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INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION

The path toward a second edition

Encouraged by the favourable reception of the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, the board and editors of EMC began in 1984 to consider the need for and nature of a revision. The first edition had appeared in English in October 1981, and in French as Encyclopédie de la Musique au Canada in April 1983. In a short while EMC had become an indispensable reference tool for all concerned with music in Canada, whether scholars or librarians, writers or broadcasters, performers or listeners. Even lexicographers engaged in other fields of learning had shown interest in its editorial processes and experiences. Ultimately, however, it was the richly productive and rapidly expanding work of Canada's composers, performers, educators, music administrators, and scholars that called for documentation and raised the prospect of a new edition.

A feasibility study undertaken on behalf of EMC's board by John Parry in 1986 affirmed the need. Next, a marketing survey of some 1600 librarians, officials of musical organizations, and other interested users, one-third of whom replied, established clearly that a new edition rather than a supplement was wanted. Preparatory editorial work began in September 1988. A letter, sent during the next few months to some 300 experts in all provinces and of all specializations, asked for and received useful criticism and suggestions. Fortunately, the two publishers who deserved so much of the credit for the first edition were anxious to bring out the new edition. Fortunately, too, the senior personnel were available again to tackle the monumental task, with one regrettable exception: Kenneth Winters, the original editor with a special responsibility for the English text, could not give up his obligations as a broadcaster.

Work on the new text was begun with the updating on 10 June 1989 of the entry for Lorne Betts; the last entry, 'Awards', was completed some 30 months later in December 1991. As in the case of the first edition, work was distributed among offices in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto, but this time research for subject matter with a (mainly) Anglo-Canadian geographical base and for bibliography and discography was concentrated at the National Library of Canada with its vast information files of clippings, questionnaires, pictures, and other material and its recent acquisitions of scores, recordings, archival papers, books, and periodicals. EMC's own research files had been acquired by Floyd S. Chalmers and through his gift deposited at the University of Toronto's Robarts Library and the Faculté de musique, Université de Montréal, where they are available not only to EMC staff but, upon appointment, to any researcher.

Tasks and techniques

EMC's main tenets, outlined in the original Introduction, have remained the same, but several might be worth restating. Once again the editors felt that since all musical activities and genres ultimately are interconnected and interdependent, space should be extended to music both in its vernacular and cultivated manifestations, and in its spiritual and material aspects. Once again the editors considered composition the most important and vital contribution to musical life. And although the supply of information in magazines, biographies, and academic research about music in Canada has grown, documentation for future's sake, as well as for current needs, has been a major consideration in presenting information in reasonable detail.

During the planning period 1988-9, basic policies and strategies for the revision took shape: articles relating to persons, organizations, or topics not active after the original cut-off date of EMC would be reviewed and, where necessary, revised or corrected in light of any new information; entries for subjects of the first edition which remained active in the 1980s would be updated; and new entries would be added for persons, organizations, and topics that had come into prominence or originated during the 1980s, or that had been overlooked.

A dozen years crowded with musical activities have witnessed expansion and maturing in most areas, and decline and loss in some. In many cases EMC's team discovered growth beyond all expectations. For instance, where in 1980 most discographies were lamentably skimpy, many artists and ensembles now had produced respectable, even amazing, quantities of recordings. The number of young composers, or older ones who had not come to EMC's attention before, was well over 100. A new generation of outstanding performers called for lexicographical treatment. Furthermore, gaps had to be filled, though some remain. Topics such as 'Black Africa,' 'Career counselling,' 'Exhibitions,' 'Folk music revival,' 'Governments and music,' 'Street musicians,' and 'Theory and analysis' are among the new entries. Regrettably, however, plans for entries on provinces and major churches had to be dropped, and contributors for articles on barbershop singing and dance music after Confederation, among other subjects, still could not be found.

In order to accommodate the resulting crop of some 820 new entries and to add to many existing ones, about 200 old entries had to be eliminated and others condensed. In most cases of deletion, essential information has been transferred to another entry - for example, the data about a choir to the city of its activity, the career of a teacher to the entry on his or her school. The total number of articles is approximately 3800, and there are some 300 'see references'.

The cut-off date for the first edition was December 1979, although a few later facts of importance were added -- the French edition even reported the death of Glenn Gould in October 1982, just at press time. The new edition reports events up to the end of 1991. However, articles edited in 1989 and 1990 were not subjected to a fresh review as the late-1991 deadline approached.

