Moose on the Loose!

 Who will guide me thro’ the Wood?

What does one play for a herd of moose, forgotten by time and relegated to the back corner of a car dealership at the edge of the Don Valley Parkway? This was my dilemma recently when I received an invitation to record some music in the company of some of Mel Lastman’s those infamous moose, not to be confused with Charles Pachter’s treatment of this same iconic, Canadian symbol. As I was running out the door, I just happened to grab my copy of Canadian Folk Songs (1946), recently acquired from Ten Editions Books on Spadina, and I’m so glad that I did!

Personally I can’t think of a better adventure to have had on my birthday!  And as it turns out, this has ended up being like the proverbial gift that keeps on giving as I assemble this post and learn more about such pioneering Canadian artists as Ernest Gagnon, Charlie Pachter and, uh, our former mayor!?

With the sounds of the city in the background, here is a recording of Ah! qui me passera le Bois? (Ah! who will guide me thro’ the Wood?).  You will find the music (page 92) contained in this delightful on-line version of Ernest Gagnon’s Chansons Populaires du Canada, a compilation of traditional songs that first appeared in print as early as 1865.* (What would Gagnon have thought if he could see his book on line like this?!?) The song itself would be much older than this of course, passed down from generation to generation as it would have been before finally being transcribed.    

The steady din of DVP traffic, as well as the clickety-clack of a train passing on a nearby railway track - listen midway through the recording -  typically might all be dismissed as the unwanted din of the city. However what otherwise might be considered noise pollution actually creates a wonderfully rich tapestry of urban sounds, especially when juxtaposed against the strains of this quintessential Canadian folksong.

Funny to think that centuries ago the lower Don River’s marsh and grasslands were more than likely home to this land’s early moose populations! Learn more about the Don River and our human impact on it at Don Watcher blogspot.

     * The following information provided by The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada: 

“Gagnon is best remembered for the Chansons populaires du Canada, a compilation of folksongs (’collected and published with annotations’) which first appeared 1865-7 in six issues of Le Foyer canadien. The second revised edition appeared in 1880 and was reprinted 13 times to 1955, making it one of the most widely published music books in Canada. In its historical context, the collection is exceptional in that it contains complete textual and musical renditions with selected variants for over 100 songs. The individual song annotations and opening and closing essays reveal Gagnon’s thorough knowledge of traditional song which he had gained through careful study of contemporaneous French sources. He took care over the texts and, although he fitted words to music in the manner customary at that time, he clearly understood verse forms; moreover he respected the modal inflections of the tunes in his transcriptions. (See Folk music, Franco-Canadian.)

Gagnon was an organist in the virtuoso tradition and a fluent improviser. In 1902 he became a member of the Royal Society of Canada. He was a corresponding member of the Société des compositeurs de musique de Paris and an officer of the Instruction publique de France. He was described by Arthur Letondal as a ‘personality richly endowed with artistic talents, a man of rare discrimination and high ideals, guided by a deep love for the spirit and the characteristics of his country.’ “