As much as I enjoy music, during the 3 weeks preceding the 9th of Av, I pretty much withdraw from music. The themes revolving around the destruction of the Bet HaMikdash, the Holy Temple make that a necessity for me.
It occurred to me that 100 years ago, all of my ancestors spoke something other than English. As much fondness as I have for the English language, it was the fairly recent decisions of 4 people (my grandparents) to come to America that made English my language of communication. Perhaps it is for this reason that I seek out music in other languages.
Greenland has always fascinated me. It is 10 times the area of Great Britain, yet has a population of only about 50,000 people. It is 88% Inuit, including those of mixed Inuit Danish ancestry, and about 12% European, most of whom are Danish.
I had tried in the past to find popular music from Greenland. Maybe I didn't frame the search right, but I always came up empty handed. Today I was successful. I found some songs from Paninnguaq Jensen. Her style of music ranges from folk music, somewhat like Melanie to mild punk rock. I was not able to find a biography of her or an official web site. She does, however have a My Space Page where you can buy her MP3s. From her name, I would guess that she is of mixed Inuit and Danish ancestry. She sings in Greenlandic Inuit. Her songs are posted on You Tube.
The economics of the music industry tend to favour those who speak more popular languages such as English and Chinese. Butt there is a lot of talent and beauty in the music of less popular languages. It is for this reason that I try to look for music off the beaten path. Maybe it was the hot weather. I don't know, but Greenland is one of those places I daydream about sometimes. So here is some music in Greenlandic Inuit. I hope my readers enjoy it.
No comments:
Post a Comment