During my first-year music theory course at Queen’s University, Professor John Burge demonstrated a particular harmonic sequence using the opening chords of “O Canada” as an example. The first three chords are basic enough, a riff off Pachelbel’s Canon, but in “O Canada” their resolution is relaxed, making the familiar strong chords tentative—which is a curious construction for what is supposed to be a patriotic march. Anthems typically boast at the onset, pursuing unflinching triumph rather than coy lyricism. Burge pointed out that this particular harmonic design dovetails with the unassuming Canadian identity. He suggested that this coincidence was possibly due to intuition on the part of the composer or, perhaps, that this inaugural delicate pathos appealed to later generations when they adopted “O Canada” as our national anthem.
Burge timed the lesson to fall on an election day...
Adèle Barclay is a writer and critic whose work has appeared in The Fiddlehead, PRISM international, The Pinch, Matrix and elsewhere. She is the winner of the 2016 Lit POP Poetry Award. Her debut poetry collection, If I Were in a Cage I’d Reach Out for You, was shortlisted for the 2015 Robert Kroetsch Award for Innovative Poetry. She is the interviews editor for The Rusty Toque.
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