Rarely are women's choirs given such strong and heroic songs to put their mark on. These offer a wonderful opportunity for your women's choirs to show their dynamic and emotional ranges.

Songlist: Santiana, Blood Red Roses, Boney, The Dead Horse, All For Me Grog, Time To Leave Her

This setting of one of America's favorite folksongs "Shenandoah" is a great opportunity for students to perform an a cappella work. As the piece floats along, propelled by a gentle surge of eighth notes symbolizing the "rollin' river," dissonances and melodic shifts lie beneath to challenge your choir. "All For Me Grog" - The rough and tumble life of a sailor and his adventures on the high seas is celebrated in this rousing English sea shanty known from Nova Scotia to Australia. This a cappella setting of a traditional South African praise song "Gabi, Gabi" just bursts with joyful energy. Dynamic contrast, percussion and a wide range of layered vocal textures make this an appealing concert choice.

Songlist: Gabi, Gabi, All For Me Grog, Shenandoah

Sea shanties are an early tradition in a cappella music and are great fun to sing. Here we offer a selection of classics for male voices. The English sea shanty "All For Me Grog", already a success in SATB and 3-Part Mixed voicings, is now available for men's chorus, just the way it would have been heard originally when sung by sailors as they pulled long heavy ropes on early Navy vessels. Noted arranger Vijay Singh brings us three classics that will provide excellent programming materials for male quartets, ensembles and choirs. "Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her" is a playful arrangement in which the ensemble encourages one of its own (Johnny) to bid farewell to his female shore leave companion. Encourage the singers to imagine they are loading the ship for departure and watching with amusement as young Johnny tries to bid his lady farewell. 'Bangidero" is derived from a traditional sea chantey in which a crew sings of admiration for its captain and his tales of shore leave opportunities in South America. "Her Bright Smile", based on the plaintive words of an anonymous sailor poem, details the sailor's loneliness and longing for his ladylove. Marshall Bartholomew, arranger for much of the Yale Glee Club repertoire, does a fine job with the traditional "What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?".

Songlist: What Shall We Do With The Drunken Sailor?, Leave Her, Johnny Leave Her, Bangidero, Her Bright Smile, All For Me Grog

Award-winning conductor Stephen Hatfield's London, Canada-based Amabile Boys Choirs have entertained audiences throughout Canada, the US, Europe and Australia, receiving numerous awards including 10 first places at the prestigious CBC Choral Competition. The ABC's refreshingly varied song selection and clean, spirited harmonies are in ample evidence on "All Good People," beginning from the first exuberant cut, the Reggae tune "Don't Bend Down." 18 other gems follow: the 4-part "Missa Brevis," the Japanese work song "Ohisashi buri" (It's been a long time), the spiritual "Ezekiel Saw The Wheel," the lovely "When The Stars Fall," the salsa-flavored "Son de Camaguey," the raucous sea shanty "All For Me Grog," the heart-tugging "All Too Soon," "Double Shot," the spirited "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well," and the South African tune "Dubula." Each song surprises us with the energy and joy of singing of these talented boys. We have heard some of these songs before, but Amabile makes each one their own, the definitive version. "All Good People" is a treat, and winning CD #4 for Amabile!

Songlist: Don't Bend Down, Missa Brevis-, -Kyrie, -Sanctus, -Gloria, Agnus Dei, Ohisashi Buri, Ezekiel Saw De Wheel, Un Flambeau, Jeannette Isabelle, When The Stars Fall, Ka hia manu, Elibama, Son de Camaguey, All For Me Grog, All Too Soon, Double Shot (Honey in the Rock), Jesus Met The Woman At The Well, Living In A Holy City, Dubula, God-Bless Wassail

Composer's Notes: 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.

Songlist: Oolichan, Ahe Lau Makani, O Yo Yo, Two Minutes Before Sleep, Foggy Birthday Shuffle, Set, No Rock, Ka Hia Manu, Three- part Conniption, Ain't That News, Acceptance Speech, Nukapianguaq, All for Me Grog, Living in a Holy City, Hard Shoulder, Heaven Somewhere, Dubula

The five men who call themselves Eddies were a book club before they became a singing group. They live on St. Paul, MN's famous West Side, on the banks of the Mississippi River. "Eddies" are whirlpools or currents that run contrary to the mainstream, which describes these five male voices, who sing testosterone-soaked sea shanties and traditional sailing songs, often a cappella and occasionally with instrumental backup of acoustic guitar, accordion and mandola. They choose music that is "well enough know that we actually remembered it and thought we could make it sound good." There are 16 songs here, our favorites include the a cappella "Fire Down Below," "Blow the Man Down," the drinking songs "Roll The Old Chariots" "All For Me Grog" and "Whiskey Johnny," "South Australia," "Cape Cod Girls," "Bully in the Alley," "Rolling Down To Old Maui," "Haul Away Joe," "Roll The Woodpile Down," "Boney Was A Warrior," "Fire Marengo," the slightly racy "A Rovin" and "Bold Riley-O." A number of these authentic, fascinating songs are new to us, and it is all the more enjoyable to hear them for the first time. "Hold Fast" is a well-crafted, spirited collection from a group that is always fun, in their live performances and on all cuts of this debut recording.

Songlist: Fire Down Below, Blow The Man Down, Roll The Old Chariots, South Australia, Cape Cod Girls, Bully In The Alley, Whiskey Johnny, Mingulay Boat Song, Rollin' Down The Old Maui, Haul Away Joe, Roll The Woodpile Down, All For Me Grog, Boney Was A Warrior, Fire Merengo, Bold Riley-O

Watersons : Early Days   

The Watersons, based in Hull on the British coast, have been singing authentic folk songs together since 1964. The word "Genuine" comes to mind listening to the Watersons, not just because of the blue-collar feel of their singing and their English working-class dress and appearance, but that in combination with the incredible old folk songs they uncover like treasures in an attic, and record for us. In the extensive liner notes we can read about the history of a song, for instance, "The Greenland Whale Fishery," and learn the various times the music appeared in print from 1725 to 1864, while listening to "one of the great sea songs" very much as it must have sounded at the time. There are 27 relatively short all a cappella songs here, from "Boston Harbour" to "The Whitby Lad." Some of our favorites would be: "Three Score and Ten," "The North Country Maid," "The Jolly Waggoners," "I Am A Rover," "The Poacher's Fate," "The Ploughboy," and "The Wanton Wife of Castlegate." This is the real thing, rich-textured English folk that we certainly would have heard no other way, sung beautifully and with feeling!

Songlist: Boston Harbour, The Greenland Whale Fishery, Three Score and Ten, The Broom of Cowdenknowes, King Arthur's Servants, Rap Her to Bank, Dido Bendigo, The North Country Maid, Brave Wolfe, The Jolly Wagoners, I Am a Rover, Fathom the Bowl, The Thirty-Foot Trailer, The Holmfirth Anthem, Twanky-Dillo, The White Hare of Howden, All for me Grog, The Poacher's Fate, The Tour of the Dales, Willy Went to Westerdale, I'anson's Racehorse, The Ploughboy, The White Cockade, Ye Noble Spectators, Stow Brow, The Wanton Life of Castlegate, The Whitby Lad