Abstracts
Abstract
Esteemed Canadian music educator John Barron (1939–2014) commissioned and edited Reflections of Canada (RofC)—a three-volume collection of 147 Canadian folk songs arranged for a cappella choirs between 1985 and 1991. Published by Frederick Harris Music, RofC contains folk songs derived from Indigenous, French, and English traditions and was considered to be a fine resource for music educators. In the late 1990s, RofC was declared out of print, with publishing rights returned to the editor, composers of the arrangements, and other copyright holders. To celebrate confederate Canada at 150 and brought back by popular demand, a two-volume second edition of RofC has been created and will be released by Cypress Music in June 2017. Through narrative and ethnographic inquiry, the factors that influenced the genesis and subsequent demise of the first edition will be discussed, followed by an examination of the process and challenges encountered in the creation of a culturally sensitive second edition that embodies a realistic reflection of twenty-first-century Canada.
Résumé
Le professeur de musique canadien réputé qu’est John Barron (1939-2014) a commandé et édité l’ouvrage intitulé Reflections of Canada (RofC), réunissant en trois volumes 147 chants canadiens traditionnels arrangés entre 1985 et 1991 pour choeur a capella. Publié par les éditions Frederick Harris Music, RofC inclut des chants traditionnels empruntés aux traditions autochtones, française et anglaise, et a été considéré comme une ressource de qualité pour les enseignants en musique. À la fin des années 1990, RofC étant déclaré épuisé, les droits de publications sont retournés à l’éditeur, aux compositeurs des arrangements, et aux autres titulaires de droits d’auteurs. Afin de célébrer le cent-cinquantième anniversaire de la confédération canadienne, et à la demande générale, une deuxième édition en deux volumes de RofC a été lancée, cette fois conçue comme une recherche ethnographique. Nous examinerons les facteurs ayant influencé la genèse et la disparition de la première édition, pour ensuite analyser les processus et les défis ayant marqué la création d’une deuxième édition culturellement plus avertie, concrétisant ainsi une réflexion réaliste sur le Canada du vingt-et-unième siècle.
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Appendices
Biographical note
An associate professor of music at the University of Alberta Augustana Faculty, Ardelle Ries a holds a passion for singing and song-based music education throughout all ages and stages of life. A strong musical and pedagogical foundation established at the Kodály Institute of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music provided Ardelle with the opportunity to be on faculty as an aural musicianship specialist in Hungary at the Kecskemét Kodály Conservatory and the International Kodály Seminar, and in Canada at Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Calgary, and the UofA Faculty of Education. A staunch advocate for Canadian choral music, Ardelle has commissioned and premiered choral works from established and emerging Canadian composers and is the editor of the second edition of Reflections of Canada. Ardelle is an advisor to the Alberta Kodály Association and was the chair of the organizational committee for the 23rd International Kodály Symposium—“Singing the Circle.” With over three decades of dedicated service to music education in Alberta, Ardelle is grateful to have been recognized as the 2013 recipient of Choir Alberta’s Richard S. Eaton Award and the 2017 AKA Teacher Recognition Award.
Bibliography
- Barron, John, ed. 1985. Reflections of Canada. Vol. 1, Pine Tree Gently Sigh. Oakville, ON: Frederick Harris Music.
- Barron, John, ed. 1986. Reflections of Canada. Vol. 2, Les Raftsmen. Oakville, ON: Frederick Harris Music.
- Barron, John, ed. 1987. Reflections of Canada. Vol. 3, ’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime. Oakville, ON: Frederick Harris Music.
- Barron, John, ed. 1991. Reflets du Canada. Oakville, ON: Frederick Harris Music.
- McCarthy, Marta. 2016. Choral Canada letter of support to Heritage Canada, 6 May.
- Mills, Isabelle. 1974. “The Heart of the Folk Song.” Journal for the Canadian Society of Traditional Music 2:29–34.