Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir Full Circle

Conducted by myself, Susan Knight and Ki Adams -- sometimes all of us doing a take of the same piece -- and splendidly recorded by Ted Marshall, Full Circle may have, of all my CDs, the broadest range of styles and moods, from my most haunted and introspective to my most abandoned and in your face. The recording sessions marked my first visit to Newfoundland, and the parties and the wonderful people I met added to the excitement of the endeavour. There were some nail-biting moments since some of the material was worked out with the microphones on, but in the long run this just seemed to add to the sense of daring and living on-the-edge that the young singers brought to their performances. The choir's sound may have matured since this recording, but there is a tingling exhilaration in their singing here, sometimes subtle and sometimes wild, that gives this CD a unique and compelling flavour. One might expect the Newfoundlanders to feel a special affinity for the Celtic styles of "Bonny Wood Green" and "When I Was In My Prime", pieces that the choir has very much made their own, but they were also able to turn on a dime between the nectar-soaked Hawaiian love song "Ahe Lau Makani" and the metallic wail of the Ukranian "Sida Rudaia", pieces we recorded back to back. I like to think I have the ability to create an epic perspective in a small space, and I am pleased that this CD has several of my "miniature epics": "Best In The House", which compares Irish and Newfoundland cultural history through intertwining their folk songs, "Chant For A Long Day" which considers the role of women from early civilization to modern Feminism in the space of four minutes, and "Full Circle", considered by many, including myself, to be one of my best pieces. Written to honour the moment when the Vikings landed in "the new world" of Newfoundland to discover there were already people there, I was asked to create a trilingual piece that would bring together three children's choirs: Skólakór Kárness from Iceland to represent the Vikings, the S'et A'newey Mi'kmaq Choir from Conne River to represent the people the Vikings met, while the Newfoundland Symphony Youth Choir acted as narrator. The rehearsals and performances of this piece were a high point in my career, made visually gorgeous by the traditional Icelandic and Mi'kmaq costumes and the sight of four very intense Mi'kmaq boys seated around a great ceremonial drum at the four points of the compass. (Incidentally, the choir has changed its name to "Shallaway" since this recording, and went on to commission and premiere my chamber opera Ann & Séamus.)