{"id":60945,"date":"2019-06-04T21:06:13","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T01:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=60945"},"modified":"2019-06-04T21:15:17","modified_gmt":"2019-06-05T01:15:17","slug":"the-scoop-coc-and-nac-announce-new-co-commission-to-replace-misused-nisgaa-song-in-louis-riel-opera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2019\/06\/04\/the-scoop-coc-and-nac-announce-new-co-commission-to-replace-misused-nisgaa-song-in-louis-riel-opera\/","title":{"rendered":"THE SCOOP | COC And NAC Announces New Co-Commission To Replace Misused Nisga\u2019a Song In Louis Riel Opera"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Canadian
Canadian Opera Company\u2019s new production of Louis Riel, 2017. (Photo: Michael Cooper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Canadian Opera Company and the National Arts Centre have agreed to replace a Nisg\u0331a\u2019a song misused in the Harry Somers opera, Louis Riel<\/a>, which was recently performed has part of the 2017\/18 season in Toronto and Ottawa.<\/p>\n

The song will be replaced by a new song to be written by M\u00e9tis and French-Canadian composer Ian Cusson.<\/span><\/p>\n

The original “Song of Skateen,” is based on a Nisg\u0331a\u2019a lament (or lim\u2019ooy\u0313), and was first recorded by Marius Barbeau in British Columbia on the Nass River in 1927. The song was one of hundreds of First Nations songs recorded by ethnographers during the early 20th century. The songs were shared by first nations peoples so they could be used by future generations.<\/p>\n

While preserving the songs was generally welcomed by indigenous peoples, the fact that the Canadian Government later encouraged the use of the sacred songs to be repurposed without permission has been a source of deep upset for many indigenous communities in Canada.<\/p>\n

In the case of composer Harry Somers, the song was incorporated into the score in 1967, which opens the third act as “Kuyas” aria. It effectively contravened Nisg\u0331a’a protocol that their music must only be performed by those with the appropriate hereditary rights to do so. Furthermore, it is the belief of the Nisg\u0331a\u2019a that to perform the songs is to release the song\u2019s spirit, which when done out of context, results in a negative impact on the lives of singers and listeners.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal in taking these steps is to honour and acknowledge the process of learning and exchange by which we grow as a culture and as a community,\u201d said COC General Director Alexander Neef. \u201cOpera is a living, breathing art form that evolves through continuous dialogue and interpretation; we are proud to support that creative process as we reimagine opera\u2019s role and relevance today and chart its course into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process to remedy the misuse of the song was coordinated by Dylan Robinson, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Arts at Queen\u2019s University. In February 2017, Robinson joined Nisga\u2019a dance group leaders G<\/u>oothl Ts’imilx Mike Dangeli\u00a0and\u00a0Wal’aks Keane Tait\u00a0<\/strong>to raise the issue directly with the COC, NAC, and Estates of Harry Somers and Mavor Moore. After two meetings held in Toronto and Ottawa, a resolution was reached to replace the lim\u2019ooy\u0313 with a new commission composed by\u00a0Cusson.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sets an important precedent for many other appropriated Indigenous songs that remain in contemporary compositions and arrangements. Indigenous songs are often forms of law, medicine, teachings, personal family history, and have life themselves,\u201d said Robinson in a press release statement. \u201cThis means that their misuse is not only appropriation; for Indigenous peoples hearing this most cherished aspect of our culture \u2018broken apart\u2019 can be a traumatic experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new work will debut at a performance by the NAC Orchestra and music director Alexander Shelley, celebrating the work of many of Canada\u2019s leading Indigenous composers, on September 19, 2019 at the National Arts Centre\u2019s Southam Hall in Ottawa.<\/p>\n

LUDWIG VAN TORONTO<\/i>
\n<\/b><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i>Facebook,<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0Instagram<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/i>Twitter<\/i><\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the spirit of reconciliation, the Canadian Opera Company and the National Arts Centre have agreed to replace a Nisg\u0331a\u2019a song misused in the Harry Somers opera, Louis Riel. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":60947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[25164,39,43],"tags":[628,29592,29593,5777,2344],"yst_prominent_words":[10459,7140,6885,12405,19236,11787,29583,22659,28622,29585,15155,10454,29586,6886,11567,29587,13014,10620,6741,29610],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/06\/Louis-Riel.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-fQZ","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60945"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60945"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60970,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60945\/revisions\/60970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60945"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=60945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}