Ongoing Legacy Featured Artist
Vancouver's Chor Leoni men's choir embarked on a 1997 bi-coastal tour entitled Canadian Safari, with performances in Vancouver, on Salt Spring Island, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. To make it a truly Canadian experience, Artistic Director Diane Loomer, C.M., set out to find a wide array of Canadian folksongs. It quickly became apparent that no such program could be considered complete unless it included the music of Stan Rogers.
This presented somewhat of a challenge: How do you take the distinctively solo sound of Stan Rogers' songs and translate them into a choral idiom while remaining true to their folk roots? Ms. Loomer turned to well-know choral arranger (as well as Chor Leoni member) Ron Smail, for this somewhat daunting task. He came through with flying colours, providing arrangements for four of Stan Rogers' classics: Fogarty's Cove, Northwest Passage, Barrett's Privateers, and Make and Break Harbour. Ron's arrangements of Fogarty's Cove and Make and Break Harbour are available from Cypress Music.
Listen to the sample:
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