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KRONOS

QUARTE T

Featuring / avec

and / et

TANYA TAGAQ

LAAKKULUK

WILLIAMSON BATHORY

Music by / musique de

DE REK CHARKE

DEREK CHARKE (b. 1974)

22 INUIT THROAT SONG GAMES

1. Lullaby

2. Throat Song

CERCLE DU NORD III

22 INUIT THROAT SONG GAMES

4. Song of a Name (For a Boy)

5. Dogs

TUNDRA SONGS

Lyrics by Laakkuluk Willamson Bathory (based

on the Greenlandic creation story of Sassuma

Arnaa) / Paroles de Laakkuluk Willamson

Bathory (œuvre basée sur l’histoire de la

création du Groenland de Sassuma Arnaa)

I. Ice

II. Water

III. Sedna's Song

IV. Lament of the Dogs

V. The Trickster Tulugaq

Throat singing by / Chant de gorge de

Tanya Tagaq

SASSUMA ARNAA: THE WOMAN

DOWN THERE

Storytelling by / Histoire racontée par

Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory

KRONOS QUARTET

David Harrington, violin/violon

John Sherba, violin/violon

Hank Dutt, viola/alto

Jeffrey Zeigler, cello/violoncelle

22 INUI T THROAT

SONG GAME S

(2002/2005)

Composed in 2002 and 2005

these works strive to emulate

the sounds of Inuit throat singing

games, or Katajak. Any number

of the works can be performed

in any order.

Initially the idea for these works

came from experimentations with

different kinds of bowing techniques

on the violin and viola da gamba.

Working with violinist Carter

Williams I stumbled on a technique

that emulated guttural sounds I had

heard in the Katajak. To produce the

desired effect players grip the bow

with a fist-like grip and bow in circular

or vertical movements. The performer

also uses an unusual amount of

pressure resulting in a sound that is

coarse and grinding. To enhance the

effect the instruments can be prepared

with miniature clothespins. These

are placed near the bridge and on the

string. Similar to a prepared piano

the notes played on these strings

have a different, grittier sound. Circle

bowing inherently contains a strong

and weak beat, the down-bow giving

an accent, no accent on the up-bow.

The strong beat will either be solid

or wispy depending if the circle

is clockwise or counterclockwise.

Vertical bowing gives a wispier sound

but still maintains a strong / weak

beat relationship.

Katajak can involve a melody or they

can be imitations of animal or natural

sounds, geese, dogs, water, etc. The

game is normally performed between

two women. A major component

of Katajak involves hocketing the

sound between the two singers. The

singers play on each other’s rhythmic

breaths. Since the singers stand very

close to one another the sound is

also resonated between the two of

them. When one exhales the other

inhales. The sound is rhythmic and

continuous. The game is over when

one laughs, or when the sound

causes a tickle in the throat. Throat

singing is arduous and can’t be produced

for extended periods of times. Likewise

circle bowing is tiresome and can only be

carried out for short periods.There is a real

similarity between the breathing in and out

of the singers and circle bowing between

two performers. However with a string

quartet I had to decide how to work with

four instruments. I discovered that when

the full quartet is employed more normal

bowing techniques can be used. In specific

cases I assigned the “breathing in” parts

to two instruments while the others carry

on the “breathing out.” The piece works

best when the string quartet is amplified

and the individual instruments are panned

to highlight the hocketing effect. I also

decided to arrange the works so that every

combination within the string quartet

was possible, this way duets between

every instrument would also occur.

The first 11 games are arranged in such

a way that every instrument has a chance

to play with every other instrument.

In the last 11 games I was freer in my

approach and opted for more full

ensemble combinations.

Variation and improvisation is essential.

Most of the games are of an indeterminate

duration, usually with one or more repeat

signs that state approximately how many

times, or for what duration that section

should continue. Simple things such

as dynamics are deliberately left to the

player’s discretion. (For the most part

these pieces are to be performed loudly.)

Suggested improvisations are given such

as; use medium to hard pressure for heavy

grinding sound and thick texture; use

light or extra light pressure for soft wispy

sounds and light transparent textures; circle

bow more sul tasto for less high harmonic

or circle bow more sul ponticello for more

high harmonics; use microtones; add more

circles to create rhythmic variations; use a

combination of normal bowing technique

combined with circle bowing.

