Month: February 2013

Amabile Women’s Choir to sing Gold Medal Anthems

For Immediate Release: From Skate Canada

OTTAWA, ON: London’s own Amabile Women’s Choir will add a special touch to the medal ceremonies at the upcoming 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships®. The group has been selected to sing the national anthem of the gold medallist at each of the four medal ceremonies. Medals will be awarded in the pair, men’s, ice dance and ladies categories.

The group consists of more than 50 female singers who range in age from 12 to adult, all conducted by Brenda Zadorsky. To ensure they have a wide repertoire to cover all potential champions’ national anthems, the choir has been hard at work. They have learned the words and music to a wide range of countries’ anthems in preparation for the event, which runs March 11-17 at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario.

Read moreAmabile Women’s Choir to sing Gold Medal Anthems

Amabile Singers Learn Latin

The man carrying the cuatro has landed in London to put some fiesta in Amabile’s February.

Venezuelan-born guest conductor Cristian Grases will be leading hundreds of singers from the London choral powerhouse on Sunday at Centennial Hall, and playing some cuatro as needed.

“It’s Venezuela’s national instrument. It is a distant cousin of the ukulele. They all come from the Spanish (guitar) that came here with Columbus,” Grases said Friday. “We have three or four songs that require cuatro.”

It was the cuatro that helped Amabile conductor Carol Beynon recognize Grases as he arrived from California at London International Airport on Thursday. Not long after, Grases was leading scores of girls and women from the Amabile Youth Singers and Prima, its women’s choir, in music by teacher and mentor, Venezuelan composer Alberto Grau.

– James Reaney, The London Free Press

Click here to read the full article on the London Free Press Website.

Ripple Effect

Ripple Effect

About This Recording

This double CD features many new commission pieces for Amabile as well as new recordings of familiar pieces with a next generation of women singing them. Ripple Effect, 25th Anniversary Celebration is a tribute to the past and looks to the future.

The lyrics from Stephen Hatfield’s latest commission for the Amabile Young Women’s Ensemble, Ripple Effect, state: “Dip your fingers in the water and the rings will spread to who knows how far away. Beyond what you see, beyond what you hear, beyond what you hope. We are sending out Amabile. Dip your fingers in the water. Send your voices into the air.”

Track Listing

Click the track names to hear a short sample.

1-1. Dixit Dominus (Psalm 110) B. Galuppi
1-2. Regina Coeli G. Aichinger
1-3. Tota Pulchra Es M. Duruflé
1-4. Cantate Domino H. Hassler
1-5. A Child is Born M. Sirett
1-6. Agnus Dei B. Chilcott
1-7. Laudate Dominum Z.R. Stroope
1-8. Canticle: In Remembrance F. Núñez
1-9. Jubilate Deo W. Brisbee
1-10. Laudate Dominum Omnes Gentes P. Drennan
1-11. Ave Maria D. MacIntyre
1-12. Exaudi! Laudate! B. Patton
1-13. Take Me Home H. Bushman
1-14. Rockin’ Jerusalem arr. T. Thomas
1-15. The Lord’s Prayer A. Malotte
1-16. Twelve Gates to the City arr. S. Holowitz
2-1. Ripple Effect S. Hatfield
2-2. Two Windsongs: I. Windwolves I. Raminsh
2-3. Two Windsongs: II. Windy Nights I. Raminsh
2-4. An Eriskay Lovelilt arr. M. Kennedy-Fraser
2-5. Goolay-Yali S. Leek
2-6. I’se the B’y arr. J. Govedas
2-7. Niška Banja arr. N. Page
2-8. Hej, Igazítsad! L. Bárdos
2-9. Love Me Sweet C. Vine, arr. M. O’Leary
2-10. Ici-Bas! G. Fauré, arr. A. Raines
2-11. Clair de Lune G. Fauré, arr. A. Raines
2-12. Echo E. Daley
2-13. Rock Me to Sleep P. Drennan
2-14. In Remembrance E. Daley
2-15. She Weeps Over Rahoon E. Whitacre
2-16. Panta Rhei J. Papoulis

‘Live and Kicking!

Live and Kicking

About This Recording

Notes from the Composer, Stephen Hatfield: The title for this CD refers to the fact that it opens and closes with all 300 members of the Amabile family singing and dancing in killer versions of “Oolichan” and “Dubula”. These live performances, which I conducted, show all the Amabile choirs at their most fiery and confident, and include several massed choir selections that give an extra richness to the sound. The massed Amabile trebles give stunning performances of “Ahe Lau Makani”, “Ain’t That News” and “Acceptance Speech”. The Amabile men are at their Olympian peak with “Heaven Somewhere” and “O Yo Yo”. “Living In A Holy City” and “All For Me Grog” are sung as only 300 voices can sing them, while the younger choirs in the Amabile family give stand-out versions of “Two Minutes Before Sleep”, “Foggy Birthday Shuffle”, “Set” and the previously unavailable “Three-Part Conniption”. In addition to the fourteen live performances that capture the singers at their high-flying best, the CD includes three treasures from the studio: the Amabile men tear up the speakers with their show-stopping TTBB version of “Nukapianguaq” ; the Chamber Choir gives their definitive performance of “Hard Shoulder”, one of my best pieces ; and the Junior Amabile Singers serve up one of the rarest of Hatfield recordings, the reggae-soaked “No Rock”. Fans of Amabile and Hatfield will not be disappointed in this collection of treasures from the archives.

Track Listing

Click the track names to hear a short sample..

1. Oolichan Stephen Hatfield
2. Ahe Lau Makani Stephen Hatfield
3. O Yo Yo Stephen Hatfield
4. Two Minutes Before Sleep Stephen Hatfield
5. Foggy Birthday Shuffle Stephen Hatfield
6. Set Stephen Hatfield
7. No Rock Stephen Hatfield
8. Ka Hia Manu Stephen Hatfield
9. Three-part Conniption (1) Stephen Hatfield
10. Three-part Conniption (2) Stephen Hatfield
11. Ain’t that News Stephen Hatfield
12. Acceptance Speech Stephen Hatfield
13. Nukapianguaq Stephen Hatfield
14. All for Me Grog Stephen Hatfield
15. Living in a Holy City Stephen Hatfield
16. Hard Shoulder Stephen Hatfield
17. Heaven Somewhere Stephen Hatfield
18. Dubula Stephen Hatfield