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Music on the Internet: The Past Becomes the Future!Francine Falardeau
The SAVOIR FAIRE seminar held on December 11, 2001, brought together two important assets of the National Library of Canada’s Music Division: Marlene Wehrle, head of the Printed Collection and Music Reference Service, and Richard Green, head of the Recorded Sound and Video Collection. Sheet Music from Canada's Past Marlene Wehrle started the presentation by providing an interesting outline of the Sheet Music from Canada's Past Web site (www.nlc-bnc.ca/sheetmusic). She reminded her large and attentive audience that the new technology surrounding us can sometimes make it difficult to imagine what life was like in our country 100 to 150 years ago. That's why sheet music, so popular at that time, can act as aide-mémoire, forging valuable and useful links to our past. These sheets of music were published in several hundred copies and were easily affordable for all. They contained pop music, songs, dances and pieces for the piano, often with indicative titles like "Après la guerre," and "The University Polka."
The National Library of Canada holds the most extensive collection of sheet music in the country, with more than 20 000 items. Unfortunately, it was printed on cheap paper; the items that have survived are fragile and rare, making interlibrary loan impossible. Through the Web, the National Library of Canada has made them accessible, once again, to all. They're also easy to find: from the National Library’s home page, select "Music," then "Sheet Music from Canada's Past." The core of the site is an easy-to-search multimedia database, which provides a link to our AMICUS bibliographic records. You can also print the music by following the simple instructions provided. Please note that all pictures on the site come from the National Library’s sheet music collection. Of course, the copyrights have been checked; to date, pre-Confederation imprints and a selection of music published between 1914 and 1920 have been digitized. For some documents, obtaining copyright permission is more difficult; that is why, in some cases, there is only an illustration. Pertinent articles and well-chosen related sites serve as enticements to re-visit the site. Phases 1 and 2 have been completed. In March 2002, the National Library expects to add another 1000 items, as well as a new attraction: a gallery of portraits taken from the sheet music covers on the following themes: Holidays, Summer Sports, Boating, At Work. The increasing interest in sheet music for use in advertising, exhibitions, movies, or simply for nostalgic relatives, will certainly help in acquiring the necessary financing to add more sound clips and to finish the cataloguing of all the items in the collection. Virtual Gramophone For his part, Richard Green described the very popular Virtual Gramophone: Canadian Historical Sound Recordings (www.nlc-bnc.ca/gramophone/), a site devoted to sound recordings from the first half of the 20th century in Canada.
Richard recalled that before the Web, there was Edward Moogk’s book Roll Back the Years: History of Canadian Recorded Sound and Its Legacy (Genesis to 1930). For the Canadian recording industry, this book was, and still is, the bible. Then came the Web, and thanks to an experimental project, a new working tool was born, The Virtual Gramophone. It offers everything a book can offer and more. It includes a database with many search options. One can see a record label, learn details about the artist or performer, view pictures and, of course, the most spectacular part, access an audio file to listen to the work. All this from the comfort of one's home and free of charge. It would have been very easy to boast about the site, but as the number of pages viewed and files listened to indicate, the site doesn't need promotion. Instead, Richard Green decided to entertain those present with lessons that can be learned from the experience acquired through the Virtual Gramophone project.
In fact, this is a constantly evolving project, demanding dedication and thorough verification of information. The future is now, and as a cultural organization, the National Library of Canada is first in line to help determine not only what the Web will contain, but what this content will be used for - business, pleasure or research. A great deal of resources and funds are needed to carry out these projects; often, it is necessary to impose limits and to make choices and adjustments. Because of this, Richard Green decided to take advantage of the holiday season and asked anyone who had special connections with Santa Claus to intercede for him and get money to allow the completion of the project. This will supply music researchers and fans with a detailed outline of the 78-rpm-record era in Canada. For more information about Sheet Music from Canada’s Past, please contact Marlene Wehrle For more information about the Virtual Gramophone, contact Richard Green |
Marlene Wherle and Richard Green.