CE RCLE DU NORD III

(2005)

Commissioned for the Kronos

Quartet with funding from CBC

Radio Two and Radio-Canada's

Éspace Musique. Travel funds to

attend the Canadian premières in

Whitehorse, Vancouver and Calgary

provided by the Canada Council

for the Arts.

Cercle du Nord III

was

premiered at the Yukon Arts Centre

in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories,

Canada, on January 24, 2006.

Cercle du Nord III

is an original piece,

developed from research and transcriptions

of Inuit throat singing games, or Katajak,

and circle bowing techniques on string

instruments. On a recorded soundtrack

that accompanies the quartet, I attempt

to capture the sonic environment of the

Canadian far north. In it I use original

sounds collected from various sources. A

trip in March of 2005 to Inuvik, Northwest

Territories, provided many of the natural

sounds of the north including birds, dogs,

dog sledding, walking and running in the

snow and wind. As I was trying to capture

these sounds I found the sounds of modern

life infiltrating the pristine environment.

Snowmobiles, trucks driving on the ice

roads and a pervasive hum of the Inuvik

power plant. I added the sound of a

synthesizer, shakers and a grunting flute

sound. These were recorded in my home

studio. Some of the vocal sounds were

also recorded by myself and string quartet

sounds were taken from personal studio

recordings of my

Inuit Throat Song Games

for String Quartet

recorded at SUNY Buffalo

in 2003. Other sounds were recorded

by students and faculty at the Acadia

University School of Music in Wolfville,

Nova Scotia, Canada.

For much of the piece, the string quartet

hockets material between two or more

voices, similar to the Katajak games

played between two singers. This material

has been deliberately left simple, both

rhythmically and harmonically not only

to emulate Katajak but also to lay a

foundation on top of which a throat singer

can improvise. Fiddle music is big in the

north. I choose to highlight this by using

a quasi-fiddle tune passed between all the

instruments early on. The sounds of an

TUNDRA

SONGS

actual fiddler are included later on the

sound track, albeit transformed through

granular synthesis then put through

a flange with added reverb. Grinding

sounds produced by circle bowing are

incorporated and near the end one of

the throat song games for string quartet

is performed in its entirety. As the piece

progresses, a synthesizer is added into the

texture bringing a hint of electronica into

the soundscape.

The soundscape of the north has changed.

I wanted to reflect this change. Rather

than create an ethereal sonic landscape

of the idyllic north I choose to look for

something more fitting of our times. Inuit

culture has changed to adapt to modern

life. Cars, trucks and snowmobiles have

replaced traditional transportation. People

have satellite T.V. and live in modern

homes. Rock, pop, heavy metal, fiddle

and folk music dominates the musical

landscape.

TUNDRA SONGS (2007)

Commissioned for the Kronos Quartet

and Tanya Tagaq by the Los Angeles

Philharmonic Association, Esa-Pekka

Salonen, Music Director.

Tundra Songs

was premiered at Walt Disney Concert

Hall in Los Angeles, California, USA,

on May 3, 2008, and presented by the

Los Angeles Philharmonic.

I’ve been fascinated with the arctic for as

long as I can remember. I’ve lived there, I

met my wife there and I continue to return

as often as I can. Naturally I was thrilled

when David Harrington asked me to write

a new work for the Kronos Quartet and

Tanya Tagaq based on the north.

I traveled to Iqaluit, the capital of

Nunavut, in March of 2007. Fresh off the

plane, and in minus thirty degree weather,

I hooked up with Polar Explorer Matty

McNair for a two day trip out on the ice

by dog sled. Leaving town I recorded the

dogs and the sled skidding over the ice. We

went to a polynia, an open area of water

kept free of ice due to the strong currents.

Dropping my hydrophone into the water I

recorded sounds of shrimp, krill, seals and

other marine life.

Later that day, as the dogs rested, we went

on a short hike to take in the scenery;

magnificent sheets of ice lined the walls of

the valley where the tide had receded. We

camped that night in a cabin at the edge of

the frozen ocean. It was remarkably clear

and the aurora borealis decided to give

us a beautiful show. I left my microphone

outside all evening to capture any sounds

that might have occurred. The next

morning I set the microphone on an ice

flow and recorded the cracking ice; huge

chunks of ice grinding together as the tide

came in pushing the entire frozen ocean up.

