VANCOUVER CHAMBER CHOIR SERIES

by Katharine Petkovski

SSATBB a cappella – CP 2561 – duration 5:55

Bawaajigan is a choral setting of a poem by Canadian poet and artist Colleen Coco Collins, who is of Irish, French and Odawa descent. Named after the Anishinaabe word for “dreams”, the text explores themes of transformation, awakening, and the cyclical nature of growth. Drawing on imagery of earth, water, and ancestral presence, it emphasizes interconnectedness and the quiet power of change. The music mirrors this through fluid harmonies, subtle shifts in texture, and interwoven vocal lines that reflect the natural world’s rhythm and flow. With simplicity and grace, Bawaajigan offers a meditative reflection on personal and collective transformation, evoking a sense of stillness, movement, and renewal.

by Andrew Balfour

ATBBB a cappella – CP 2566   – duration 3:00
SATBB a cappella – CP 2567

by Sophia Colpitts

SSATBB a cappella – CP 2568   – duration 3:20
The text is from “Chance”, a short poem by the American poet, Sarah Teasdale, featured in her collection Rivers to the Sea (1915). It captures the bittersweet awareness that we often unknowingly pass by significant opportunities. The poem invites the reader to look more carefully at ordinary encounters, as they may contain mystery and possibility. The composer employs the use of repetition, syncopation, and word painting in her composition to heighten the message of the text.

by Andrew Balfour

SSATBB a cappella – CP 2564   – duration 2:15

by Christopher Tyler Nickel

SATB a cappella – CP 2429 – duration 4:55

Peaceful and serene, yet filled with contradictions. There are so many beautiful settings of this text, one must ask, why another? This version captures the wonder and beauty depicted in the Latin text, but also another level of meaning through the use of asymmetric metres throughout the work which speaks to the counter-intuitive wonder that our saviour should come to us quietly, as a baby in a manger, looked on by the animals witnessing this blessed event. The wonder, hope, yet painful knowledge that this child will sacrifice himself to save human kind.

by Gerda Blok-Wilson

SATB a cappella – CP 2560 – duration 3:10

Star Danced is an energetic SATB a cappella work. Inspired by Beatrice’s line from Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare), the piece features buoyant 7/8 rhythms and madrigal “fa la las” reflecting Renaissance inspiration. Whispers, sirens, and harmonic colours bring a contemporary edge. The ABA form offers contrast with a reflective middle section and energetic opening and ending. Conversational and playful, the piece invites singers to respond like actors on stage. Star Danced would work well as a concert opener and showcased at festivals. With thanks to the Vancouver Chamber Choir for workshopping the piece at their November 2024 Interplay session.

by David Rain

SATB a cappella – CP 2550 – duration 4:45

“The Lamb” is a companion piece (and a kind of “antidote”) to David’s more intense choral creation, “The Tyger,” also based on a William Blake poem. Both were performed and recorded by the Vancouver Chamber Choir. Dedicated to David’s grandkids Daniel and Emma, “The Lamb” appears in Blake’s poetry collection “Songs of Innocence.” And there is indeed a child-like innocent quality to the poem, and also a spiritual questioning: “Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee?”

by Andrew Balfour

SSATBB a cappella – CP 2564   – duration 2:40