Historical Canadian band music: a new source of curriculum materials for the Canadian classroom

Abstract

Provincial education authorities have, in recent years, committed themselves to the integration of Canadian materials into the curriculum. Consequently, instrumental music guidelines from all ten provinces mandate, either directly or by implication, the inclusion of a Canadian component into the repertoire studied in the high school band class. At the same time, the number of Canadian publishers producing literature for advanced level (grades IV, V, VI) bands has declined. As a result, the need for these materials has increased while the supply has dwindled. The study attempts to show that historical Canadian band literature can be used to bridge the gap. It begins with an examination of the history of wind bands and band music in Canada from 1791 to 1952. Fifty representative works originating from the period are selected and analysed for their suitability as curriculum materials at the senior high school level. The results of these analyses reveal a richly varied source of materials ranging from marches to dances, solos, concert overtures, folk medleys, patriotic songs and descriptive selections The repertoire is an authentic reflection of the musical traditions that inspired it and represents the work of some of the most acclaimed composers of their respective generations. The works studied display a wide range of compositional constructs and technical challenges, which provide the senior high school instrumentalist with opportunities for discovering a literature that is both Canadian and of significant value, historically and musically