Music of French Polynesia
Encyclopedia
The music of French Polynesia
came to the forefront of the world music
scene in 1992, with the release of The Tahitian Choir
's recordings of unaccompanied vocal Christian music called himene tārava
, recorded by French musicologist Pascal Nabet-Meyer. This form of singing is common in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands
, and is distinguished by a unique drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, which is a characteristic formed by several different voices; it is also accompanied by steady grunting of staccato, nonsensical syllables.
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
came to the forefront of the world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
scene in 1992, with the release of The Tahitian Choir
The Tahitian Choir
The Tahitian Choir is a choral group from the island known as Rapa Iti, one of the Bass Islands in the South Pacific, approximately 1,000 miles southeast of Tahiti. The choir is made up of 126 men and women...
's recordings of unaccompanied vocal Christian music called himene tārava
Himene tarava
Himene tarava is a style of traditional Tahitian music, sung a cappella in a highly rhythmic style by polyphonic choirs. The word tarava means to be spread out, to be gathered...
, recorded by French musicologist Pascal Nabet-Meyer. This form of singing is common in French Polynesia and the Cook Islands
Cook Islands
The Cook Islands is a self-governing parliamentary democracy in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand...
, and is distinguished by a unique drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, which is a characteristic formed by several different voices; it is also accompanied by steady grunting of staccato, nonsensical syllables.