Home > VMC Store > VMC CDs

Encore

Just as every concert has its outstanding number, every number has its own style. With ENCORE, we have taken care to bring each song back in its original presentation, sometimes adding a new twist to the soundscape as our spirit dictated.

In this collection, the voices of emerging Vancouver songwriters are heard alongside established pop and musical theatre writers; the rich texture of the full chorus is contrasted with abundant solo colours. Significantly, custom arrangements for the Vancouver Men’s Chorus are front and centre throughout – a signature of our work on stage and in our recordings since 1980. It is this closely-fitted connection to our choral arrangements that carries us back time and again.

Total Time on CD: 63m21s


Making Spirits Brights

Spirits are at the centre of Making Spirits Bright, for it has become our seasonal tradition to lift our listeners’ spirits by singing of light, love, and holiday fun. Our message is carried in the many great jazz standards and popular songs of Christmas that we have come to love. Some sparkling white, some a little blue.

Over the four years of its making, several generations of VMC singers have given their voices to this recording and a number of writers and instrumentalists have also accepted our invitation to join forces with us. Guest artists on this album include celebrated jazz musicians Louise Rose, Fred Stride, and our former resident accompanist Perry Dickison.

Total Time on CD: 52m21s


Making Spirits Brights Again

Spirit is the central word in Making Spirits Bright—the holiday theme of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus. For us, the great tradition of Making Spirits Bright has been made over time, connecting us to our near and distant roots.Making Spirits Bright Again It reflects our values and origins, and, in its interplay of ideas, chronicles the passage of time and reveals the broad spectrum of our concerns.

Along with secular seasonal songs, we sing spirited music that tells the Christmas story and a song of present day triumph of community spirit over small town discrimination. In the selections on this album, we keep our tradition going with sparkling custom arrangements. We hope that our new CD, Making Spirits Bright Again, will rekindle the holiday spirit in your home and brighten each day.

Total Time on CD: 52m8s


Elements

With Elements, the Vancouver Men’s Chorus explores timeless ideas of life – natural elements join with philosophy to create the metaphors that express the best in our lives.

This diverse recording, the Chorus’ third, features newly-commissioned originals by Eleanor Daley and Rupert Lang together with well-known selections by other Canadian artists, including Susan Aglukark and the Rankin Family. A cornerstone of the album is “Affirmation,” by Vancouver composer Rupert Lang. This work is a setting of the personal prayer of Dr. Peter Jepson Young, the North Vancouver physician who gained strength and inner peace for his battle with AIDS by drawing on the power of the wind and the waves at Long Beach on Vancouver Island. This singular collection of music draws strength from the elements and beauty of the world around us.

Total Time on CD:56m34s


Signature

Signature songs of the VMC are a select group of custom arrangements which have become synonymous with our name. Over the years we have found our own distinctive voice in this music, giving it expression in live performance and, now, in this recording. The search for this voice has led us into the world of women’s music, contemporary Canadian, American and South American folk music, and music from the stage. What might formerly have been untraditional music sources have now become the very traditions into which we look repeatedly for the perfect match of words and music.

Total Time on CD: 49m22s