Songs of the Copper Eskimos 361 



INI^AND HUDSON BAY DANCE SONGS 



The inland Hudson Bay Eskimos, as they have been called by the collector 

 ^f the songs, live in the region southeast of the Copper Eskimos in the country 

 stretching between Coronation gulf and Hudson bay. The collection of dance 

 songs from this area is only seven in number, but perhaps there are sufficient 

 to show what the music of this group is like and to reveal points of difference 

 between it and that of the other regions. 



The first example, No. 126, has a prelude, AB, a refrain, CC, and the usual 

 change in verse, which here is DE throughout. 



The second specimen. No. 127, is a modified pisik with musical prelude. 

 It has verses and refrains but there are no well-defined connectives. In the 

 substitution of the E phrase for A at the begiiming of the verses, which are not 

 subdivided, and which are with this one exception modelled on the prelude and 

 refrain, it is a typical example of the group found among the Copper Eskimos, 

 which had the real musical prelude. In speed, however, it equals the fastest of 

 these, for it moves at 132 M.M. 



No. 128 has a syllabic prelude covering the musical phrases A and B, which 

 are joined to a four-phrased refrain by a connective. The verses are undivided, 

 and the first is musically like the prelude. Its refrain differs from the previous 

 only in an extension being substituted for the final phrase. The second verse 

 introduces a new first phrase but retains the B in still more modified form for 

 its second. The last phrase of its refrain is very like that in the refrain of the 

 prelude. There are no connectives between the refrains and the verses which 

 succeed them. The speed of this song is 132 M.M. also. 



No. 129 has no counterpart structurally in any song of the entire collection- 

 It is so complicated that an examination of its tabular analysis in this place 

 will serve better than a description. In its larger aspect it is a pisik with musical 

 prelude, and the verses follow the usual plan for this type of song in introducing 

 a new first phrase to replace the A of the prelude while retaining the B as their 

 second. The verses are subdivided into two practically identical sections and the 

 complications are in the appendages to the verse-parts. Thus, after each strict 

 verse-part there is a little coda, and this is followed by a double refrain split by 

 a connective and followed by another which in character may be described as 

 midway between a connective and an extension. This is followed by still 

 another connective of the usual type which joins the whole section to the suc- 

 ceeding verse-part. The rate of speed is 152 M.M. for the quarter-note, which 

 is the greatest that has been recorded for any song. 



As if to nullify the effect of the above statement, the tempo of No. 130 is 

 69 M.M. It begins with a refrain which is repeated after each verse, but whereas 

 in the prelude it included an extension, in the verses this is omitted. The verses 

 are undivided and but one phrase long. Not enough of the song is given to 

 more than indicate the form, but evidently a connective joins each verse and its 

 refrain to the next. 



No. 131 is in structure like the Mackenzie river tunes, for there are no 

 verses, refrains or connectives and the succession of phrases is A, B, C, D, A', 

 B'. The tempo is 132 M.M. 



r The last song of the group is practically on a monotone, in which not even 

 any rhythmic pattern can be found; it therefore could not be analyzed into 

 phrases. It moves in eighth-notes, mostly at the rate of 138 M.M. for the 

 quarter-note. 



