Christine Hanson's The Cremation of Sam McGee
He was always cold, but the land of gold seemed to hold him like a spell...
Live music and poetry come together in a captivating show at the University of Alberta's Campus Saint Jean. The performance is based on Robert Service's famous poem, set in the snow-bound north, which appeared in Service's book of poems, first published in 1907, Songs of a Sourdough (a 'sourdough' was someone who had spent an entire year in the Yukon).
Christine Hanson's wonderful musical compositions, accompanying what is probably Service's best-known poem, make full play with the poetry's different colours, nuances, tones and range - varying from traditional jigs, reels and country waltzes to southern swing and frosty musical soundscapes which perfectly evoke the bizarre tragicomic setting of Service's poem.
