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Definitions and Questions• What is “Canadian (Popular) Music”
– And what do I mean by “popular” music
• Music made in Canada• By Canadians
– Who is this?
• “Canadian” is culturally constructed and learned
Some Concepts and Ideas• Invented tradition: Histories and traditions are
invented, negotiated, and always changing; they are not absolutes.
• The idea of Canada as a cultural mosaic dating back to Victoria Hayward, 1922
• "Music in Canada" rather than "Canadian music” (Ryan Edwardson)
Music in Canada or “Canadian” Music“I don’t think there is anything intrinsically Canadian in our music. I am just a member of a band which expresses the way it sees the world”- Burton Cummings, the Guess Who, 1971
“My songs are Canadian because I am Canadian, and my observations are made from living here.”- Murray McLaughlin, 1974
Music in Canada or “Canadian” Music
“We have that Canadian rock band sound. It’s there. I don’t know what it is, but it’s there”- Neil Osborne, 54-40, 1986
Studying Canadian Music
• 1960: Helmut Kallmann –Canada: A History of Music in Canada, 1534-1914
• 1966: 1st Can music course – Université de Montréal
• 1968: 2nd
– Carleton University
Folk Music• Traditional folk vs. Contemporary folk (50s/60s
revival)– Performance context– Instruments/accompaniment– Composer/author
Traditional Folk• Oral/Aural transmission• Anonymous composition
Folk Song Types• Ballads
– Narratives (love, war, heroes, disasters, etc.)
• Short songs– Love in various aspects
• Work Songs– Sailors, fishing, mining, lumber, sewing, etc.
• Other – Lullabies, children’s songs, drinking songs etc.
Traditional Folk Song Features• Often unaccompanied (a cappella)• Usually solo singer or solo instrument
– Fiddle, guitar, accordion, whistle, spoons, etc.
• Fixed form• Strophic or verse/chorus• Modal (not major or minor, but Dorian, Lydian
modes, etc.)• Dancing often accompanies folk music
Typical Folk Songs1. “Transplanted” songs
• Original can be found in “homeland”
2. Songs modified after arrival– New lyrics often added to suit new locals
• i.e. British replaced with Newfoundlanders
3. Newly created folk songs– Sources for new compositions
• During Nationalistic trends of 1910s-1930s• Classical composers use folk as basis for new compositions
1. “Transplanted” SongsEx: “A la claire fontaine”• Transplanted folk song from France, now big in
Quebechttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdrOBDYMSUw
Ex: “Barbara Allen”• Transplanted folk song from U.K.• This version by Diane Oxner
2. Modified After ArrivalEx: “Si tu te mets anguille”
– sung by Alan Mills and Hélen Baillargeon• Lyrics http://www.chem1.com/CFS/CFS-1.html#CFS112
• Franco-Canadian folk song• From an older French folk song• Chansons des métamophoses• Songs of transformation
Ex: “Un Canadien errant” (Jacques Lebrecque)• Lyrics http://www.chem1.com/CFS/CFS-2.html#CFS208
3. Newly Created Folk Songs• Songs that tell a Canadian storyEx: “Brave Wolfe”• About James Wolf leading British vs. French in
1759, Plains of Abraham• This version by Tom Kines• Lyrics http://www.chem1.com/CFS/CFS-2.html#CFS204
Ex: “Anti-Confederation Song”• 1865-9, against Newfoundland joining Canada
Folk Song Scholarship in Canada• “Preserving” music before it was “lost”• Song collectors travelled to various communities to
record and notate songs• E.g.: Ernest Gagnon, Marius Barbeau, Helen
Creighton, Edith Fowke• Issues in collecting songs
Helen Creighton (1899-1989)Video Clip: A Sigh and a Wish (2001)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69L5JOGQDaE
• Maritimes, 1928-1988, 60 years of collecting• 16,000+ songs• Songs, stories, cures, proverbs, witchcraft, etc.• British, French, German, Micmac, Afro-Nova
Scotian traditions
Helen Creighton (cont.)• Order of Canada
Ex: “Jolly Roving Tar”• This version by Jeff and Gerret Warnerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP649AwwY6I
• Newfoundland folk song
Native Music• Three classifications of Native people in Canada:1. Inuit2. First Nations3. Métis
Inuit Throat SingingEx: Inuit Throat Singing Sisters (live)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLMlkjnYe0U• :55
Ex: Tudjaat – “Ah Hum Mum Ma”https://soundhound.com/?t=100735541451722383
First Nations: Cree
Ex: Northern Cree Singers – “Grand Entry”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVbMgPjxZ2o
• Intertribal music (Powwow music)
