I can say from having 'been there' when the documentaries were first
produced, that they did not get favourable reviews. I think I still have
the Globe&Mail news clipping of the first review somewhere
around........
But of course, GG. was light years ahead of his time, as we are just
beginning to discover. That's my explanation (if somewhat simplistic) for
it.
Charles Grierson
Dear F minors,
I know that many of you belong to the Glenn Gould Foundation. You
should have received the Gould Standard yesterday. I was puzzled by
some of the things that Michael Tait said in his Letter to the Editor.
If Mr Tait is on this list I would like him to explain his 6th
point. Perhaps some of you will have an opinion on this.
"6. His radio documentaries were interesting failures. A
fugue of words, because of their denotative content, results in confusion
and mess in contrast to a fugue of pure sounds."
Mr. Tait belongs to Glenn Gould's generation and I am a generation
younger, so he was around when the documentaries were first broadcast and I
was not. Also, he lives in Toronto. Perhaps he is in a better
position to judge their success than I
am. If they were not a success when they were first produced, why
are we still listening to them today? Any thoughts?
Anne