[QUOTE=WordMan]
Hey **M. Le Ministre ** - what kinda a guitar is The Voyageur and what does it mean for it to be “the Six String Nation guitar?” Did you refer to it in a previous thread?
[/QUOTE]
My apologies - I thought I had made reference to it sometime earlier, and I also could have sent you a better link. Perhaps it is more fitting that I explain it in words rather than relying on technology to do my storytelling for me.
The Six String Nation guitar came from an idea of Jowi Taylor’s - to create an instrument that truly belonged to all Canadians, and that would use the guitar as a focal point, like a story stick in traditional cultures, for us to tell our own stories. Jowi used his persuasion and reputation as a CBC broadcaster to convince many different people to contribute historical and cultural artifacts to go into the making of the guitar.
The luthier was George Rizsanyi , and he enthusiastically threw himself into the project. In the end, the guitar was made from 64 diverse elements.
It’s an intimidating thing to hold in your hand - the awareness that you are holding a piece of Maurice Richard’s ring, Pierre Trudeau’s paddle, Wayne Gretzky’s hockey stick, one of Paul Henderson’s sticks from ‘72 (one of our biggest stories, the Canada-Soviet Summit series), a piece of Lawren Harris’ studio, and one of the most amazing elements, the piece of The Golden Spruce, which makes up the bulk of the soundboard. It was an incredibly generous gesture on the part of the Haida people, as they had determined that this sacred tree would return to the earth after its death at the hands of a crazed individual.
Then there’s the list of people who have played it - some of the cream of Canadian guitarists, and many of the rest of us. It’s quite a feeling just to hold it.
The sound is incredible - full, warm, rich and hugely resonant. It has a great action, easy to play (a very good thing, considering part of its conception was that it should be a guitar that could be played by anyone.) On the day I played it at a concert featuring the teachers and some of the students of the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Community School, there was a problem with the Conservatory’s amp, and so we played it acoustically in what used to be a high school auditiorium. It filled the hall easily and admirably.
Now that the guitar has been finished, it is the case that is accumulating artifacts - there was a pair of Don Cherry’s boxer shorts protecting the soundboard and one of Pierre Burton’s bow ties protecting the nut. (Probably the closest those two individuals have ever come on anything…) Earlier this year, the results of a long running poll were announced, and the guitar was given the name “Voyageur”. I had been pulling for it to get named after one of our many fantastic Canadian guitar players (Ed, Lenny, Lorne, Domenic…) but I have to agree that the “Voyageur” holds a unique place in our nation’s history and culture. An intermediary between European peoples and First Nation’s peoples, between cities and the untamed landscape, it is a fitting name for a guitar made of 64 disparate elements, like different overtones that make up one unique voice.
And now, if you’re interested, the earlier link will make more sense to you, or you can follow this one which leads to a PDF of the original press release.
