Song For Canada / Un Chant Canadien
SATB choral/piano score
PEL2083-Choir and Piano
SSA choral/piano score
PEL2083-Choir and Piano
A WORK FOR SATB OR SSA CHOIR AND PIANO
Music and English Words by Paul Halley
French Words by Anton Raphael Boldaire, translated by Anne Dobbs
Created for the Canada Day Celebrations in 1989 and performed annually since then on Parliament Hill, Ottawa. This work extols the beauties of Canada’s landscape and the rich cultural diversity of its people. Cleverly, an excerpt of the melody from Canada's National Anthem forms the descant in the last verse. Listen for it.
Commissioned for Barbara Clark and the Ottawa Choral Society.
'Song For Canada' (English words and music) was composed by Paul Halley in 1989 in honor of his friend, Barbara Clark, beloved Canadian choral director and Member of the Order of Canada.
Video
Notes
Video in honor of Canada Day 150 (2017) from Capella Regalis Men and Boy's Choir, directed by Nick Halley.
Paul Halley's 'Song For Canada'. This video, of a rehearsal of Capella Regalis Men & Boys Choir, was created in 2017 following the Capella Regalis choir tour of Prince Edward Island. The tour culminated in a concert and audio recording at All Saints Cathedral, Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Paul Halley is Director of Music. Capella Regalis founder and director, Nick Halley, is on drums, and the composer, Paul Halley, is seated at the piano. Happy 150th Birthday, Canada!
Texts
Song For Canada
English Words by Paul Halley
French Words by Anton Raphael Boldaire
Sing!
Sing a new song,
Sing loud and strong,
Sing of this land of our hopes and our dreams.
Rich harmonies Of races and creeds
Join in the chorus from sea unto sea:
Where the whale's ancient lullaby
Meets the song of the wind in the whisp'ring pines,
All our voices come together, always singing,
"Land of tomorrow, your time has come."
Oui-
Qu'un nouveau chant
Dise a present
Un voeu d'accord qui doit remplir nos coeurs.
Peuples divers
Touchant les deux mers,
Heureux voisins, ne formez qu'un seui Choeur
Pour melanger tous vos accents
Aux refrains des cognees dansant sous les vents.
Que nos voix ensemble chantent et rechantent,
"Oui - Bel aujourd'hui, Vois mon pays."
Sing!
Sing of new birth,
Sing of the earth,
Sing of great mountains that reach for the sky.
Proud cities swell,
Vast plains do tell
Of the promise and hope for the future that lies
In the loon's timeless melody,
In the cry of an eagle that's soaring free.
All our voices come together, singing,
"Land of tomorrow, your time has come."
