Where Waters Meet - Canadian Chamber Choir; Sherryl Sewepagaham

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Formed in 1999, the Canadian Chamber Choir has a unique approach to music making. Under the direction of Julia Davids and associate conductor Joel Tranquilla, the ensemble draws members from all parts of the country and convenes periodically in different cities across Canada spending three or four days in rehearsal before presenting concerts or workshops. 

This newest recording titled Where Waters Meet featuring singer Sherryl Sewepagaham is an homage to Canadian Indigenous culture and appears at a particularly fortuitous time when the Indigenous presence in Canada is receiving long-overdue recognition.

Sewepagaham, a Cree-Dene artist from Little Red River Cree Nation in Northern Alberta, opens the recording with the haunting Morning Drum Song. The remainder of the pieces appropriately have an aquatic theme, including Hussein Janmohamed’s Sun on Water which comprises a true melding of cultures in its use of texts from Hindi, Islamic, Christian and Cree cultures.

The major piece in the program, Where Waters Meet by Canadian arctic composer Carmen Braden with texts by First Nations playwright Yolanda Bonnell, is in four movements, interspersed throughout the recording. The words are inspired by various sources, with the third movement based on a 2022 Toronto Star article focusing on the issue of poor water quality found in many Indigenous communities.

What a wonderful sound this ensemble achieves, at all times demonstrating a keen sense of dynamics and phrasing. All the while, Sewepagaham, as a soloist either with or without the choir, delivers a compelling performance, the voice of a culture too long under-acknowledged. Attractive packaging and detailed notes further enhance an already fine recording.

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