Contemporary Musical Expressions in Canada

by Anna Hoefnagels (Editor), Judith Klassen (Editor), Sherry Johnson (Editor)

Overview

Music and dance in Canada today are diverse and expansive, reflecting histories of travel, exchange, and interpretation and challenging conceptions of expressive culture that are bounded and static. Reflecting current trends in ethnomusicology, Contemporary Musical Expressions in Canada examines cultural continuity, disjuncture, intersection, and interplay in music and dance across the country. Essays reconsider conceptual frameworks through which cultural forms are viewed, critique policies meant to encourage crosscultural sharing, and address ways in which traditional forms of expression have changed to reflect new contexts and audiences. From North Indian kathak dance, Chinese lion dance, early Toronto hip hop, and contemporary cantor practices within the Byzantine Ukrainian Church in Canada to folk music performances in twentieth-century Quebec, Gaelic milling songs in Cape Breton, and Mennonite songs in rural Manitoba, this collection offers detailed portraits of contemporary music practices and how they engage with diverse cultural expressions and identities. At a historical moment when identity politics, multiculturalism, diversity, immigration, and border crossings are debated around the world, Contemporary Musical Expressions in Canada demonstrates the many ways that music and dance practices in Canada engage with these broader global processes. Contributors include Rebecca Draisey-Collishaw (Queen's University), Meghan Forsyth (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Monique Giroux (University of Lethbridge), Ian Hayes (Memorial University of Newfoundland), Anna Hoefnagels (Carleton University), Judith Klassen (Canadian Museum of History), Chris McDonald (Cape Breton University), Colin McGuire (University College Cork), Marcia Ostashewski (Cape Breton University), Laura Risk (McGill University), Neil Scobie (University Western Ontario), Gordon Smith (Queen's University), Heather Sparling (Cape Breton University), Jesse Stewart (Carleton University), Janice Esther Tulk (Cape Breton University), Margaret Walker (Queen's University), and Louise Wrazen (York University).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773558809
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	01/16/2020
Pages:	552
Product dimensions:	6.25(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Anna Hoefnagels is associate professor of music in the School for Studies in Art and Culture at Carleton University. Judith Klassen is curator of cultural expression at the Canadian Museum of History. Sherry Johnson is associate professor of music in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance and Design at York University.

Table of Contents

Figures and Table xi

Foreword Gordon E. Smith xv

Acknowledgments xix

Introduction Judith Klassen Anna Hoefnagels Sherry Johnson 3

1 The Study of Music in Canada: Ethnomusicological Sources and Institutional Priorities Anna Hoefnagels Judith Klassen Sherry Johnson 13

Part 1 Transforming Musical Traditions

Introduction Anna Hoefnagels 39

2 Le bon vieux temps: The Veillée in Twentieth-Century Quebec Laura Risk 43

3 Kathak in Canada: Classical and Contemporary Margaret E. Walker 87

4 Taking the Piss Out: Presentational and Participatory Elements in the History of the Cape Breton Milling Frolic Heather Sparling 114

5 Improvising on the Margins: Tradition and Musical Agency in les Iles-de-la-Madeleine Meghan C. Forsyth 145

6 The Continuities and Legacies of English Song Traditions in Nova Scotia Chris McDonald 177

Part 2 Rethinking Genres and Artistic Practices

Introduction Sherry Johnson 205

7 Metis (Style) Fiddling: From Historical Roots to Contemporary Practice Monique Giroux 209

8 War Drums in Chinatown: Chinese Canadian Lion Dance Percussion as Martial Art Colin P. McGuire 242

9 "Holy jeez I can hear everything": Liveness in Cape Breton Fiddle Recordings Ian Hayes 275

10 Fantastic Voyage: The Diasporic Roots and Routes of Early Toronto Hip Hop Jesse Stewart Niel Scobie 305

11 Identity, Aesthetics, and Place in Medicine Dream's "In This World" Janice Esther Tulk 335

Part 3 Heterogeneity, Diversity, and the Possibility of Alternatives

Introduction Judith Klassen 357

12 A View from Toronto: Local Perspectives on Music Making, Ethnocultural Difference, and the Cultural Life of a City Louise Wrazen 361

13 Re-imagining the Nation: The CBC as a Mediator of Ethnocultural Encounter in St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Rebecca Draisey-Callishaw 386

14 Music, Mimesis, and Modulation among Mennonites in Rural Manitoba Judith Klassen 417

15 Ukrainian Catholic Congregational Singing in Canada: Sounds in Service and Celebration Marcia Ostashewski 453

16 (Re)Presenting Indigenous Activism in the Nation's Capital: Signifying Resistance across Time and Place through Music in Alanis Obomsawin's Trick or Treaty? (2014) Anna Hoefnagels 477

Accompanying Video and Audio Examples 503

Contributors 511

Index 517

Editorial Reviews

"A stimulating, brilliantly conceived, and well-executed collection of essays that will have a major impact on Canadian music studies." Robin Elliott, University of Toronto


"Contemporary Musical Expressions in Canada presents a fascinating cross-section of emerging research that engages new perspectives on aspects of traditional music, identity, and multiculturalism in Canada." Glenn D. Colton, Lakehead University

From the Publisher