Synopses & Reviews
Music in Pacific Island Cultures is one of several case-study volumes that can be used along with
Thinking Musically, Second Edition, the core book in the Global Music Series.
Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world. It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present.
The islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia are steeped in diverse musical traditions that reach far beyond the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Music in Pacific Island Cultures is the first brief, single-volume text to provide a thematic, succinct introduction to the music of the Pacific Islands--a region of the world that has long been underrepresented in ethnomusicological studies.
Based on the authors' extensive fieldwork and experiences in Pacific Island cultures, the text draws on interviews with performers, eyewitness accounts of performances, vivid illustrations, and insights gained from ongoing participation in Pacific music. The authors use four themes--colonialism, belief systems, musical flows, and the re/presentation of Pacific cultures--to survey the region and draw parallels and contrasts between its various musical traditions.
Packaged with a 70-minute audio CD containing musical examples discussed in the book, Music in Pacific Island Cultures features numerous listening activities that engage students with the music. The companion website includes a comprehensive Instructor's Manual with suggested classroom activities.
Visit www.oup.com/us/globalmusic for a list of books in the Global Music Series. The website also includes instructional materials to accompany each volume.
Synopsis
The Pacific Islands- Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia-are steeped in diverse musical traditions that transcend the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. In Music in Pacific Islands Cultures, authors Brian Diettrich, Jane Freeman Moulin, and Michael Webb bring to life this region of the world that has long been underrepresented in ethnomusicological studies. The authors use three themes-modern nationhood, systems of belief (i.e., Christianity and indigenous faiths), and the effects of globalism and cultural exchange-to explore how the musical experiences of the Pacific Islanders are unique to each island group, but shaped by similar influences. The book concludes with an account of the Festival of Pacific Arts-a transregional celebration held every four years-that shows how these three themes are intricately woven into the fabric of the islands' culture.
Designed to be used as one of several short and inexpensive case study volumes in the Global Music Series, this volume is appropriate for introductory undergraduate courses in world music or ethnomusicology and for upper-level courses on Pacific Island/Oceanic music and/or culture. The twenty-second volume in the Series, this text is based on the authors' own extensive fieldwork and features interviews with performers, eyewitness accounts of performances, and vivid illustrations. The book also features listening activities that enable students to engage critically and actively with the text. The included 70-minute CD contains examples of music discussed in the text, and supplementary material for instructors will be available on the companion web site.
About the Author
Brian Diettrich is Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University, in Wellington, New Zealand.
Jane Freeman Moulin is Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Hawai'i
Michael Webb is Lecturer in Music Education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the University of Sydney, Australia.
Table of Contents
ForewordPreface
Orthography and Pronunciation
CD Track List
Prologue
CHAPTER 1: DIVERSITY IN PACIFIC ISLAND MUSICS
Polynesia
Music as Words
Communities of Sound
Micronesia
Music and Dance Practices
Music as Expressions and Sentiment
Music as Cultural Heritage and Identity
Melanesia
The Multi-Art Ceremony
Materials and Musical Instruments
Pidgin Languages and Music
Summary
CHAPTER 2: MUSIC AND COLONIAL EXPERIENCES
Introduction
Micronesia
Early Colonial Appropriations
Interfaces with Japan
Interfaces with the United States
Melanesia
Ceremonial Culture as Folklore
Time, Authority, and Militarism
The "Singing Cowboy" and the Individual Self
Polynesia
Reconfiguring Celebration
Himene Tarava
Music for the Dance
CHAPTER 3: MUSICAL EXPRESSIONS OF THE SACRED
Introduction
Polynesia
Music in the Eglise Protestante Ma'oi
Himene Tarava as Polynesian Hymnody
Micronesia
Music and Christian Worship
Religious Music across Time
Music and Indigenous Spiritual Practices
Innovations in Contemporary Christian Music
Melanesia
Sound as Spirit Voices
Christian Hymnody in Vanuatu
Cargo Cults
Summary
CHAPTER 4: MUSIC AND GLOBAL FLOW
Introduction
Melanesia
String Band
Ailan Reggae
Pop-"Tribal" Fusion Music
Polynesia
Island Songs
Fusing Polynesian Cultures
Haka Travels
Micronesia
Musical Networks across Pacific Boundaries
Exchanging and Appropriating Dances
Music and Migrant Communities in Hawai'i
The Flow of Popular Music
Summary
CHAPTER 5: MUSIC, PERFORMANCE, AND REPRESENTATION
Introduction
Polynesia
Tourism and the Hotel Show
Festivalization and Cultural Tourism
Melanesia
The Cultural Festival for Community Benefit
Melanesian Identity and the "World Music" Festival
Melanesian Identity as "Pacific" Identity
Micronesia
Representations from Beyond the Pacific
Performances for Pacific Island Others and Selves
Epilogue
Glossary
References
Resources
Index