Ode To Newfoundland

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