical ability, she was learning to sing in and understand Irish as well as other languages, and bringing home songs and stories that were turning me green.
I studied under Ms. Deborah as long as I could, but she left for Ireland when I was still quite young and we haven't kept touch. Now, I keep this music in my life as part of my work. As a singer I have never had much power behind my voice, I struggle to compete for volume when accompanied by a loud instrument such as a piano, and I've long accepted that large concert halls are probably something I could never fill without the help of a microphone. However, my voice works quite well to sing to a single person in a quiet room, and I found there is indeed a setting for this. I have been a licensed massage & bodywork therapist for 3 years now. One day I was is a session listening to my favorite music and I had the thought that this would be much more fun if I could sing while I worked, and then I also realized there was nothing stopping me.
My favorite mini-genre of songs to sing or listen to while I work on my clients are waulking songs. Waulking songs are more of a Scottish tradition than an Irish one, but they are a type of work song that really helps me get through my day. The practice of waulking involved several women sitting in a circle, beating woven tweed or wool into useable cloth in a rhythmic cycle. They would sing while they did this in order to make the work go by easier and to keep themselves on beat. The lyrics are often optimistic and grateful, including words of praise and thanks to God for the health of the sheep that produce the wool and the hands of the women that work it, as well as the health the clothing will afford the people of their communities.
1. My favorite waulking song at the moment is Hò Rò Gun Togainn air Hùgan Fhathast Thù, and I like the rendition by the group Staran. The lyrics of this song and other waulking songs help me to keep a positive attitude about the work that I do.
Lyrics:
Scottish Gaelic English
Ho rò gun togainn air hùgan fhathast The tweed will be the better for being in the presence of the girls Ho rò i ò, mun tèid mi laighe Who, with their hands, will make the waulking endure Ho rò gun togainn air hùgan fhathast When they turn it on the waulking board Togamaid fonn air luadh a’ chlòthlainn The sound was heard of each of them speaking Gabhaidh sinn ceòl is òrain mhatha Beautiful, melodious, sweet songs B' fheàird an clò bhith chòir nan gruagach Are sung by the maidens Dhèanadh an luadhadh buan len làmhan While waulking they sing Nuair a thionndas iad air clèith eCheerfully, diligently to improve the cloth Chluinnte fuaim gach tè dhiubh labhairt Good health to those sheep Òrain ghrinne, bhinne, mhìlseon which grew the elegant cloth Aig na rìbhinnean gan gabhail A blessings upon the hand which spun it Luinneag ac’ air luadh an aodaichHers was the work of a good housewife Sunndach, saothrachail ri mathas Truly the folk who will wear it Guma slàn a bhios na caoraich Will derive pleasure from their clothes Air an d’ fhàs an t-aodach flathail
Beannachd air an làimh a shnìomh e ’S i rinn gnìomh na deagh bhean-taighe
’S ann a tha ‘n toil-inntinn aodaich Aig na daoin’ a bhios ga chaitheamhTranslation found at
2. The second song I chose to share is one it took me way to long to hear, and when I did a lot of things clicked for me. A lot of the history (which was, I'll be honest, virtually all U.S. history) I took in grade school simply didn't add up with my own observations of the modern world, and it took me until I got to college to finally understand why. I heard this song and it's message to Americans, particularly Americans of Irish heritage, is clear: justice over nationalism. This concept is what was missing from my education in history, and this song is one of the best examples of why the topic of music history is so important to me.
I chose to use Seth Staton Watkins' cover of this song because I feel he is an artist who deserves more recognition, he is a young singer with and old and powerful voice.
3. The song I chose that does not really resonate with me is one that went viral in the southeast U.S. about a year ago and was a hot topic of conversation in my hometown. Many people I knew had very positive feelings about the song, mostly because the artist is very relatable to them. Though he is relatable and I believe he is a very talented musician, I felt something in the lyrics that was divisive and diversionary. This is Rich Men North of Richmond by Oliver Anthony.
