Here is a song by the Hofschneider Brothers that has been a recent favorite of mine, and since our Saturday evening praktika was cancelled this past weekend I decided to sit down and transcribe this song for my own practice. We actually got to meet Siñot Julian a couple of months ago at a fundraiser, which was so lovely. He was playing music with the band, and I kept looking at him and wondering why he looked so familiar. When we started chatting, I realized he was from the Hofschneider Brothers, and I was recognizing his face from the cover of their Christmas album. 🙂 This song is from another of their albums, Rekuetdon Familia…(Putfin!). As always, Chamorro lyrics and an English translation are included in this post. I did have some trouble making out a couple of words, which are in bold. If you hear something different from me, please let me know in the comments. Happy listening!
Continue reading “KÃ¥ntan Chamoru: I Flores Gi Hatdin-hu”Category: Chamorro Songs
KÃ¥ntan Chamoru: Gaige gi fi’on-mu
This past Saturday Jay started his evening practice group again, and it was just three of us – we forgot to send out a reminder until we were already in the room! A newer learner who just started on their learning journey at the end of last year joined, so we had her listen to and transcribe the song Kirida by Joe Garrido. And she did such a great job! It has been really cool to see her push herself in her learning, and to see her progress over these last few months. 🙂 Since I already put that song on my blog, my new song for this week is Gaige gi fi’on-mu by JJ Concepcion. It’s sung at an easy pace and is a good song for beginners. This post includes the Chamorro lyrics and an English translation. Happy listening!
Continue reading “KÃ¥ntan Chamoru: Gaige gi fi’on-mu”Latte Stone Ceremony Chant by Brant Songsong and Elyssa Santos
Jay, my cousin Chachaga’ and I went to FestPac in Hawai’i this June, which was amazing. We spent quality time with family and took in as much from FestPac as we could. One event we attended was the Micronesia Festival at the Bishop Museum on June 15th, which opened with a Latte Stone Ceremony to honor the latte stones at the museum that were taken from the Marianas. In this post is the chant, composed by Brant Songsong and Elyssa Santos, that was sung to honor the latte stones at the ceremony. The tune and composition was done by Elyssa Santos – she researched the KÃ¥ntan Chamorrita tune that is featured in this chant, and added her own stylistic inflections in the singing based upon how she was taught to sing the KÃ¥ntan Chamorrita. She also offered her words and ideas for the lyrics, and Brant Songsong completed the translation. The result is a beautiful chant, distinctly Chamorro in its sound with a modern feel.
In this post, the Chamorro and English lyrics are included, with an audio recording of Elyssa Santos singing the chant in Chamorro. I have also included photos, provided by Elyssa Santos, of their practice sessions so we can celebrate everybody involved in making this chant happen at the ceremony. For those who could not be there in person, please consider this a piece of the ceremony that we can all share. Happy listening 🙂
Continue reading “Latte Stone Ceremony Chant by Brant Songsong and Elyssa Santos”KÃ¥ntan Chamoru: Lao HÃ¥fa Neni
This song has long been a favorite of mine to sing along with. It was originally written by the band Kuñådos Tinian, and in this wonderful version from Dåndan Marianas it is sung by Richard Hofschneider from the band Pacific Cool. It is yet another Chamorro love song of heartbreak, and the long, held out notes of the chorus really hits the carthic spot. In this post, Chamorro lyrics and an English translation are included. Happy listening!
Continue reading “KÃ¥ntan Chamoru: Lao HÃ¥fa Neni”KÃ¥ntan Chamoru: MadÃ¥ndan i KampÃ¥na
This is the first JD Crutch song I’ve put on the blog. Little by little, I’m trying to listen to more Chamorro music, and luckily Jay has a vast Chamorro music library that ensures I always have something new to listen to. This song came up right when we were parking the car to get some food from Chochu Local this past weekend. It was my first time hearing it, and I really enjoyed the folky vibes. So here are Chamorro lyrics and an English translation for MandÃ¥ndan i KampÃ¥na sung by JD Crutch. Happy listening!
Continue reading “KÃ¥ntan Chamoru: MadÃ¥ndan i KampÃ¥na”
Lengguahi-ta 