Ode To Newfoundland
Choral/organ score
PEL2090-Choir and Organ
A WORK FOR SATB CHOIR, ORGAN, AND AUDIENCE
"Ode To Newfoundland", the provincial anthem of Newfoundland and Labrador, is arranged by Paul Halley for choir and organ with audience joining the melody on the first verse and on the last verse, under the trebles soaring descant. This arrangement was commissioned by St. Michael's Choir School, Toronto, for its Spring Tour of Newfoundland, May 2015
Originally composed by Governor Sir Cavendish Boyle in 1902 as a four-verse poem titled Newfoundland. The original score was set to the music of E. R. Krippner, a German bandmaster living in St. John's, but Boyle desired a more dignified score. It was then set to the music of British composer Sir C. Hubert Parry, a personal friend of Boyle, who composed two settings.
On May 20, 1904, the Ode was chosen as Newfoundland's official national anthem. This distinction was dropped when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. Three decades later, in 1980, the province re-adopted the song as an official provincial anthem, the first province to do so. The Ode is still sung at public events to this day as a tradition. Typically, only the first and last verses are sung.
Commissioned by St. Michael's Choir School, Toronto, for its Spring Tour of Newfoundland, May 2015
Notes
Commissioned by St. Michael's Choir School, Toronto, for its Spring Tour of Newfoundland, May 2015
Texts
Ode To Newfoundland
Words: Sir Cavendish Boyle (1849-1916)
Music: Sir C. Hubert Parry (1848-1918)
Arranged by Paul Halley (b 1952-)
When sun rays crown thy pine clad hills,
And summer spreads her hand,
When silvern voices tune thy rills,
We love thee, smiling land.
We love thee, we love thee,
We love thee, smiling land.
When spreads thy cloak of shimmering white,
At winter's stern command,
Thro' shortened day, and starlit night,
We love thee, frozen land.
We love thee, we love thee
We love thee, frozen land.
When blinding storm gusts fret thy shore,
And wild waves lash thy strand,
Thro' spindrift swirl, and tempest roar,
We love thee windswept land.
We love thee, we love thee
We love thee windswept land.
As loved our fathers, so we love,
Where once they stood, we stand;
Their prayer we raise to Heaven above,
God guard thee, Newfoundland
God guard thee, God guard thee,
God guard thee, Newfoundland.
