Called Upstairs: Moravian Inuit Music in Labrador

In Called Upstairs: Moravian Inuit Music in Labrador, Tom Gordon expands upon his previous work to provide a thorough history and analysis of the role Moravian music played in the colonization of the Labrador Inuit by the Moravian missionaries. For readers unfamiliar, Labrador is named for the Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador, who charted it at the end of the fifteenth century. Today, occupying 113,000 square miles, it is part of the easternmost Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.After a brief account of the history of indigenous peoples in Labrador over the past 7,000 years and a history of the early Moravian Church over the past 600 years, Gordon quickly settles into a closer study of the past three centuries, when the Thule-culture Inuit were established in Labrador and Greenland, and the Moravian Church had begun its missionary work.In 1733, the Moravians sent missionaries to Greenland (thanks to their patron Count Zinzendorf, a cousin by marriage to the heir of the Danish throne) and started a Christian settlement. Having learned the language from the Inuit in Greenland, the transition to Labrador was not as difficult for the missionaries. The first successful mission was established in Nain with fourteen missionaries in 1771, with additional missions following, including Okak, Hopedale, and Hebron. Today, there are Moravian Inuit communities in Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, and Happy Valley-Goose Bay, all located along the coast.From the first encounters with missionaries, the Labrador Inuit were exposed to the hymns of the Moravians, referred to as “hymn theology.” Hymn singing was both a social and spiritual activity, and the Moravians translated the hymns to Inuktitut. By 1731, the Moravians had embraced the trombone choir (with soprano, alto, tenor, and bass trombones), which could play the four-part hymn tradition. The trombone choir and, later, brass bands continue to play an important role in the Moravian Church, including the Moravian communities in Labrador. Other instruments included the organ, accompanying the choir, and strings and winds used for anthems.Gordon traces the development of the Moravian music tradition in Labrador to the present, including hymn singing, anthems, and instrumental music. As decades went by, the organists and choirmasters assumed leadership roles in the community, often serving as helpers, chapel servants, “national assistants,” and elders. While the missionaries initially provided instruction and instruments, by the turn of the twentieth century, the Inuit themselves were taking ownership of their musical traditions. Hymns were translated to be more meaningful to the Inuit, along with changes to the accompaniments. In 1910, an anthem composed by Natanael was first performed, remaining in the repertory for over a hundred years. Gordon argues that this is not a story of adoption, but rather of adaptation and transformation. After two hundred years, this music has become intrinsically Inuit, closely associated with Moravian Inuit identity.One commendable aspect of Gordon’s work is the abundance of archival records and oral histories he cites, including numerous unpublished letters, journals, and reports spanning over the three centuries. As he warns in his introduction, most of these written records are from the missionaries or other outside visitors to Labrador. Many of the accounts employ stereotypes that are jarring to read. Gordon makes a concerted effort to interpret the texts to give a more nuanced picture of what the actual situation may have been, while acknowledging their underlying biases.In addition, both photographic and sound recordings are made available and document music-making in Labrador. The photographs are included with the text, and Gordon has created a website where the readers can listen to the musical examples discussed in the book. For readers who are not musicians, these aural examples and the glossary of music terms may help in understanding the analyses Gordon provides.“Called Upstairs” refers to the call to sing in the choir, which would rehearse in the choir loft. The call was not just a testament to an individual’s voice but also to his or her character. One of the many strengths in Gordon’s work are the biographical sketches, which tell the stories of the men and women, missionaries and Inuit, who carried the musical traditions forward.In addition to the stories of the missionaries and Inuit musicians, Gordon documents Christian Ignatius LaTrobe’s interest and support of the Moravian Inuit in the early nineteenth century. LaTrobe (1758–1836), an accomplished composer and the European contact point for the missionaries, was particularly supportive of music and sent hymnals, anthems, and instruments to the Labrador missions. There is also an unsettling sketch of Abraham Ulrikab (1845–1881), a violinist, who with his family voluntarily became part of a traveling ethnographic exhibit in 1880, including a stay at the Berlin Zoo. While Ulrikab’s diary and story are well-documented, Gordon makes the point that protests from some Europeans against the exhibition of humans in fact cited Abraham’s musical abilities as a reflection of his intelligence.From first contact, Moravian missionaries did their best to suppress precontact religious, cultural, and musical practices. However, while suppression may have worked at the missions, the Labrador Inuit still maintained their traditions during the seasonal migrations for hunting. Likewise, the practice of throat singing was suppressed in the residential schools, but it is now reemerging.In 2005, the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement granted the Labrador Inuit self-governance, along with land and harvesting rights. In 2007, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was established, and over the course of six years, some 6,500 witnesses testified about their experiences with the Indian Residential Schools. Gordon addresses these difficult issues directly and provides a more complete picture of what was going on in Labrador. Up until the mid-twentieth century, the pupils were taught in Inuktitut, often with Inuit teachers. These day schools were held during the winter season, when the Inuit were at the missions, and attendance was voluntary. Over the course of the twentieth century, the instructional language shifted to English, education became compulsory, and boarding schools were established. In 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador separately joined Canada, with provincial responsibilities for education and social welfare. In 1956 and 1959, the province announced Forced Relocations of Okak Bay and Hebron, which Gordon describes using first-hand accounts.By the end of the twentieth century, the musical band tradition earlier described had collapsed. However, in 2013, a grassroots movement sponsored band clinics and workshops, in response to the feeling of nostalgia and the identification of bands with community. The Nain band, now including women, has reestablished many traditions, including the Easter procession to the cemetery and performances at the homes of the elders. Once again, the musical band is the voice of the community.Called Upstairs: Moravian Inuit Music in Labrador will be a great resource for those interested in Northern or indigenous history, Moravian history, and Moravian music. Its numerous portraits are detailed, including missionaries, the Inuit organists and choirmasters, and Moravian leaders, and the photographs and recordings from the past century are compelling.

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