The Pedagogy of Polyphony in Gabriel Sagard'sHistoire du Canada

The second edition of Gabriel Sagard's history of the Recollect missions in eastern Canada, theHistoire du Canada(1636), included an unprecedented series of harmonized settings of four previously transcribed indigenous Mi'kmaq and Tupinamba melodies. A reading of theHistoire du Canada'...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of musicology (St. Joseph, Mich.) Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 365 - 411
Main Author BLOECHL, OLIVIA A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published University of California Press 01.07.2005
Subjects
Ceremonies
Music
Music transcriptions
Musical aesthetics
Musical notation
Musical performance
Musicology
Polyphony
Ritual music
Singing
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Summary:The second edition of Gabriel Sagard's history of the Recollect missions in eastern Canada, theHistoire du Canada(1636), included an unprecedented series of harmonized settings of four previously transcribed indigenous Mi'kmaq and Tupinamba melodies. A reading of theHistoire du Canada'scontent, structure, and production context demonstrates that the settings supported the apostolic aims of the text, which were rooted in the didactic ethos and methods of the French Counter-Reformation. Specifically, theHistoire du Canadadeveloped the transcribed indigenous chants into devotional exercises by ascribing moral significance to the transformation of the melodies into polyphony. With the harmonized settings Sagard gestured toward the Native Americans' potential for conversion and civilization by the Recollect missionaries in a manner that was edifying for Catholic readers in France and the young colony.
ISSN:0277-9269
1533-8347
DOI:10.1525/jm.2005.22.3.365