Tuesday, December 28, 2010
2010 Wrap-up from VocalEssence!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Philip Brunelle on Weekend Edition!
NPR’s Weekend Edition!
“Behold This Heavenly Night” presents the world premiere of new, contest-winning carols alongside outstanding arrangements of more familiar melodies. Also included is the U.S. premiere of John Rutter’s new “Carol of the Magi” and a unique arrangement of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” translated into Latin by Philip Brunelle and his son Christopher.
Please Click to read the full story and listen to the interview on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Have a VocalEssence Christmas!
Check out John Birge of Minnesota Public Radio talking about it last week:
Listen to the winning carols:
"Come Join Their Song" by Mark Shepperd
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by J. David Moore
You might recognize J. David Moore's name. He is also an arranger for "Jingle Bells" which appears on VocalEssence's new Clarion Records recording "Behold This Heavenly Night"!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Behold This Heavenly Night
VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Chorus
Sigrid Johnson, associate conductor
Philip Brunelle, conductor
In 1998, VocalEssence and the American Composers Forum joined forces to offer an annual contest encouraging the composition of new carols. Over the years hundreds of worthy carols have been submitted. “Behold This Heavenly Night” presents the world premiere of some of these contest-winning carols alongside outstanding arrangements of more familiar melodies. Also included is the U.S. premiere of John Rutter’s new “Carol of the Magi” and a unique arrangement of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” translated into Latin by Philip Brunelle and his son Christopher.
- Ding Dong! Merrily on High — arr by Malcolm Williamson
- What Child — Paul W Lohman
- The Piping Carol * — James Sclater
- Un Nacimento (A Nativity Scene) * — Diego Luzuriaga
- A Mother’s Carol * — Scott Ethier
- I Wonder as I Wander — John Jacob Niles, arr Martin Neary
- Sweet Was the Song * — Matthew Brown
- Night of Silence — Daniel Kantor, arr John Ferguson
- See Amid the Winter Snow * — Robert Sieving
- In the Bleak Midwinter * — Alan J Higbee
- The Shepherd and the King * — Brian Holmes
- Carol of the Magi — John Rutter
- Calm on the Listening Ear * — John Christian Rommereim
- The Darkest Midnight in December * — Stephen Main
- Jingle Bells — James Lord Pierpont, arr J David Moore
- Welcome the King * — Michael Glasgow
- The Virgin’s Cradle Hymn * — Richard E Voorhaar
- Behold the Dark and Bitter Night * — Thomas Fielding
- It Fell Upon the High Midnight * — Paul Gibson
- Rudolphus Rubrinasus * — Johnny Marks, arr Philip Brunelle
Our Price:$15.98
You save $3.00!
Want this album in time for Christmas? Click to check out our Holiday Shipping Schedule!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Christmas Contest!
We have three "riddles" involving the titles of three of our Christmas albums. The first 5 people with the correct album titles and artists will win our newest Christmas album - "Behold This Heavenly Night" featuring the VocalEssence choral ensemble!
The Riddles:
"Play this album during your Christmas celebrations, and you'll have a Grand old time!"
"This Christmas album has programming that can't be called "fluff", but you could call it flowery!"
"We love Christmas sweets; they bring us pure jubilation!"
Okay, now all you have to do is answer these questions, and you'll win "Behold this Heavenly Night" featuring the VocalEssence ensemble.
To make it easy for you we have a direct link to all of our Christmas albums. So click here, and start figuring out our riddles!
Give us your answers in the comments section of this blog, or on our Facebook Page, or via Twitter.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Complete Your Garrison Keillor Thanksgiving!
Hymn to Potatoes and other choral masterworks from
A Prairie Home Companion
Garrison Keillor, Philip Brunelle and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers
Who knew a choir could be this funny? Garrison Keillor, Philip Brunelle and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers dish up a generous helping of Potatoes a la Schubert, run away to Europe to indulge their “Shenandoah” habit, and enlighten us on the T.U.L.I.P. doctrine. This two-CD set of the best choral skits and bits from 10 years on A Prairie Home Companion includes the often-requested “Julia” (John Lennon) and a rare choral interpretation of “Karma Chamelon” (Boy George). With Charles Kemper and Richard Dworsky at the piano, The Guy's All-Star Shoe Band and guest appearances by Tom Keith and Tim Russell.
Click the Play button to listen to samples:
Hymn to Potatoes
Julia
Bohemian Rhapsody
Get your copy of Hymn to Potatoes from The Gothic Catalog or download the album today from ClassicsOnline.com!
Or save and get "Over the River and Through the Woods" and "Hymn to Potatoes" together!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Thanksgiving Music - Over the River and Through The Woods
Over The River and Through the Woods:
On a chilly November evening, the Hopeful Gospel Quartet — Garrison Keillor, Mollie O’Brien and Robin & Linda Williams — traded musical moments with the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers in a concert at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis. The evening seamlessly blended American folk traditions with choral masterpieces old and new, from “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” to “Now Thank We All Our God.” Garrison Keillor shared his Thanksgiving memories in a hilarious yet poignant monologue. Thanks to Minnesota Public Radio, the evening was captured for posterity in this charming two-CD set.
