CAML Review / Revue de l'ACBM (Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres / Association canadienne des bibliothèques, archives et centres de documentation musicaux)
Not a member yet
1343 research outputs found
Sort by
A Locational Study of R. Murray Schafer’s Music for Wilderness Lake [1979]
Get PDFMusic for Wilderness Lake [1979] was a pioneering composition in the development of Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer’s (1933–2021) environmental works. Envisioned as a performance for twelve trombones gathered around Southern Ontario’s O’Grady Lake, it continuously evolved as the realities of the outdoor location shaped the compositional process and the premiere performance. Schafer was prompted to think about how an outdoor, rural location affects musical performances and what concessions it required. Despite the significant role Music for Wilderness Lake played in Schafer’s compositional output, it is too often scripted as a first step to his later environmental works.
In this article, the author recontextualizes Music for Wilderness Lake by exploring the experimentation that took place as Schafer’s vision was adapted to performance and logistical challenges. One of the unique features of Music for Wilderness Lake is the use of a central raft on a lake, from which Schafer cued the full ensemble during the premiere. By examining the performance site, this article highlights how some of the aspects of the location that Schafer found exciting—wide spatialization of performing forces and lively echoes—affected the development of Music for Wilderness Lake. Using contemporaneous articles (Littler 1979, MacMillan 1979, and Sweete 1980); interviews (including Westerkamp 1981); sketches of the location; and the film made of the performance (Music for Wilderness Lake, 1980, Fichman-Sweete Productions); this article explores why O’Grady Lake was chosen for the premiere and how the space helped develop specific relationships among participants based on spatialization and instrumental groupings
Listening to the Fur Trade: Soundways and Music in the British North American Fur Trade, 1760–1840 by Daniel Robert Laxer
Get PDF
Milestones
Get PDFThis column aims to share organization news, celebrate our colleagues’ accomplishments, and document changes for future researchers looking back. Have news to share? Contact the [email protected] to have your news published in the next issue
Spotlight on Music Collections: Lowell Lybarger
Get PDFLowell Lybarger, PhD is Media Librarian at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas. He coordinates the on-campus Media Lab, teaches courses on production, and has devoted years to archiving historical recordings from the Arkansas Tech University Music Department. Dr. Lybarger is also an active electronic music creator. In June 2025, he sat down with Phoebe Robertson, reviews editor for CAML Review and Assistant Professor of Music at Arkansas Tech University, for this interview. Their conversation took place in ATU’s Ross Pendergraft Library & Technology Center.
Spotlight on Music Collections aims to profile interesting or unique music collections and archives in Canada through the voices of those who work with them. If you have a suggestion for a collection or individual to be featured in a future edition of this column, please email: [email protected]
