In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

486 LETTERS IN CANADA 1976 related through a set of similar rhymes without revealing a 'strophic organization) 2 Chansons strophiques 3 Chansons en forme de dialogue 4 Chansons enumeratives 5 Chansons breves 6 Chansons ehantees sur des timbres (sur rai,. de) 7 Chansons litUraires reeueillies comme folkloriques Laforte admits that these categories are not mutually exclusive; in particular, he points out that 'les chansons en dialogue, les chansons enufl1eratives, les chansons courtes, les chansons faites sur un timbre et les chansons litteraires: even if they are strophic, are not included in the second category. Although Laforte's classification emphasizes poetic structure, distinctions of content playa considerable role. For example, the category of 'chansons en dialogue' is subdivided as follows: 1 The girl and the lover 2 The shepherdess and the gallant 3 The daughter and the mother 4 The girl and the confessor 5 The wife and the husband 6 Historical and legendary figures 7 Personifications (fictitious and abstract figures) 8 A person and a group Despite a certain degree of classificatory inconsistency, the author is to be complimented on the wealth of valuable information concerning the texts of French folksongs offered in his study. (MIECZYSLAw KOLINSKI) Ruby Mercer. Tile Tenor of Ilis Time, Edward Johnson of the Met. Clarke, Irwin. 336. $13ยท95 The long and interesting life of Edward Johnson (1878-1959), has been recorded in a modestly proportioned and readable biography by Ruby Mercer, editor of Opera Canada, a regular broadcaster on opera for the CBC and a former singer herself. Johnson was born in Guelph, Ontario, and went on to New York in his early twenties where he had a considerable career in oratorio, musical comedy, and the concert stage. Success in opera, however, eluded him. In 1909, he married Beatriz D'Arneiro, a cultivated Portuguese and an excellent pianist and vocal coach. They went to Italy where Johnson continued his studies and, as Eduardo di Giovanni, soon became one of the country's leading tenors. He returned to America in 1919, singing with the Chicago Opera and, beginning in HUMANITIES 487 1922, with the Metropolitan. His beautifully controlled voice, his musicianship , and his handsome appearance aided him greatly in his career. In 1935 Johson was appointed general manager of the 'Met: a post he held for the next fifteen years, during which time he increased dramatically the number of North American singers in the company, encouraged the Saturday broadcasts, and launched the Metropolitan Auditions of the Air. In 1945 he was named chairman of the board of the Toronto - now Royal - Conservatory of Music, a fortuitous appointment since the school and its University of Toronto affiliate, the Faculty of Music, were on the brink of expansion. Seven years later, under Johnson's direction, both schools were reorganized to the accompanying protests of leading musicians . He served as acting dean of the Faculty of Music in 1952-3, succeeding Sir Ernest MacMillan, who had retired from the post because of Johnson's changes. His last years were spent mostly in and around Toronto and Guelph. In sorting out the vast material on Johnson for use in her biography, Mercer seems to have been overly influenced by minutiae (e.g. , who sang what role when), so that her work often sounds like one of the excellent descriptions of operas and their casts on her CBC radio program. She could have come to grips more with Johnson himself: was he sincere, truthful, selfish, not beyond deceit and spite? If he had the love and loyalty of his cohorts at the Met, was it because of his power, his ability, or just his charming ineffectiveness? Was he really a good opera manager ? Did he carve out a future for music in Toronto, and for opera in Canada? Of what importance were his singing career and his life in New York at the turn of the century? One knows that the author had the insight and background to say more in depth. Did production demands restrict her? For Canadian readers, the storms of 1952, especially Johnson's actions, need incisive appraisal. He may have been more interested in sheen than substance. He wanted a fine school, but he also wanted...

pdf

Share