Rapa Iti [Enhanced]

Amazon.com
At their best, field recordings document rare and unheard music from obscure corners of the globe where people have maintained centuries-old traditions. This is the case with Rapa Iti. Here we get the multi-layered quarter-tone singing of the Tahitian Choir, which, at 126 members, counted one-third of the island of Rapa as members. Now reissued with one new song, these traditionals, which were recorded in 1991, are so old that they can't even be translated because the island's ancient language is largely forgotten. Themes include the creation of the island, the afterlife, and the sun. To the untrained ear, the choir has the same otherworldly sound as Bulgarian and African choirs. Yet this stands out--there are strange shifts of the singers' pitch on some songs that give the impression that the CD has slowed down and then sped up, which is not the case. Wholly unique, Rapa Iti is a fascinating listen that is as exotic as the locale it was recorded in. --Tad Hendrickson

Rapa Iti,The Tahitian Choir,Solitude / Mri,Chants,Ethnic,Indigenous,Int'l & World Music,Pacific Islands,Pacifica,Pop,Tahiti,Traditional,World Beat

Average customer rating: Angelic islanders Other worldly and joyful

Rapa Iti The Tahitian Choir Manufacturer: Triloka Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music Tahiti | Pacific Islands | International | Styles | Music ASIN: B0000057PX Release Date: 1992-09-24

Tracks:

1. Oparo E Oparo E
2. Morotiri Nei
3. Himene Tatou
4. Tarema
5. Ei Reka E
6. Ratou Ki Ota
7. Te Vahine Ororagni
8. Te Matamua
9. I Te Fenua
10. Tamaki A Te Mau Ariki
11. Oparo
12. Tevaitau
13. Va Hiti
14. Tau Matamua
15. Te Parau O Eri Rama

Amazon.com

The 126 a cappella voices heard on this 1991 field recording are not actually from Tahiti but from the island of Rapa (a.k.a. Oparo), a thousand miles southeast from Tahiti, the last outcropping of land in the South Pacific before Antarctica. The island's very isolation has allowed it to preserve a unique choral tradition based on quarter-tone harmonies, three-against-two rhythms, tenor-against-alto counterpoint, soprano trilling and bass-voice drones, and percussive exhalations. All 15 selections on this album date back to the days before the island's first encounter with Europeans in 1791 and have a distinctly non-Western character. The music's eerie strangeness is combined with an unmistakable beauty that made this album a surprise hit on the worldbeat charts. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Angelic islanders.......2004-09-18

Heard about it on NPR with interview of person who did original recording. Great representative of South Pacific choral music with unusual twist (you might think its a bad place in the CD) which is derived from the tribal religion.

Other worldly and joyful.......2001-05-23

The reviewer above gives you the technical reasons for the other worldly feel to this album. What is missed is the sheer sense of joy of singing that this album conveys. I think it is that quality which makes this album so successful.

I would like to comment on the statement that all of the songs are pre-contact with Europeans. #3-Himeme Tatou is the hymn "Once I was bound by sin's galling fetters..." copywrited in 1917 and renewed in 1945 by the Nazarene Publishing House. I also believe #13 is another hymn but I can't quite place it. Maybe someone else can.

I highly recomment this album to anyone who would like to hear something different and joyful.

Average customer rating: Great songs...but seem a little over-engineered Unique and excellent

Rapa Iti The Tahitian Choir Manufacturer: Solitude / Mri ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music Tahiti | Pacific Islands | International | Styles | Music World Dance | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music Similar Items: Rapa Iti, Vol. 2 South Pacific Drums Offerings ASIN: B0001XAKGK Release Date: 2004-04-06

Tracks:

1. Iaorana
2. Oparo E Oparo E
3. Morotiri Nei
4. Himene Tatou
5. Tarema
6. Ei Reka E
7. Ratou Ki Ota
8. Te Vahine Ororagni
9. Te Matamua
10. I Te Fenua
11. Tamaki A Te Mau Ariki
12. Oparo
13. Tevaitau
14. Va Hiti
15. Tau Matamua
16. Te Parau O Eri Rama

Customer Reviews:

Great songs...but seem a little over-engineered.......2006-05-25

I had been listening to "Rapa Iti Volume 2" for years, and I bought this disc after listening to several interviews with the man who made the recordings, Pascal Nabet-Meyer. I love the music of the Rapa people and their story is fascinating. Listening to these songs gives you a sense of reaching back to something ancient in human history.

