Date of Award

1986

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Abstract

The growth in the number of high school choral programs in Canada has resulted in a need for locating and securing Canadian choral literature for the new curricula. The report presents an annotated guide of Canadian choral compositions which will assist in the development of a variety of musical skills ranging from simple to more complex while teaching Canadian students about their musical heritage. The Selective Guide is preceded by a brief history of choral singing and the secondary vocal music program in Canada. This is followed by a discussion of problems encountered in the Canadian choral curriculum and in working with senior high school choirs. The Selective Guide presents an annotated list of SATB arrangements of Canadian choral repertoire appropriate for senior high school use. Annotated items include: (1) Composer (dates), (2) Title of composition, (3) Publisher (date), (4) Catalogue number, (5) Text, (6) Recording (when available), (7) Accompaniment, (8) Voicing (all SATB with some variations such as SSATB, etc.), (9) Rating (level of difficulty). The Selective Guide is divided into two sections: Canadian Secular Choral Music and Canadian Sacred Choral Music. Each section is sub-divided into three levels of difficulty: Easy, Easy Medium; Medium, Medium Difficult; Difficult. The annotated listing reflects a balance of traditional and contemporary choral music. It was concluded that despite a strong European influence in Canada's choral heritage and in its secondary school choral music education, the body of Canadian music presently being composed and used in the Canadian choral curriculum is growing. This report confirmed that there is a great quantity of Canadian choral repertoire that could be incorporated into the secondary school music curriculum. In the main, many Canadian high school music teachers are unfamiliar with the contemporary music scene and require special training in this area. Recommendations resulting from this report included suggestions that: (1) the music publishing industry in Canada should be encouraged to provide music teachers with additional Canadian music instructional materials; (2) teacher training at the university level requires serious attention; (3) worthwhile projects such as the John Adaskin Project and the Composers-in-the-schools projects should be continued.

Pages

195

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.4249

Share

COinS