ARTS , CULTURE & EDUCATION
tive, taking both singers and the audience into the animal realm and spiritual world to hear caribou calls, wolf howls, polar bear hisses, bird songs and spirit voices. Once Cynthia’s and Annie’s performance
ended, a moment of awed silence filled the church… then the applause came… and came, as if not wanting to end, and in fact not ending until the evening’s moderator intervened to introduce the next scheduled musicians. At the end of Part I of the concert, all of the
evening performers came together on stage. Central Asia throat-singer, Enkh Jargal joined Cynthia and Annie. The addition of his deep- voiced and overtone-swinging throat-singing to that of the two Nunavut women created a very unusual, melodic and thrilling sound and song experience that had never before been created or heard beyond this concert, leaving the audience agog in wonderment and appreciation.
The joint performance of harpists Rüdiger Oppermann and Park Stickney, who played contemporary and jazz music on their two harps, was truly remarkable. They synchro-
nized perfectly, building their throat-song to a full throttle crescendo of symphonic sound tempered throughout by softer, gentler undulations.
But it was one of the most highly anticipated
Klangwelten 2011 performers were:
• Rüdiger Oppermann, Germany, harp • Katajaq Duo, Nunavut, magical throat singing and sounds of nature
• Enkh Jargal, Mongolia, shamanistic throat singing and horse violin (ikili)
• Tata Dindin, Gambia/Africa, kora (double bridge harp lute) and singing
• Park Stickney, New York, jazz harp • Terrence Ngassa, Cameroon, Africa’s best jazz trumpeter and sounds of nature
• Agus/Wahyu Rhythm Explosion, Java, gendang drums, gamelan instruments, chanting
• Jatinder Thakur, India, tabla (combined two hand drums) and chanting
featured acts of the evening, Nunavut’s Katajaq Duo, Cynthia Pitsiulak from Kimmirut and Annie Aningmiuq who hails from Pangnirtung, that may have stolen the show. They were first to appear dressed in traditional Inuit attire standing very closely facing each other with barely enough space for a microphone between them. Their performance introduced not only Inuit culture to a curious audience, but also demonstrated what Arctic throat singing was all about. Once Cynthia and Annie slowly began to inhale and exhale their breaths, picking up speed and building crescendo and suspense in doing so, the audience listened in rapt attention as they began to sway to the rhythm of their songs, adding gasps to their quick and heavy breathing, creating highly unique visuals and sounds that European eyes and ears were seldom attuned to. The rising tones of their throat-singing seemed to intertwine, becoming transforma-
After a break of about 30 minutes, Part II of
the concert again featured the various artists, this time wearing traditional garb, playing and singing in groups of two. The ensemble performance of the Indonesian drummers from Java, Agus and Wahyu, plus the tabla drummer from India, proved highly exciting and engaging — building a tremulous wave of sound throughout the venue that sent the church windows, figurettes, statues, paintings and audience a-tremble. When the concert came to an end, close to 11:30 p.m., all the musicians again mounted
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arcticjournal.ca
March/April 2012
© HENDRIK JOHN © ELKE EMSHOFF
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