Essential Song.

Essential Song

Lynn Whidden

Wilfrid Laurier University Press

75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3C5

9780889204591, $85.00 www.wlupress.wlu.ca

Lynn Whidden (associate professor of Native studies and music, Brandon University, Manitoba) presents Essential Song: Three Decades of Northern Cree Music, an in-depth ethnomusicology examination of subarctic Cree hunting songs, as passed down among the northern Cree of Quebec and Manitoba. Chapters scrutinize the ancient tradition of hunting songs, their meanings and origins, their important connection to the hunt, the impact of women's songs, and the effects that social change have had upon Cree music--including the introductions of hymns, gospel tunes, and country music. Profiles of individual hunters and their songs, and an accompanying music CD of more than fifty Cree hunting songs round out this invaluable and scholarly text. A welcome addition to Native American studies and musicology shelves.