Later that afternoon, when we had arrived

back in town, I positioned a microphone in

the centre of some dog food to attract the

ravens. I recorded their calls and shrieks,

their wings flapping in the frigid weather

as they attacked the food!

Over the next week I wandered the streets

recording anything and everything I could

find. Daily life in the north: a group

of kids playing shimmy street hockey,

snowmobiles racing around

town, airplanes coming and going, a dog

sled race, someone carving a soapstone

sculpture, the beeps of the water trucks

backing up, howling wind and dogs tied

up in front of homes. I was invited to a

Country Feast. We ate polar bear, seal,

caribou, whale and arctic char. After

the feast the tale of “Sedna,” the Inuit

goddess who created all living beings, was

vividly recounted by storyteller Laakkuluk

Willamson Bathory. I wasn’t able to get

all the sounds I needed from this one trip.

In particular I didn’t have recordings of

mosquitoes. So I created a bug recorder.

It’s a plastic container with a hole for the

microphone. You simply add one mosquito

and voilà!

During the summer of 2007 I recorded

kayak sounds, waves and paddle noises, as

well as birds, geese, ptarmigan and other

wildlife. Some sounds were difficult to

find, the caribou with their hoofs clicking

for example, and in lieu of the real thing

you’ll hear a castanet. Other sounds were

produced in my home studio including

drums, shakers, some of the whale sounds

and the various processed effects.

Tundra Songs

is divided into five

continuous movements. Each section

explores a specific sound world. In

addition the form roughly follows

the seasons. Two primary “extended”

techniques are explored: circle bowing

and vertical bowing. Using these methods

of tone production it is possible to make

the string quartet sound similar to Inuit

throat singing. Throat singing is a game

usually played between two women. Tanya

Tagaq is unique because she does this on

her own. The sounds are raw and guttural.

The singing is rhythmic and emulates

sounds of animals, birds and other natural

or man-made sounds. Paired with the

sounds on the soundtrack, and Tanya’s

singing, the effect is highly evocative

of northern Canada.

harmonic backdrop begin the work. A

systematic increase in tempos occurs until

at just over four minutes a final flourish

and Tanya is left singing on her own with

just the ice to accompany her. Four main

rhythmic sections alternate with slower

regions where we can hear the sounds of

the raw ice cracking as the tides recede.

once more. A high beep signals the last

part of this movement. Water, whales and

ice are heard as the string quartet plays a

march-like rhythm in unison, pizzicato or

col legno battuto (with the wood of the

bow). Synthesized sounds are included,

a choir, shakers and drums. Geese honks

signal the arrival of summer, and a clash

of thunder signals the transition to the

third movement.

II.

WATE R

III.

SEDNA'S SONG

Spring (Upirngaksaaq) – A whale call starts

us off. More whale calls ensue, heard as

descending harmonic sounds. Seals grunt,

shrimp crackle and streaming water is

heard flowing under the arctic ice. An

atmospheric and rhythmic backdrop

accompanies a jazzy string quartet.

The tempo increases and we hear the

opening whale call again. The seal grunts

are transformed to become a rhythmic

backing track. The string quartet hockets

similar material back and forth as the

energy increases. The string quartet is

left on its own for a moment before we

are plunged into the depths of the ocean

Sedna's Song Summer / Aujaq – A special

thank you to Laakkuluk Williamson

Bathory of Iqaluit, Nunavut, for her story

based on Sassuma Arnaa which forms the

third movement of this work.

“Laakkuluk would like to tell us a story,”

kids are playing hockey, “What a goal!”

and a snowmobile whizzes along. Birds,

wildlife and a band-saw used for carving

are in the background. The string quartet

plays pizzicato. A folksy solo melody

on the violin accompanies the story.

Castanets emulate caribou hooves

ICE

Winter (Ukiuq) – Sounds of drums and

cracking ice are heard from a distance.

Quickly they get closer. The string quartet

enters. Circle bowing, grinding and

vertical bowing techniques over a static

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