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FRA ARNE NÆSS TIL JON-ROAR BJØRKVOLD?

ADRIAN, filosofi-student og sanger fra Peru, sendte meg følgende mail etter at han hadde vært på besøk hos meg. Han har lest «Det musiske menneske» og  ser en sammenheng mellom mitt bidrag til en økologisk, ngoma-basert læringsteori og Arne Næss’ dypøkologi. Mailen hans gjengis her, med Adrians tillatelse:

I am writing you again to say thank you. This time in your place was one of the best and most inspiring moments I had in Norway till now,…

However I can suggest now at least one question about what you call the ecology of muse-ical learning of children. This a so rich topic to go thourgh and a powerful via of multidiciplinary research and argumentation in favor of muse-ical education in my land. My question is quite simple: To what extend do you think is this idea supported by Ane Næs’ «Deep Ecology»? I am quite curious, because, despite one can make easy conections between you an Arne Næs, there is no reference in your book about him. Are you influenced by him?

(I also went through Næs’ titles and Only found one little text about music called: «Musiske Philosophy»: couple of pages in a magazine called «FLUX» in 1995)

I wish also to give you some information about the QUECHUA «word» for MUSIC. Actually you must know that Quechua is the popular name for the biggest andean native language, but «Runa Simi» (you can pronouce it as you do in Norwegian) is the original name of this language. There was no written language in the Inca Empire (despite it is still in debate). However what we know now as written quechua is the use of latin alphabet describing quechua sounds.

As I told you it is a subordinated language and now strong influenced by centuries of spanish culture. You can find especial information in this book: http://ask.bibsys.no/ask/action/show?pid=112632483&kid=biblio <http://ask.bibsys.no/ask/action/show?pid=112632483&amp;kid=biblio> , but to our purpose it is enough to know that the biggest quechua-speaking population live in Lima (the capital that has 10 millions of the 30 millions of peruvians) and that it is however almost impossible to find people talking quechua in daily life. I was born in Lima and I almost never listen my mother talking Quechua, unless she was talking and joking with her older brothers when they visited us.

What I will tell you is what I found thorugh a couple of hours diving on internet and a little conversation with my mother. I will write you something better because I already sent a mail to a very important ethno-musicologist in my country, Chalena Vasquez. It will tkae some days, but I promess something well informed.

What I ahve is that there is not ONE word to expres «music» in Quechua, in the occidental way, there should be two words together:

TAKI KAPCHIY

Where TAKI coul mean Sing, Singer, Singing adn is related to TAKICH’UNKU (Choir), TAKICHAQ (Composer), TAKI ARANWAY (Opera), RIMAY TAKI (Song), LLAQTA TAKI (National Anthem) and TAQUIQ (singer, who is singing or playing an instrument, and poet), and TAKIY (singing, singing while dancing, playing an instrument).

…and where KAPCHIY could means Artist or Artistic

So we can deduce that for Quechua speakers, «music» could mean «artistic singing» -while dancing, while playing an instrument, while making poetry-. (and that is delicious, ikke sant?)

But there is more:

WAQAY means tear, cry, birds singing, river sound, animal sound, but also the sound of a musica intrument. (And that is amazing!) But it is also interesting thewt the verb related WAQAYCHAY means «to store», «to save», and there are also relation with WAQAYWAQAYLLA which could mean «sadly», «mournly».

Now, Jon-Roar, you see some of this language and I am sure that your brain is now full of new ideas. Lets wait however to the answer of my friend in Peru to have a less general (and probably subjective) view.

Another thing I want to write about is a couple of reading suggestions if you do not already know these texts:

1) Sang og musikk i grunnskole og læreutdanning 1945-2000, by Harald Jørgensen (In Studia Musicologica Norvegica #27, 2001)
2) Sang og velvære: En kartlegging av eksisterende forksning om sangens effekter, by Anne Haugland Balsnes (Norsk visearkiv, Oslo, 2010) http://www.musikk.no/syngforlivet/forskning1/
3) The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind, and Body, by Steven Mithen (Harvard, 2006)

The first texts will be part of my research while improving my norwegian.But the third one is a very well-writen book that shares a lot of your interests in my opinion. Steven Mithen, from a multidiciplinary, but mainly archeological point of view suggests many ideas about the universal muse-cality of Homosapiens. I strongly recommend you this book if you did not already know it.

Finally, my dear friend, I wish you to be present in the next concert of Schola Cantorum. It will take place in Alulaen av Universitetet, on juni 13th at 8pm, and is for free.

A muse-ical hug,
Adrian.

Ps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9OJIhPnsWE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6tB2KiZuk

Ps2. After listening again to the music I am attaching in this email I ask to myself: What happens, Adrian, if the andean culture is a culture of silence?…of hidding?,…of avoiding words…there is no choir tradition for some reason. How can i create somehting from it?