James B. Hartman. The Organ in Manitoba: A History of the Instruments, the Builders, and the Players. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1997. xii, 292 pp. ISBN 0-88755-644-2 (paperback)

Abstract

James B. Hartman. The Organ in Manitoba: A History of Instruments, Builders, and Players. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1997. xii, 292 pp. ISBN 0-88755-644-2 (paperback). Unlike United States, France, United Kingdom, and other countries,1 Canada has seen only sporadic attempts to trace history of its church, concert, and theatre organs. The literature in both official languages is sparse, and becomes even more limited if one seeks a scholarly account.2 Precisely why this should be case is unclear, especially when one considers national contributions to organ building and playing. For more than a century Canada has been home to a thriving community of organ builders with a reputation for quality and innovation that extends well beyond country's borders. Though their principal markets remain North American, Canadian firms export organs as far afield as Asia and Australia in face of strong international competition. Canadian organists, too, have enjoyed recognition at home and abroad: one need only cite names of Healey Willan, Lynnwood Farnam, Bernard Lagace, and Raymond Daveluy, among others, to demonstrate a significant Canadian presence in world of organ performance. Other than invoking national reticence about cultural accomplishments, therefore, it is difficult to account for such sparse historical treatment of Canadian organs, organ builders, and organists. James Hartman' s volume addresses problem in part by supplying a thorough, well-documented account of organ in Manitoba extending from mid-nineteenth-century introduction into St. Boniface Cathedral of a reed organ to uncertainties of present day, when future of organ is, for many observers, difficult to discern. Hartman begins by surveying early manifestations of musical life in area, including singers and instrumentalists who were part of Red River Settlement, and provides a brief account of establishment of various churches and their divergent approaches to issue of music in worship. Overviews of nature and construction of reed and pipe organs are provided for non-specialist readers. With this background set out, Hartman begins his historical account by admitting that, given settlement patterns and subsequent gradual shrinkage of rural population, the history of organs in Manitoba is largely a chronicle of events in (p. 29). Organs in capital city outnumber those in smaller centres and rural areas of province by a ratio of more than four to one; all but a few significant Manitoba organs are to be found in Winnipeg. Hartman identifies period from 1875 to 1919, when more than forty per cent of province's organs were installed, as a age for instrument. Though pace of installations slowed in 1920s, decade witnessed arrival of several important instruments as well as formation of Winnipeg centre of Canadian College of Organists. The coming of Great Depression halved number of organs built for Manitoba churches, and introduced a period of relative inactivity that lasted well beyond end of World War II. Not until 1950s would Manitoba organ community experience a dramatic resurgence of activity (p. 169) during which purchase and installation of new instruments occurred at a rate close to that of pre- 1920 golden age. This mid-century boom has been followed by a period of relative stasis wherein relatively few new organs have been installed. Hartman' s account concludes with a brief chapter on future of organ. Appendices provide a list of all known Manitoba organs from 1875 to present and specifications of their tonal resources. Though his focus is on a single province, Hartman' s discussion has wider applicability. The prominence of organ in Canadian cultural life prior to Depression is perhaps difficult for us now to grasp. …