Canadian Composers of Sacred Choral Music: Dr. Gordon Alban Adnams; Michel Guimont; Dr. Matthew Larkin; and Jared Tomlinson

Abstract

This dissertation offers a 75-year examination of contemporary (1950-2025) Canadian sacred choral music through the lens of four living composers: Dr. Gordon Alban Adnams; Michel Guimont; Dr. Matthew Larkin; and Jared Tomlinson. It aims to illuminate the intricate interplay between personal and cultural identities as expressed through their compositions, shedding light on how their Christian backgrounds have informed their artistic approaches. Through qualitative research methods utilizing interview transcripts and music scores, this study delves into the composers’ perceptions of their own work and its place in the evolving landscape of sacred music in Canada. The investigation, informed by discourse analysis and music theory analysis with a focus on textual analysis, seeks to uncover the nuances of their creative processes and the broader denominational influences shaping Canadian sacred music. Drawing upon Benedict Anderson’s theoretical framework of imagined communities (1983), this dissertation explores the notion of imagined sacred choral music communities, revealing ways in which cultural identity intersects with artistic and Christian expression. Christopher Small’s concept of musicking (1998) is used as a secondary framework. Additionally, this exploration is situated within the scholarly discourse of Canadian music studies, incorporating perspectives primarily from scholar Dr. Mary Ingraham (Ingraham 2024 & 2022). Dr. Robin Elliott, another contemporary scholar in the field of musicology, also touches on this dissertation (Elliott 2024; Elliott and Smith 2010; Kallmann, Beckwith, and Elliott 2013; and Beckwith, et al. 1983). Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity by Dr. Elaine Keillor (2006) further supplements this dissertation. This dissertation examines the complex relationship between individual creativity, cultural identity, and Christian tradition in contemporary sacred choral music in Canada. It seeks to show that composers self-fashion their identities through musicking Canadian sacred choral music in their imagined communities. Further, this dissertation maintains that these identities stem from traditional beliefs of their heritage and generation and are not necessarily a response to modernity. Since the 1960s and 1970s, significant changes in Christian liturgical music have been influenced by key developments such as the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the promulgation of the Novus Ordo Missae (New Order of the Mass) in 1969, increased ecumenicism, and the rise of the Praise-and-Worship movement. Using the sacred choral music of these composers as sites of cultural resistance, this dissertation investigates their defiance against the Praise-and-Worship Movement within Protestantism. A similar movement, sparked by the constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, took place within Catholicism. These composers musick within fractured traditional Christian imagined communities within larger modern Christian imagined communities.

Keywords: Anglican music; Canadian choral singing; Contemporary Canadian sacred choral music; Canadian church music; Canadian composers; Canadian history; Canadian musicology; Canadian nationalism; Canadian poetry; Catholic music; Christian music; Christopher Small; Congregational singing; Discourse analysis; Ecumenicism; European sacred music; Gregorian chant; Hymns and hymnody; Imagined communities; Liturgical music; Minimalism; Musicking; New Order of the Mass; Praise-and-Worship movement; Protestant music; Qualitative research; Second Vatican Council

Canadian creators: Andrew Ager; Cori Martin; Donald Patriquin; Dr. Antoine Ouellette; Dr. Derek Holman; Dr. Gordon Alban Adnams; Dr. Howard Shore; Dr. Jacobus Kloppers; Dr. James Healey Willan; Dr. Mark Sirett; Dr. Matthew Larkin; Eleanor Daley; Emanuel Serra; Gabriel Moïse Charpentier; Group of Seven; Imant Raminsh; Jared Tomlinson; Jeremy Dutcher; Laura Hawley; Leonard Norman Cohen; Matthew Tran-Adams; Michel Guimont; Paul Halley; Ray Twomey; Raymond Daveluy; William Keith Rogers; Ruth Watson Henderson; Raymond Murray Schafer; Stephanie Martin; Sister Theresa Hucul, s.c.i.c.