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This was the final dictation Harry made to his wife, Barbara,
on Monday morning - the day before he died:
"There's no limit in this friggin' country if it drops its colonial
mentality. Don't worry about being so Goddamned small, big or anything
- just realize your potential. Just be - anything - the rest of the
world will do what it will do - I just love it all - just read John
Ralston Saul! We've got marvelous talent in every field - and stop bitching
and get on with it!"
Introduction
Composer Harry Somers, one of the greatest artists in the history of
our country, died March 9, 1999. He left Canada, and the world of music,
an inestimable legacy of some of the most original and dramatically powerful
scores of the century. His work has embodied Canadian music for the last
half century and is truly a major part of Canada's artistic heritage.
Several of Somers' close associates, individuals who worked with him
regularly, have joined forces to oversee the recording of his music. For
more information, please go to:
On Harry's death, John Gray of The Vancouver Sun
wrote:
"In extended obituaries, both national dailies correctly
noted that, amid an astounding body of work - from ballets to Zen death
poems - his most famous is Riel, which has often been called 'Canada's
national opera'. What they failed to note was that Riel cannot be found
on CD, nor on vinyl for that matter. Wouldn't want to distort the global
marketplace by making Canada's national opera available to the public".
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This site is new and will be revised through the early months
of 2000. Please explore the site and come back regularly! There will be
pictures, sound and video to explore in 'Sights & Sounds' , a wealth
of literature and press reviews of Harry's works in 'Press' and countless
links of interest in 'Links'. Stay posted.
Last revised
March 14, 2007
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