Now that was a whale of a concert, literally! What a deeply enriching experience yesterday evening at Orleans United Church.

Attending my first live concert in over two years, I heard artistic director Antonio Llaca and his wonderful Coro Vivo Ottawa (CVO) sing the world premiere of “Where then could pain find a hold?”, my musical plea for reconciliation to those who find themselves in conflict.

This is the fifth of my 30 choral compositions to be performed in front of a live audience, and for a “late in life” composer like me, I can openly share what a thrill that was. And I really loved the way Antonio put his own stamp on the song, giving it a special flow and interpretation that adds immensely to my original music and words. Thank you, Antonio and CVO!

I was doubly honoured, as mine was not the only world premiere on the program. In fact, the concert took its Ojibwe name, “Nibi,” from a hymn to water created especially for Coro Vivo Ottawa by Andrew Balfour, a celebrated Toronto-based composer of Cree descent. It was a hauntingly beautiful choral work that Antonio and Coro Vivo Ottawa gave birth to last night, with a blending of spoken, sung and whispered text.

The composer wanted to explore water in all its forms, including the water within us. And this was beautifully represented by the choir surrounding the audience and bathing us in aquatic sounds.

This was such a diverse program that Antonio Llaca prepared, as he included an engaging mix of choral works in this multi-lingual, multi-cultural “Nibi” concert.

Other featured composers included John Rutter, Lili Boulanger, Joseph Haydn, two songs in indigenous Mexican languages adapted by María Roselia Jiménez Pérez and Leticia Armijo, two Hebrew songs composed by Israeli composer Nurit Hirsh, plus a song composed by Canadian Sid Robinovitch based on a text by 20^th century Uruguayan feminist Juana de Ibarbourou.

One song in particular caught my attention, and is well worth performing more frequently. As narrated by chorister Tony Atherton in his excellent program notes:

“[It was called] ‘Los Cuatro Elementos’, by Haydn’s New World contemporary, Cuban composer Esteban Salas. This playful Baroque villancico, or Christmas carol, features the four traditional elements of nature — earth water, fire and air — arguing about who has the greater claim on the Christ child.”

The concert ended with a superb performance of Vancouver composer Larry Nickel’s “Mother Whale Lullaby,” a choral setting of American saxophonist Paul Winter’s “Lullaby of the Great Mother Whale.”

The choir, surrounding the audience again, joined accompanist Louise Léveillé and the taped sounds of a whale singing to create a mini masterpiece of sonic beauty. As Tony Atherton put it:

“When the choir hushes, the whale sings us to the end of the concert, and, ideally, sends us home, with renewed hope and the will to make a difference.”

A whale of a concert indeed! And if you’re in the greater Ottawa area, there is a repeat performance tonight (Saturday) at 730pm. Click here for tickets: https://www.corovivoottawa.ca/tickets/.

Thank you, Antonio Llaca and Coro Vivo Ottawa!

My newest song – “Peace must be the answer!” – is dedicated to the victims of war and armed conflict. It is the third and final installment of my “3 Songs for Peace & Reconciliation,” joining “Da pacem Domine” and “Where then could pain find a hold?” I invite you to have a listen and then continue reading below…

“Peace must be the answer!” is my 30th choral composition and in many ways expresses my personal reaction to the world we live in.

There are multiple energies flowing through this song. On the one hand, we honour all that is good and beautiful in this ongoing human experiment.

“Speak out, oh prophets, of love and life
And the noble purpose of creation –
Your words may bind all humankind
Into a brotherhood of all nations.”

On the opposite side of the human ledger, however, we are forced to pose these harsh, eternal questions:

“Oh, why do we fight? Why do we fight? Oh, why?
Oh, why do we kill? Why do we kill each other?
Oh, hear our cries for an end to war.
Lay down your guns, please no more war, we pray for Peace.”

I have tried to channel these two different energies, with alternating musical sections, that may seem to be fighting or arguing with each other, like two tectonic plates in extreme friction, ready to erupt at any moment – which will win out in the end?

And yet, there is a third energy at work in this song:

“Sing, little children, and play your games,
Your hearts are too young to know sorrow,
But the conscience of countries will never know rest –
Should your songs be stilled on the morrow.”

This essentially lays down what is at stake for our human experiment. Can we somehow find a sustainable way to resolve our differences, for the sake of our children and grandchildren? That they can play their games, in all their beautiful innocence, without the threat of war or armed conflict looming on the horizon?

The song provides no easy answers. For the answers lie deep within the human spirit. And yet, we can all agree that “Peace must be the answer,” for without it, “the noble purpose of creation” will have been wasted and our human experiment judged a failure.

Sincere thanks to Kari Turunen and the Vancouver Chamber Choir for this world premiere recording.

For sheet music, contact rain@grampy.ca.

NB: The song lyrics have been drawn from two sources: an anonymous anti-war poem that I came across in 2021, supplemented by some of my own words.

Welcome! My name is David Rain and I am a “late in life” Canadian choral composer, having caught the composing bug in my mid-60s.

Professionally, I received English and Law degrees from UBC and a Masters in Development Studies from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. For 40 years, I worked in the fields of international development and refugee and immigrant support, the last 12 years as a fundraiser.

I have been an amateur singer most of my life, singing with the Christ Church Cathedral boys choir in Vancouver in the 1960s and with the Vancouver Bach Choir in the 1970s. After a 10-year hiatus while living in Tanzania, I settled in Ottawa, where I sang tenor with the a cappella choir The Stairwell Carollers for 28 years.

I began composing in my spare time in 2015 and have written or arranged more than 30 songs since. Five of my songs have been premiered in public performances — the other songs present choirs with a unique opportunity to sing a world premiere. Three of my songs have been published by the outstanding Canadian choral music publisher, Cypress Choral Music.

I am a great fan of Mahler, Bruckner and pioneering Medieval & Renaissance composers. I donate 50% of my income as a composer to two Ottawa charities: the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization and Orkidstra, an “El Sistema”-inspired program for kids from under-served communities.

I invite you to explore my website and have a listen to my songs. Interested choirs can find sheet music details on the individual song pages.