Folk song for choir - Voyaguer rowing song #1

I'm a massive folk-song geek. I play some of the most complex music on one of the most complicated instruments in the world, and yet putting a simple vocal line with a simple accompaniment is often what attracts my attention. And my memories of the voyageur songs from my upbringing in French immersion schools are some of my favourites.

V'la l'bon vent is a voyageur rowing song. At least it is in my memory. It's got a wonderful energy behind it that drew me in as a kid, and about six years ago I wrote an arrangement for choir that I'm about to share.

PDF is available here.

There's the first three pages, representing two choruses and two verses. The verses are, by and large, unaccompanied. The verses are all in 5/4 time, while the choruses are in four-beat bars. The accompaniment basically stays out of the way, keeping time and reinforcing the harmony.

And yet, I still find the arrangement charming and fun. I hope you do too.

V'la l'bon vent by Mike Cutler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.