This album, A Saami Requiem, is a collaboration between Swedish concert organist and folk-musician Gunnar Idenstam and Sámi rap and hip-hop artist Ola Stinnerbom.
Composer's Artistic Vision
A Saami Requiem is not a death Mass, but rather represents a parallel world where people can meet and interact with their ancestors, reflecting the Sámi view of death.
Compositional Technique
Yoik, the oldest form of music in Europe, is an ancient Sámi singing tradition where the singer becomes what they are yoiking, rather than singing about it.
Cultural Impact
Sámi rock-carvings in Alta, northern Norway, are over 10,000 years old, making it the largest rock-carving area in northern Europe.
Instruments
The Sámi drum, a bearer of millennial history, was associated with paganism and sorcery by northern European monarchs and the church, leading to its destruction and a death penalty for its possession in Sweden in 1692.
Composer's Artistic Vision
A Saami Requiem aims to unite Sámi musical and cultural tradition with elements of Christian belief, particularly those associated with the idea of revelation.
Historical Context
The Sámi are the only indigenous people in Europe, with an estimated 100,000 living mainly in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia.
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