Improving access

The new edition reflects also what the editors have learned from critics and users. The most frequent confusion arose when, not finding a desired entry in the text, users neglected to check the Index. Many musicians without an entry had in fact capsule biographies within a larger context, or passing mentions throughout the book, easily traceable through the Index. More justified was the criticism that subjects that do have an entry have no listing in the Index to point to their mentions in other entries. But to list all these occurrences in the cases of, for example, Claude Champagne or Mario Bernardi might have added over 100 page numbers for each, and such comprehensive treatment ultimately would have doubled the length of the Index. The system of cross-references (*) within a given article often leads the reader to additional information about the subject. As a convenience to the reader, however, in the new edition all entries have been listed in the Index.

Also confusing for the reader has been the rule not to provide separate entries for certain widely known persons, usually conductors, whose careers in Canada were of limited duration and connected with but one single institution. Maestros such as Ancerl, Dutoit, Mehta, or Ozawa can be found through the Index. However, for these and some others, cross-references have been provided within the main body of the text.

The impact of the 1980s

Certain shifts in proportion and emphasis in EMC's coverage of various branches and aspects of music reflect recent developments, some worldwide, others specifically Canadian. Thus the spectacular new electronic communication technologies have had spectacular effect on the creation, processing, and dissemination of music. Few established performers remain unrecorded; few composers have avoided the challenge of electroacoustic sound manipulation. This is reflected in the expansion of discography sections throughout EMC and in articles dealing with recorded sound and electroacoustic music. On the socio-economic side of art, the term 'cultural industries' has become common. Marketing techniques, 'bottom line' boardroom decisions, resource rationalization, and taste manipulation are increasingly influential not only in pop but in concert music. Entries such as 'Music industries,' 'Music as a social phenomenon,' 'Governments and music,' and 'Funding, patronage and volunteerism' provide evidence. Another powerful influence is demographic change, as new patterns of immigration and growing attention to the First Nations bring traditions from many parts of the globe in contact with mainstream audiences of music and with one another. The greatly enlarged entry on ethnomusicology and the recognized coverage of 'Native North Americans' in Canada bear witness to these trends. Despite the undeniable impact of technological, business, and demographic forces, musical dynamics largely obey an inner logic, a logic dictated by the imaginative exploration and refinement of sounds, textures, and formal procedures. What happens to styles of composition and concepts of interpretation can never be reduced entirely to influences outside music. A clue to the discussion of current trends in composition will be found under 'Composition techniques, contemporary,' while the coverage of performance has been strengthened by articles such as 'Chamber music performance,' 'Period instrument movement,' and 'Street musicians.' Similarly, many new trends in jazz and pop music are described in entries such as 'Feminist music,' 'New age music,' and 'Rap.'

A contribution to Canadian self-awareness

Common to the diversified strands of Canada's cultural life during the 1980s has been one major concern, a concern for the survival and strengthening of an identity within the world community, establishing and independent Canadian voice in the concert of nations. Creating a tool for self-knowledge is an essential step in this process, and the directors and staff of EMC may look with some pride on their contribution toward making Canadian music and musicians better known at home and abroad. But a tool is only an accessory. The true credit belongs to the vast corpus of excellent compositions and recorded performances and to the achievements of Canadian scholarship. Reinforced and given focus by EMC, awareness and appreciation of musical Canada owe most to the quality of touring and recording artists, to performances of Canadian works, and to exhibitions. One may site such specifics as the discovery of the Livre d'orgue de Montréal, the compilation of bibliographies such as McCorkle's Brahms Werke Verzeichnis and Gooch-Thatcher's A Shakespeare Music Catalogue, the fieldwork in the music of the First Nations and various ethnic minorities, the establishment if an Institute for Canadian Music at the University of Toronto, and Glenn Gould legacy kept alive by thousands of devotees. Among performers, Bryan Adams, Céline Dion, Janina Fialkowska, Maureen Forrester, Anton Kuerti, Louis Lortie, Oscar Peterson, Teresa Stratas, Jon Vickers, and Neil Young have been celebrated internationally; composers such as Oskar Morawetz, R. Murray Schafer, Gilles Tremblay, and Claude Vivier also have been splendid ambassadors of Canadian creativity.

EMC's first edition has served as a collecting pool for earlier research and a fountainhead for subsequent academic research and theses, for private studies, library and archive development, broadcast scripts, and journalism. It has helped also in establishing contacts between budding talent and appropriate training centers, artists and recording companies, composers and concert programmers. In their turn, these activities have paid dividends to the new edition in new information, contributors, and coverage. The editors can only hope that musical activities and their documentation will continue to inspire one another over the years toward a third edition.

HELMUT KALLMANN,
GILLES POTVIN.

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