World Music Exploration 2010/11 Week 13 - Traditional French Dances

There are some nasty bugs going around. Our musical journey was postponed because I fell ill last week. We move onto France this month. This week, we are exploring three traditional French dances (with corresponding music): the Rigaudon - a lively dance in duple meter, the Minuet - a graceful dance in triple meter and the energetic Bourrée (in duple meter). Music students are familiar with these dances as they form the core of their early music training.

The performers are the Compagnie Fantaisies Baroques. They performed in the Musée et à la Ville de Paris.

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, Alberta, Canada. All rights reserved.

World Music Exploration 2010/11 Week 12 - David Foster & Celine Dion

This is a golden partnership: David Foster (AKA, "The Hit Man") and our Canadian songbird, Celine Dion. I'm just glad there are several clips to choose from that feature them together. David Foster is a songwriter and producer who hails from Victoria, British Columbia. He completed his ARCT Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music at the age of 14. Over his 40 year career, he has won 15 Grammy Awards, 7 Juno Awards and an Emmy Award.Foster is also a 3-time Oscar nominee. He has worked with some of the greatest pop stars, including Andrea Bocelli, Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Katherine McPhee, Blake Shelton, Brian McKnight, Kenny G, Peter Cetera and Charice. He first heard Celine Dion perform in Quebec, in a tent and they have collaborated together on numerous songs (which Celine outlines in the clip).

Celine Dion was born in Charlemagne, Quebec. She is the youngest of 14 children. Her parents (both musicians), ran a small club. On weekends, the entire family performed there. At 12, Celine, with with her mother and one of her brothers, composed a French song which caught the attention of manager (and now husband) René Angélil. Celine has won Grammy Awards, Junos, Felix Awards and World Music Awards.

Here is Celine Dion performing in Las Vegas with David Foster:

Check out Celine's music by clicking on the image below:

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved

World Music Exploration 2010/11 Week 11 - Canadian Composers

It was really difficult for me to choose just one classical Canadian composer to highlight. Our composers are truly prolific and they are not afraid to push Canadian music to new levels. Then I decided that since I've been highlighting two Canadian pieces per week, why stop now? This week, we are exploring Healey Willan and Alexina Louie.

The first Canadian composer we will explore this week is HealeyWillan (1880 - 1968). According to Timothy J. McGee in The Music of Canada, Willan is Canada's best-known composer(Toronto: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1985). He was a teacher at the Toronto Conservatory of Music (now the Royal Conservatory of Music), as well as the University of Toronto. He also was a church organist, choirmaster and conductor.

Willancomposed approximately 800 musical works, including operas, symphonies, concertos and liturgical music. He also wrote music for band, piano, organ, choir and solo voice. His musical style is considered conservative, incorporating late-romantic and post-romantic idioms.

This week's pick is How They So Softly Rest:

On the opposite end of the spectrum lies our second featured composer for the week: Alexina Louie (1949 - ). She is a composer, pianist and teacher. She has written for musical theatre, orchestra, chamber music, TV and film. She has explored electronic music and has blended elements of Asian music - a nod to her Asian heritage.

In 1986, the Canadian Music Council named Louie Composer of the Year. In 1994 she earned the Chalmers Award for her work, Gallery Fanfares. She received the Jules Léger Prize in 1999 for her composition Nightfall. In 2005 Louie became an Officer of the Order of Canada.

This is Fastforward. The performer is Israeli concert pianist Dorel Golan:

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

World Music Exploration 2010/11 Week 10 - Canadian Folk Songs

The Inuit Throat Singing video garnered the most comments last week from my students, from "Cool!" to "Weird" and everything in between. This week, we're exploring early Canadian folk music. I've selected two clips again this week (French and English).The first clip is the French Canadian song Dondaine la ridaine. It's a call-and-response song, commonly used as a working song. The song is about a man who met a beautiful girl and his conversation with her. He asks if she's willing to marry, to which she replies, "Not to a shoemaker." This performance is by EclecTrip, which is comprised of Daniel Gervais and Clinton Pelletier of Western Canada. Check out the group's music here.

The second clip is of one of my favorite childhood songs - St. Anne's Reel. I remember stepdancing to this as a kid. Featured in the video are Canadian fiddle greats Don Messer and His Islanders.

Note that the style of dancing shown here is Canadian stepdancing (not to be confused with Irish dancing, Highland dancing or Riverdance). Pianists - look at band configuration and think of other styles of music that are similar.

Don Messer is considered one of the the greats in Canadian fiddle music.

(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

World Music Exploration 2010/11 Week 9 - Aboriginal Canadian Music

This month, my students and I are exploring Canadian music. With Canada Music Week taking place November 21 - 27, I thought it was apropos to dedicate the month to exploring our own musical culture.

This week, I've selected two contrasting clips of music by our First Nations peoples. This first clip is of the Native American Hoop Dance. The dance signifies the circle of life, with no beginning or ending. Each hoop added represents another layer or thread in our lives as we learn new things and interconnect with others.

The second clip demonstrates Inuit throat singing. I had the pleasure of watching a performance at a friend's wedding a couple of years ago.

Initially, it was a means for Inuit women to entertain themselves while the men were out hunting. Today, it is sung primarily by women but sometimes by men.

Throat singing has different names in the Inuit language. Depending upon the Arctic region, it is called katajjaq, pirkusirtuk or nipaquhiit.

If it sounds to you like the two girls are playing a game, you're spot on. One woman leads the game, while the other woman responds. According to Timothy McGee, author of The Music of Canada, the women create rhythms with their breathing and guttural sounds at a fast tempo. The one who can keep going the longest without missing a beat or running out of breath is the winner.(c) 2010 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.