Garrison Keillor weaves together familiar melodies and his own observations into this charming and unique celebration of Thanksgiving. Keillor is joined by Prudence Johnson, Rich Dworsky, the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers, Charles Kemper and Philip Brunelle in musical renditions of traditional hymns and humorous adaptations of songs for the season. Keillor guides us through the hour with his renowned story telling ability and reminds us of the treasures of Thanksgiving with his remarkable perceptions of American life.
Here are some samples from the album to really get you in the mood for the Holiday. Click the play button to listen to them:
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
An Anthem for Thanksgiving
Thanks Be to God
Thanksgiving Recollections
Purchase the album direct from The Gothic Catalog, or get immediate downloads today from ClassicsOnline.com!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
A VocalEssence Christmas!
Welcome Christmas
Carols & Lullabies from Around the World
VocalEssence
Phillip Brunelle, director
From across the United States have come composers and arrangers whose work contributes to this collection of Christmas music. These are carols from around the world brought together in arrangements that reflect an inherently American diversity and spirit. From Virgil Thomson's camp meeting setting of "The Holly and the Ivy" and Steve Barnett's swing verson of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" to Randall Davidson's homespun "Christ Was Born on Christmas Day" and Conrad Susa's magnificent Carols & Lullabies, commissioned from Susa specifically for VocalEssence. Maestro Brunelle has chosen carols-both familiar and unfamiliar-tied to one another by their inventiveness, charm and beauty in one of the year's most exciting new holiday discs.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
VocalEssence Target Commercial
Click to view all of our VocalEssence recordings, including Christmas Music!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving from The Gothic Catalog
Please enjoy this full track from our Thanksgiving album Over the River & Through the Woods:
For the Beauty of the Earth
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
More Audio Samples from OTRTW

Again, simply click the "Play" button to listen to excerpts from our album Over the River & Through the Woods with VocalEssence, Garrison Keillor, and The Hopeful Gospel Quartet.
A Thanksgiving to God, For His House
O Herbst
I am a Pilgrim
Monday, November 23, 2009
Over the River & Through the Woods Audio Samples
Simply click the "play" button next to the Song Title, and these are only teaser samples...
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
An Anthem for Thanksgiving
Thanks Be to God
Thanksgiving Recollections
Friday, November 20, 2009
There Really IS Music for Thanksgiving
Today we even read a blog from the New Haven Symphony bemoaning the fact that Thanksgiving is overlooked. The post is called "What is up With Thanksgiving Music?"
So once again, here is our answer to that question:
Over the River & Through the Woods
On a chilly November evening, the Hopeful Gospel Quartet — Garrison Keillor, Mollie O’Brien and Robin & Linda Williams — traded musical moments with the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers in a concert at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis. The evening seamlessly blended American folk traditions with choral masterpieces old and new, from “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” to “Now Thank We All Our God.” Garrison Keillor shared his Thanksgiving memories in a hilarious yet poignant monologue. Thanks to Minnesota Public Radio, the evening was captured for posterity in this charming two-CD set.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sing Out Reviews Over the River & Through the Woods
From Sing Out Magazine, www.singout.orgVOCALESSENCE, GARRISON KEILLOR AND THE HOPEFUL GOSPEL QUARTET
Over the River and Through the Woods
Clarion Records 937
According to the show’s creator, Garrison Keillor, A Prairie Home Companion began as a lark over 30 years ago. Who would have ever predicted the impact that
this two-hour live radio program would have? Not just on the world of broadcasting, but on the millions of listeners who have tuned in on Saturdays to hear great music, listen to fake ads and skits, and catch up on the news of a small town in
Minnesota that only exists in Keillor’s mind and in the hearts of his devoted audience…
Garrison Keillor’s obvious love of song has helped forge a wide variety of musical associations that have become a highlight of the broadcast over the years.
Over the River and Through the Woods is a two CD collection of American folk songs and choral masterpieces performedat Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis in November of 2004 in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. Conceived by Garrison and longtime friend and collaborator, Philip Brunelle, the album includes performances by the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, featuring Robin and Linda Williams and Mollie O’Brien, and the VocalEssence chorus with accompaniment from Richard Dworsky and Charles Kemper. There are readings and monologues sprinkled throughout making this concert and this recording a joyous feast for this unique American holiday.
These two new releases gleefully remind me of the many hours I’ve spent over the
last 20 years or so entranced by the magic of live radio and by the creative blend of
musical styles conjured up and presented with class by Garrison Keillor. — Matt Watroba
(c)2005 Sing Out! Used by permission, all rights reserved.
To Purchase this album please click HERE
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thanksgiving Music!!!
