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McGill University inherits the Noël-Vallerand Sound Recording Collection

Published: 14 May 2001

« Souvenons-nous toutefois des paroles incroyables que tenait jadis au jeune Donald Mitchell ahuri nul autre qu’Eric Bloom, l’éminent musicologue anglais responsable de la 5e édition de la Groves Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians (London, St. Martin Press, 1954): « Nous -- c’est-à-dire les Anglais -- ne voulons tout simplement pas de Mahler ici.» Noël Vallerand

You see the two of them, right there, in front of you: Eric Bloom casting out Mahler in front of a stunned young Donald Mitchell. The magic of the Internet will allow you to enjoy, among other pleasures, Noël Vallerand’s (1937- 1985) superb articles on Gustav Mahler on the McGill University Marvin Duchow Music Library web site, dedicated to the Noël-Vallerand Sound Recording Collection. This eminent historian, who was in turn professor of history at the Université du Québec à Montréal, vice-president of the Université du Québec, deputy minister of cultural affairs, and general manager of the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, was also a knowledgeable music lover and this evening, McGill University was proud to accept the fruit of his passion.

A true devotee, Noël Vallerand assembled a collection of some 3,630 volumes of long-playing recordings, which he maintained in mint condition. He was particularly interested in nineteenth-century German music (for instance, he had three complete recordings of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, and four of Tristan und Isolde). The highlights of his collection are the recordings of the works of Gustav Mahler. Monsieur Vallerand was a passionate and extremely well-informed lover of Mahler, as shown in the critical discographies of the composer that he contributed to the journal "Sonances" in 1982-1983.

"The Mahler section consists of 302 volumes containing 491 long-playing discs. It contains most of the performances listed in Péter Fülöp’s complete Mahler discography of 1984, and certainly all the major interpretations; some of the recordings are quite rare," says Cynthia Leive, head of the Marvin Duchow Music Library. "It thus represents an invaluable resource for the study of Mahler performance from the first recordings (for there are reissues of 78 rpm recordings included) until 1985, as well as a primary source for the study of LP issues of Mahler’s music. It will be of great interest to musicians and scholars both locally and internationally."

Praising Mme. Diane Wilhelmy for the gift of her late husband’s precious collection, Principal Shapiro said that in doing so she has made sure that the memory of Noël Vallerand will be celebrated by generations of musicologists of Quebec and the world.

In her response, Mme Wilhelmy said: "I am very happy to give Noël Vallerand’s record collections to the McGill University Marvin Duchow Music Library. At the end of my inquiries, I came to the conclusion that it was here, at McGill University, that I was sure of fulfilling the wishes formulated by Noël in his will. Moreover, this University of exceptional stature is the ideal location to promote a collection of universal value and to stimulate the studies and researches that will enrich it continuously. As you know it is with infinite patience, rigor and passion that my husband constituted his collection and he would notice with immense pleasure how much today’s technical means allow for the full realization of his desire to see the fruit of his labor made available to students and researchers."

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