Sounds North: Two Centuries of
Canadian Piano Music
Elaine Keillor
Gala Records Gala-108
www.galarecords.ca
Canadian pianist and Carleton University distinguished research professor emerita Elaine Keillor shines in this four-CD collection of solo piano works by Canadian composers dedicated to the memory of Helmut Kallmann (1922–2012), the noted musicologist largely responsible for the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Each disc features works from a specific time frame with many of the works drawing on Canadian landscapes and traditions for their artistic motivation.
The first disc opens with the 1807 composition General Craig’s March by F. Glackemeyer. Keillor’s delicate touch and florid lines set the mood for a selection of ragtime and parlour music so popular in the 1800s and early 1900s. Keillor is fantastic in her performances of rags, as her solid beating of the rhythm drives the melodic lines.
CD2, Developments to the End of WWI, continues with more of the same genre of works and lyrical performance. Alexis Contant’s Yvonne (1903) is especially enjoyable as Keillor’s sense of playfulness and joy creates a danceable waltz. In W.C. Barron’s Lullalo, An Irish Lullaby (1890), Keillor sustains a swaying Irish folk lilt that supports the more intense mood in the dramatic harmonic sections. More European compositional influences are evident in such selections as Mazurka Nos.1 and 2 (1890) by Clarence Lucas.
The third disc extends to the end of WWII. Here, even more European compositional influences are heard in a number of multi-movement works by such composers as Robert Fleming, Georges-Emile Tanguay and George M. Brewer. In Leo Smith’s Suite for Piano (1930s?), the mournful melody of the opening movement is transformed and developed in an almost jazz-like manner in each of four movements. Keillor has also included Two Pieces (1951–52) by Glenn Gould. Gould’s development of contrapuntal ideas is fascinating in the second piece.
The fourth disc, Canada’s Space in Sound, opens with Louis Applebaum’s A Northern Legend (1957), a four-section work that is programmatic in its successful aural depictions of such classic Canadian features as tundra, rocks and huskies. “Unfinished Rag,” the fourth movement from John Beckwith’s March, March! (2001), continues to delight with its bouncing rhythm. The last chord leaves the listener waiting for more. The disc ends with Jocelyn Morlock’s The Jack Pine (2010), a work inspired by a painting of the same name by Tom Thomson. At first, the colours and timbres seem to be played too brittle and shrill but as the piece progresses, the harmonies support this touch.
This is a monumental project. The sheer number of works is astounding. Keillor plays each with more than the expected necessary skill, accuracy and respect. Musically, the pianist is able to convey each composer’s sensibilities as she glides through the diverse styles. Her choice of works is interesting in both its inclusions and exclusions but the collection is a fitting tribute to Canadian composers past and present.