My only complaint with this disc is that it seems over-engineered. I'm no expert, but it sounds too polished, as though someone added too much reverb, and it loses some of the raw energy of the rougher-sounding recordings on "Rapa Iti Volume 2." This disc is worth having, but I would encourage listeners to also try "Rapa Iti Volume 2."

Unique and excellent.......2005-02-02

I heard this years ago, and was simply awestruck by it. The music is very difficult to describe. But it's very moving.

Well worth picking up.

Average customer rating:

Rapa Iti, Vol. 2 The Tahitian Choir Manufacturer: Shanachie ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Ambient | Dance & DJ | Styles | Music General | International | Styles | Music Tahiti | Pacific Islands | International | Styles | Music General | International | Indie Music | Stores | Music Similar Items: Rapa Iti ASIN: B000000E3C Release Date: 1994-09-15

Tracks:

1. Tamaiti Hunahia
2. Ua Putuputu Tatou E
3. Tangi Maha Te
4. Te Ture A Te Ariki
5. Te Poti Varua
6. Tineifara
7. Te Kuri
8. Te Tia Mamoe
9. Te Pure A Te Fatu
10. Eifiti Fenua Herehia
11. To Na Tere
12. Te Moko
13. Neki Neki
14. I O Nei Matou E Haamaitai Ai
15. Te Aito No Tevaitau Ra E
16. I Roto I Te Are Nei
17. O Itamina Te Vahine

Average customer rating: Angelic islanders Other worldly and joyful

Rapa Iti Manufacturer: Uni/Axiom ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music Tahiti | Pacific Islands | International | Styles | Music ASIN: B000000GAH Release Date: 1996-12-13

Amazon.com

The 126 a cappella voices heard on this 1991 field recording are not actually from Tahiti but from the island of Rapa (a.k.a. Oparo), a thousand miles southeast from Tahiti, the last outcropping of land in the South Pacific before Antarctica. The island's very isolation has allowed it to preserve a unique choral tradition based on quarter-tone harmonies, three-against-two rhythms, tenor-against-alto counterpoint, soprano trilling and bass-voice drones, and percussive exhalations. All 15 selections on this album date back to the days before the island's first encounter with Europeans in 1791 and have a distinctly non-Western character. The music's eerie strangeness is combined with an unmistakable beauty that made this album a surprise hit on the worldbeat charts. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews:

Angelic islanders.......2004-09-18

Heard about it on NPR with interview of person who did original recording. Great representative of South Pacific choral music with unusual twist (you might think its a bad place in the CD) which is derived from the tribal religion.

Other worldly and joyful.......2001-05-23

The reviewer above gives you the technical reasons for the other worldly feel to this album. What is missed is the sheer sense of joy of singing that this album conveys. I think it is that quality which makes this album so successful.

I would like to comment on the statement that all of the songs are pre-contact with Europeans. #3-Himeme Tatou is the hymn "Once I was bound by sin's galling fetters..." copywrited in 1917 and renewed in 1945 by the Nazarene Publishing House. I also believe #13 is another hymn but I can't quite place it. Maybe someone else can.

I highly recomment this album to anyone who would like to hear something different and joyful.

Average customer rating:

Rapa Iti Tahitian Choir Manufacturer: Triloka ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | International | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000CXL3 Release Date: 1992-07-03

Tracks:

1. Oparo E Oparo E
2. Morotiri Nei
3. Himene Tatou
4. Tarema
5. Ei Reka E
6. Ratou Ki Ota
7. Te Vahine Ororagni
8. Te Matamua
9. I Te Fenua
10. Tamaki A Te Mau Ariki
11. Oparo
12. Tevaitau
13. Va Hiti
14. Tau Matamua
15. Te Parau O Eri Rama

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