It was a great experience today singing with members of the GTA and area’s foremost choirs including the Elmer Iseler Singers, the Amadeus Choir, the MacMillan Singers, the Elora Festival Singers, the KW Philharmonic Choir, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, the Orpheus Choir and ourselves, the Bell’Arte Singers. It was relaxing not having to lead your entire section but just sing!
We rehearsed under the emminent conductors, Robert Cooper, Lydia Adams, Helmut Rilling, Howard Dyck and Mario Bernardi. Apparently, tomorrow night’s concert is almost sold out.
Anyway, the reason for today’s article was that we can’t just do one verse each of O Canada and God Save the Queen: we have to do three more! The four part harmony is no problem (for me 
); however, we have to know the words from memory — by tomorrow!
| O Canada | God Save the Queen |
|---|---|
| (women) O Can-a-da! Ter-re de nos aï-eux, Ton front est ceint de fleu-rons glo-ri-eux! Car ton bras sait por-ter l'é-pe-e. Il sait por-ter la croix! Ton his-toire est une é-po-pé-é Des plus brill-ants ex-ploits. Et ta va-leur, de foi trem-pé-e, Pro-té-ge-ra nos foy-er et nos droits, Pro-té-ge-ra nos foy-er et nos droits. (SATB) O Can-a-da! Where pines and ma-ples grow, Great pra-ries spread and lord-ly riv-ers flow, How dear to us thy broad do-main, From East to West-ern Sea! Thou land of hope for all who toil! Thou true north strong and free! God keep our land Glor-ious and free! O Can-a-da! We stand on guard for thee, O Can-a-da! We stand on guard for thee. |
(women) God save our gra-cious Queen, Long live our no-ble Queen, God Save the Queen. Send her vic-to-ri-ous, Happy and glo-ri-ous, Long to_ reign o-ver us, God save_ the Queen. (TB) Thy choic-est gifts in store On her be pleased to pour— Long may she reign! May she defend our laws— And ever give us cause— To sing with heart and voice: God_ save_ the Queen! (SATB) Our lov’d Do-min-ion bless With peace and hap-pi-ness from shore to shore, And let our peo-ple be loy-al, u-ni-ted, free, True to her-self and Thee, For ev-er-more. |