La Chanson québécoise: Miroir d'une société by Pascal Normand (review)

Book Reviews297 end the Library of Congress summeries of the lost films of silent comic Chéries Bowers. A minor flew of this book is the inconsistent end distracting elternation between English transitions end direct quotetions in Spenish. CB. Morris hes succeeded in providing Hispenists with e well-reseerched, thorough, end eminently reedeble study which represents e solid contribution to film-literature scholership. DENNIS WEST University of Idaho Pescel Normend. La Chanson québécoise: Miroir d'une société. Montréel: FranceAm érique, 1981. 281p. Professor Normend hes written both e highly reedeble end scholerly study of the euthor-composers who heve creeted the modern song in Québec. The eerly chepters ere by fer the most interesting. In them he treces the development of the populer musicel tradition in his country from the founding of New France to the 1940's end 50's when Félix Leclerc end Gilles Vigneeult ceptured the spirit of their competriots in words end music. Atteining the universel through the perticuler, Leclerc end Vigneeult echieved internetionel recognition by singing of the poetry letent in the most humble aspects of the lend end people ofQuébec es well es in their own personel sentiments. A third ertist in song, Robert Cherlebois, expressed the rebellious mood of the lete 60's end eerly 70's in youthful lyrics reminiscent of Rimbeud end Bob Dylen. The second helf of Normend's book is less successful. Where the first pert presented in-depth enelyses of the "clessics" of the genre end of the socio-culturel context from which they emerged, we ere now confronted with e series of interviews conducted by the euthor with nine more recent practitioners of the Québécois song. One regrets thet Normend did not continue his originel formet end study other esteblished figures like Jean-Pierre Ferland end Cleude Léveillé. The interviews tend to be repetitive end dwell on often triviel aspects of the personalities end cereers of those interviewed. Some importent contemporary tendencies ere reveeled on occesion, however. One is impressed, for exemple, by the eclecticism end individuelity of these young writers end performers. The netionelistic fervor which inspired Leclerc, Vigneeult, end the young Jecques Michel hes to e greet extent subsided. Meny artists no longer feel the need to emphesize their Québécois roots since the quest for e netionel culturel identity hes been eccomplished. For them the song is primerily e vehicle for self-expression (Michel Riverd, Guy Trepanier) and a means of communicating a message of love (M. Rivard) and joy (Angele Arsenault, Gilles Riverd, Diene Tell) to ell peoples. While Cherlebois end Febienne Thibeeult sought to get closer to their countrymen by using jouai, the populer dielect of Québec, others prefer working in e more standardized, internetionel French. Moreover, the musicel rhythms of North end South Americe seem to preveil increesingly over those of France es e generative influence on the song in Québec. The impect of Normend's book is considerably enhenced by the numerous photographs which eccompeny the text end by the semple songs which epitomize the themes end style of the songwriters studied. JAMES P. GILROY University of Denver ...