Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 11 (1930-08)

Folk Song and Phonograph Juliette Gaultier de la Verendrye reveals the treasure store of Canadian folk music M ORE or less inevitably the spurious in folk music figures most frequently on rec- ord release lists. In the so-called “for- eign” supplements of the various companies “folk song” and “popular song” are interchangeable terms. Needless to say, almost none of the pieces so designated is true folk music. But in another way the phonograph itself is closely associated with the study of folk lore. From the time of the first wax cylinder, collectors were quick to real- ize the value of a recording device that would permit taking down songs and instrumental pieces exactly as performed by the native musicians. The Smithsonian Institute in Washington and Col- umbia University in New York each possesses several thousand recordings of American Indian and Negro folk music, and similar collections exist in many of the large European museums and institutes. Coeuroy and Clarence in their invaluable survey of phonography, “Le Phono- graphe”, mention a number of these phonogra- phic archives—which in Europe are not confined to continental folk music alone, but cover nearly all the fields of Occidental and Oriental music. These recordings have had more than a purely anthropological significance. In many cases they have been taken by composers who later drew upon them freely for material for their works. The Hungarians, Bela Bartok and Zoltan Kodaly, are perhaps the best examples. (And by the way it is a pleasure to note that Bartok makes his own recording debut this month in England in a Col- umbia disc of his own Hungarian folk tunes ar- ranged for violin, in which he accompanies Josef Szigeti.) In other instances composers have been called in to notate and analyze the collections of private investigators. Many of Vaughn Williams’ choral arrangements of English folk songs, sung and recorded by the English Singers, evolved in this way: and in this country Henry F. Gilbert’s Indian Sketches had a similar genesis. But there should be no reason why at least some of the best and most characteristic of the actual folk song recordings should not be made available to a larger public than highly special- ized investigators. Surely no demonstration is needed that almost countless numbers of these folk songs (of every nation) have high art values and a lively popular appeal. After all, they are the true self-created music of the people. They have a sincerity and force that the artificially gal- vanized contrivances of tin pan alley troubadours can never inmitate. The genuine in folk music is unmistakable. It speaks directly and in a univer- sal language. No technical equipment is neces- sary for its appreciation. Surely one would think that this is ideal material for commercial record- ing which demands breadth of appeal and poten- tial extent of distribution before anything else. There are more than a few pioneer spirits in the record manufacturing companies who cling to this belief as strongly as does the amateur interested in returning the heritage of folk song to its rightful owners—the rank and file of the people. Through their enthusiastic efforts and persuasive eloquence we owe such examples of genuine folk music as are avilable on commercial records today, and while the literature is still small, it is by no means inconsiderable. I feel it to be the interest of every sincere lover of the best in music to support such ventures, both sel- fishly for the sheer pleasure that these discs bring, and altruistically for the general advancement of musical appreciation through phonography. I have not yet collected material for a general survey of folk song recordings. I hope to do so. But in the meantime I am anxious to call atten- tion to one of the most recent and significant ventures in folk music recording, the two little discs of Canadian folk songs collected and sung by Juliette Gaultier de la Verendrye, and issued by the Educational Department of the Victor Company. French Acadian Songs: Miracle Song of St. Nicholas and Va Ingrate Begere-Bercev.se Acadienne (sung with harp cithare accompaniment) Victor 22311 (DIO, 75c). Eskimo Songs : Call oj the Seal—Stone Age Dance Song — In- cantation for Healing the Sick—Eskimo Chant, and British Columbia Red Indian Songs : Tama Song—Parting Song (sung with tom-tom accompaniment) Victor 22329 (DIO, 75c). Both discs are issued in the Special List No. 8 of Educational Rec- ords, reviewed on page 314 of the June issue of The Phono- graph Monthly Review. Miss Gaultier comes of a very musical family and also one that has been of importance in Ca- nadian history. She is a direct descendent of Pierre Gaultier de la Verendrye, discoverer of the Canadian rockies, and a niece of Sir Wilfred Laurier, former Premier of Canada. She began her musical career as a violinist, winning a scho- larship to study with Jeno Hubay at the Royal Academy of Budapest in Hungary, where she made a special study of the folk music of the gyp- sies. (Parenthetically, Hubay—now in his seven- ties—made a recording appearance himself sever- al months ago, playing his own Violin Maker of Cremona and Berceuse , Victor—International list —9642.) The possibilities of a splendid mezzo- soprano voice led Miss Gaultier into study with Vincenso Lombardi, the teacher of Caruso, and 365