Toronto Reference Library Blog

Toronto's commemoration of the War of 1812 hits close to home this month as April 27, 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of York.

Here at the Toronto Reference Library we celebrate with a new exhibit in the Gallery (March 30 to June 22, 2013) and with, a special event, The Return of the Books (April 28 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., featuring dramatic readings by R.H. Thomson and music by Mike Ford.

Given all these celebrations, I shouldn't have been surprised to get a question at the desk asking about songs of the period. But it really was a surprise to me when I found an unexpected gem in the music collection of the Toronto Reference Library, Arts Department 5th floor: Ballads of the War of 1812, sung by Wallace House, published by Folkways Records in 1954.

This set of two vinyl records also includes liner notes with lyrics and background on each of the songs. Short samples of the songs can be found online along with the liner notes [PDF, large 16MB file].

Traditionally, soldiers have kept up their spirits during war time with
song. In more recent decades anti-war and protest songs have dominated but, in the past, war
songs also included celebrations of victories, calls to
arms, recruitment songs, or even complaints about rations and drilling. The soldiers of the War of 1812 were no different [click on each image below to see a full version of the Battle of Lundy's Lane].

The Folkways music collection is decidedly American, but it gives the listener a unique perspective on the conflict. A book in TRL's collection, The Annals of the War : illustrated by a selection of historical ballads, by J. M. Harper, published in 1914, broadens the perspective to include the songs of British troops fighting in Canada. And the Ontario Historical Society published The Bold Canadian : a ballad of the war of 1812, attributed to Pte Flumerfelt, in 1926.

Folkways Records (the publishers of Ballads of the War of 1812) was founded in 1948 by Moses Asch and Marian Distler. Together they create an outstanding catalogue of 2,168 albums until Asch's death in 1986. Folkways was acquired by the Smithsonian Institute in 1987.

Asch is best remembered for recording such folk and blues singers as Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Ella Jenkins, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Pete Seeger. But he also pioneered the release of music from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean and documented a full range of African American culture, from jazz and poetry to children's songs.

To learn more about the label, the recordings, and its founders, check out these terrific books on Folkways Records:

Making people's music : Moe Asch and Folkways records by Peter David Goldsmith, 1998.
Folkways records : Moses Asch and his encyclopedia of sound by Anthony Olmsted, 2003.
Worlds of sound : the story of Smithsonian Folkways 1st ed. by Richard Carlin, Richard, 2008.

Toronto Reference Library's Arts Department has an enourmous collection of Folkways recordings in both vinyl and CD . We provide listening stations for both formats here at the library and encourage you all to visit and enjoy some of the nearly 40,000 recordings available.

Toronto's commemoration of the War of 1812 hits close to home this month as April 27, 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the Battle of York.

Here at the Toronto Reference Library we celebrate with a new exhibit in the Gallery (March 30 to June 22, 2013) and with, a special event, The Return of the Books (April 28 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., featuring dramatic readings by R.H. Thomson and music by Mike Ford.

Given all these celebrations, I shouldn't have been surprised to get a question at the desk asking about songs of the period. But it really was a surprise to me when I found an unexpected gem in the music collection of the Toronto Reference Library, Arts Department 5th floor: Ballads of the War of 1812, sung by Wallace House, published by Folkways Records in 1954.

This set of two vinyl records also includes liner notes with lyrics and background on each of the songs. Short samples of the songs can be found online along with the liner notes [PDF, large 16MB file].

Traditionally, soldiers have kept up their spirits during war time with
song. In more recent decades anti-war and protest songs have dominated but, in the past, war
songs also included celebrations of victories, calls to
arms, recruitment songs, or even complaints about rations and drilling. The soldiers of the War of 1812 were no different [click on each image below to see a full version of the Battle of Lundy's Lane].

The Folkways music collection is decidedly American, but it gives the listener a unique perspective on the conflict. A book in TRL's collection, The Annals of the War : illustrated by a selection of historical ballads, by J. M. Harper, published in 1914, broadens the perspective to include the songs of British troops fighting in Canada. And the Ontario Historical Society published The Bold Canadian : a ballad of the war of 1812, attributed to Pte Flumerfelt, in 1926.

Folkways Records (the publishers of Ballads of the War of 1812) was founded in 1948 by Moses Asch and Marian Distler. Together they create an outstanding catalogue of 2,168 albums until Asch's death in 1986. Folkways was acquired by the Smithsonian Institute in 1987.

Asch is best remembered for recording such folk and blues singers as Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Cisco Houston, Ella Jenkins, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and Pete Seeger. But he also pioneered the release of music from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean and documented a full range of African American culture, from jazz and poetry to children's songs.

To learn more about the label, the recordings, and its founders, check out these terrific books on Folkways Records:

Making people's music : Moe Asch and Folkways records by Peter David Goldsmith, 1998.
Folkways records : Moses Asch and his encyclopedia of sound by Anthony Olmsted, 2003.
Worlds of sound : the story of Smithsonian Folkways 1st ed. by Richard Carlin, Richard, 2008.

Toronto Reference Library's Arts Department has an enourmous collection of Folkways recordings in both vinyl and CD . We provide listening stations for both formats here at the library and encourage you all to visit and enjoy some of the nearly 40,000 recordings available.