Weekly rehearsals are underway for the new school year and the École Poirier Choir is preparing for our upcoming performance at the school’s Remembrance Day assembly on November 10th. It’s great to see many returning choir members, along with several new to choir, including our very keen grade 2s! Choir students from grades 2-5 meet in the Music Room once per week. We have not established a regular meeting day yet, but towards the end of November we will meet every Tuesday. Currently, Mme Arts and Mr. Daykin are meeting on Tuesdays with another music group of grade 4/5 students to prepare to enter the CBC Music Class Challenge!
It would be wonderful if choir members could wear a white top on November 10th for our concert. Parents and friends are welcome to attend the assembly. Students who are members of Scouts Canada or Girl Guides are encouraged to wear their uniform to school, if they wish.
Below you will find the words to the piece we will be singing. We are working on the French lyrics, but as yet have not decided if the whole choir is going to be ready to have them memorized. It is possible we will have an intermediate group of singers perform the French verses. Merci beaucoup to Mme Daykin and her colleagues at École John Stubbs for translating this wonderful choral piece and sharing the French lyrics with us!
If you listen to the Youtube video, you’ll notice the lyrics are slightly different – please use the inclusive lyrics below as we have practised.
~ Mme Arts
Hymn to Freedom
By Oscar Peterson
When every heart / Joins every heart
And together yearns for liberty,
That’s when we’ll be free
When every hand / Joins every hand
And together molds our destiny,
That’s when we’ll be free
Any hour, any day, the time soon will come
When we will live in dignity,
That’s when we’ll be free
When everyone/ Joins in our song
And together sings in harmony
That’s when we’ll be free
Lorsque tous les coeurs / Se joint à chaque coeur
Et aspire pour la liberté
Nous serons libres
Lorsque toutes les mains
Se joint a chaque main
Et ensemble moules notre destin
Nous serons libres
Tout les heures, tout les jours
Le temps viendra bientôt
Ou nous allons vivre dans la dignité
Nous serons libres
Quand tout le monde/ Se joint a notre chant
Et chant ensemble en harmonie
Nous serons libres
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, OOnt (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the “Maharaja of the keyboard” by Duke Ellington, but simply “O.P.” by his friends.[1][2] He released over 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, and received numerous other awards and honours. He is considered one of the greatest jazz pianists,[3] and played thousands of concerts worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years.
Peterson was born to immigrants from the West Indies; his father worked as a porter for Canadian Pacific Railway. Peterson grew up in the neighbourhood of Little Burgundy in Montreal, Quebec. It was in this predominantly black neighbourhood that he found himself surrounded by the jazz culture that flourished in the early 20th century.
Recent Comments