The Poet, The Composer And The Artist
A great many Canadian composers have set the verse of famous poets to
music, but few have done it so successfully as Oskar Morawetz.
Dr. Morawetz' songs, based on the poetry of Bliss Carman, Archibald
Lampman, William Blake, Elizabeth Browning, Lord Byron and A.E. Houseman,
among others, have been performed with regularity by some of the
outstanding soloists in other countries and more important, perhaps,
they have earned a permanent place in the repertoires of many outstanding
Canadian artists.
It was the famous American soprano, Dorothy Maynor, who first introduced
the composer's songs on the international concert stage, in particular
Elegy and I Love The Jocund Dance, based on the poetry
of Ann Wilkinson and William Blake respectively. Miss Maynor included
both compositions in all her community concerts during a three-year
period from 1949-1952; and she programmed them also with the
Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra under William Steinberg and the
Washington Symphony Orchestra conducted by Howard Mitchell.
Famous Baritone
Internationally known Canadian singer, baritone James Milligan, performed
Dr. Morawetz' songs frequently before the artist's premature death.
Several of these including To The Ottawa River, Elegy,
Grenadier, The Chimney Sweeper and Mad Song were
recorded by the International Service of the CBC which constituted
the only performance on disc of art songs by Mr. Milligan. They have
since been played consistenly by broadcasting organizations throughout
the world.
Among the other outstanding Canadian soloists who have performed songs
by the composer are Lois Marshall, Donald Bell, Pierette Allarie,
Victor Braun, Louis Quilico and Jeanette Zarou.
As a result of a Centennial commission, four songs by Dr. Morawetz have
found an important place in the concert repertoire of Donald Bell.
They are based on the poetry of Canadian poet Bliss Carman and
were premiered by Mr. Bell in Cologne Germany and have since
been performed at Simon Fraser University and at Expo. They were also
broadcast on the CBC Radio Network three times.
Vocal Competition
Miss Jeanette Zarou's interpretation of Piping Down The Valleys
Wild, Land of Dreams and I Love The Jocund Dance
- were recorded for the International Service of the CBC. Both Miss
Zarou and baritone Maurice Braun used these works in the finals of
the Jeunesses Musicales vocal competitions.
Lois Marshall chose three of Dr. Morawetz' songs in concerts at
the Toronto City Hall and the University of Waterloo and the University
of Montreal, all of which were broadcast by the CBC. Mr. Louis
Quilico sang the composer's Chimney Sweeper at Expo
and at the Stratford Festival recently. His performance was broadcast
on the CBC this fall. Elegy was used for teaching purposes by
Maureen Forrester during the summer school classes she conducted
this past year at the University of Toronto. Victor Braun performed
two of the composer's songs at Expo and will perform them for the CBC
in the near future.
Dr. Morawetz' only humorous song, Father William, has been
taped by Cornelis Opthof for future broadcast.
The latest of the composer's songs to be written was a Centennial
commission for the Czech community, based on the poem by Czech poet
Pavel Javor who now lives in Montreal. By coincidence, the poet's
last name in translation is "Maple".
It is gratifying that the songs of Canadian composers such as Oskar
Morawetz are being heard in many countries but it is especially
significant that some of Canada's finest performers are choosing
to include Canadian compositions in their repertoires.
