Nicholas Busch

Dr. K. Veblen
Music 1800
08/11/2015

Brisson, J. (2015). Exoticism in multicultural choral repertoire: A comparison

of Lydia Adams Mikmaq Honour Song and Stephen Hatfields Nukapianguaq.
Canadian Music Educator / Musicien Educateur Au Canada, 56(4): 30-34.

This article is written about a very serious and delicate issue, and
brings forward ideas that need to be discussed. This is especially relevant
today, since there has been a lot more attention paid to social, cultural and
political issues within the last few years. The issue of misinterpreting a
culture is not only important so that it does not offend anyone, but also so
that when used pedagogically it is represented and taught properly, so that
students do not grow up with incorrect assumptions of a certain culture. I
found this quote, taken from Deborah Bradley, very interesting: Bradley
argues that learning world music may hold the potential to build
communities that are more open to and accepting of cultural differences by
giving performers the opportunity to interact with and mediate those
differences through musical performance. I completely agree with this
statement and I believe using multicultural pieces in the classroom will
benefit everyone in more ways than just listed in that quote.

The quote Anti-racism education also has the goal of teaching

students to think critically about and work against racism and other forms of
social oppression, speaks volumes for me. This type of lesson in a classroom
would benefit the students so well, especially at a young age. I also very
much agree with the quote Brisson used music of all periods, styles, forms,
and cultures belongs in the curriculum. Not all music needs to have a large
amount of time spent on it, but many more types of music need to be
exposed to students at a young age. You can never tell if a student will be
interested in something until you expose them to it.
It frustrates me how little attention to detail the translators of
multicultural musical texts were. It also frustrates me that Western 12-tone
equal temperament system is seen as superior, especially in a society where
modern composers are experimenting with microtones and getting away
from the traditional system. Altering multicultural works to fit this system is a
destruction of the original artwork and is detrimental to not only the culture
you are offending but again the students you are working with.
If I could ask Brisson anything it would be if he has / plans on using any
multicultural music in his classroom, and which song would he use from
which culture? I would also ask how he could work anti-racism arguments
into his lessons, and how he could get his students to form arguments
against racism themselves. This is a very interesting topic to me, and Brisson
covered it well.