Here are what ordinary people are saying about these wonderful Thanksgiving releases:
Over the River & Through the Woods:
"Wonderful classic recording to start your holiday season. Excellent choice for Thanksgiving and into Christmas. If you like Prairie Home Companion than you will enjoy the feel of this recording." - Greg Russell on Amazon.com
Hymn to Potatoes:
"This CD pulls together Garrison Keiler's gentle humour and good Christian hymnology, well performed by an excellent choir, with an added touch of fun that makes it a delight to listen to - just as it is to listen to a session of Prairie Home Companion. It makes me feel at home, and it's also inspirational. Great recording!" - Martin Collin from Amazon.com
"What a wonderful 2 CD collection: good music, good humor... if you like a Prairie Home Companion and choral music, this is a winner." - AmazonAddict
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Hopeful Gospel Quartet
Left to Right: Left to Right: Garrison Keillor, Linda Williams, Kate MacKenzie, and Robin Williams
The Hopeful Gospel Quartet
"The Hopeful Gospel Quartet began its career backstage at Prairie Home shows, when we stood waiting for the balloon to go up and sang to pass the time and found out that we all like gospel songs and that they sound wonderful in a stairwell. We each had other fish to fry - Kate was playing Sheila the Christian Jungle Girl in "The Adventures of Buster the Show Dog" - and Robin and Linda were carrying on their busy duet business and Mr. Keillor was, of course, The Prairie Home announcer, but sometimes these little things that you do while waiting for the balloon to go up turn out to be memorable. And perhaps that's how the Spirit works. Since those days, the Hopefuls have toured with Chet Atkins, performed at Carnegie Hall and Radio City and the Universal Amphitheatre and at the mammoth Prairie Home Hymn-Singing Festival in Moorhead, Minnesota. But at heart we are still a stairwell quartet, searching for the sound. Radio City had a great booming stairway, the Fox Theatre in St. Louis had a good one, and also the Flynn in Burlington, Vermont. Somewhere in backstage America, we feel, the Spirit had a stairway for us, with the exact perfect landing with the right plaster walls and just the right angles. When you sing in a great stairwell, it doesn't feel as if the music comes out of you as much as it comes through you, and that is the true gospel vision: to be an instrument. We're still looking, and we remain hopeful."
-The Hopeful Gospel Quartet
Garrison Keillor was born in 1942 in Anoka, Minnesota, and began his radio career as a freshman at the University of Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1966. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio in 1969, and on July 6, 1974, he hosted the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion in St. Paul. (The show ended in 1987, resumed in 1989 in New York as The American Radio Company, returned to Minnesota, and in 1993 resumed the name A Prairie Home Companion.) It is now heard each week by more than two million listeners on more than 430 public radio stations. Keillor hosts a daily five-minute radio program, The Writer's Almanac, is a frequent contributor to Time and The Atlantic Monthly, and the author of ten books, including Lake Wobegon Days (1985), The Book of Guys (1993), and The Old Man Who Loved Cheese (1996). His newest book is Wobegon Boy (1997).
Keillor's recording of Lake Wobegon Days received a Grammy Award; he received two ACE Awards for cable television and a George Foster Peabody Award. In 1994, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications. With Philip Brunelle, he has performed with many orchestras, including the Chicago, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Dallas, and National symphonies; he has appeared at Wolf Trap, Carnegie Hall, and other major concert halls as a member of The Hopeful Gospel Quartet; and he has performed on his own in one-man shows across the country and in tour broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion.
Kate MacKenzie has been a favorite guest of A Prairie Home Companion since 1981. For many years, she was lead singer of Stoney Lonesome, with whom she recorded six bluegrass albums, toured Europe, Japan and North America, and was featured in the public television series Showcase and the Nashville Network's Fire on the Mountain. With the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, MacKenzie has recorded a live album from Carnegie Hall, performed at folk festivals in Scotland and Denmark, and was featured on PBS' Austin City Limits. The Hopeful Gospel Quartet's newest recording is Climbing Up on the Rough Side, on the HighBridge label. MacKenzie's work with A Prairie Home Companion has included co-host roles in several Prairie Home broadcasts, coast-to-coast tours, farewell and reunion shows, 20 Disney Channel television broadcasts, the 1993 Book of Guys tour, and a recurring dramatic role as Sheila, the Christian Jungle girl (wild, yet pure). MacKenzie's first solo album, Let Them Talk (Red House Records), received enthusiastic reviews and was on the National Bluegrass Charts for 10 months. A second solo album, Age of Innocence (Red House), was released last fall and earned MacKenzie a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. MacKenzie's success was noted in The New York Times, which grouped her in "the new wave of strong female voices."
Robin and Linda Williams have been frequent guests on A Prairie Home Companion since 1976. They performed on the second and third Prairie Home Companion Reunion Tours and on A Prairie Home Companion's broadcasts from Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and the Universal Amphitheater. Beyond A Prairie Home Companion, the Williamses have made numerous television appearances: on the Nashville Network's Fire on the Mountain, Nashville Now, and Music City Tonight. And the duo has been heard on other nationwide radio programs: the Grand Ole Opry has welcomed Robin and Linda Williams as guests, as have Mountain Stage and NPR's All Things Considered. With more than a dozen recordings and three musicals to their credit, they are considered to be among the finest songwriters in the folk-country tradition. Their most recent albums include: Sugar for Sugar, on the Sugar Hill label; and Robin and Linda Williams and Their Fine Group-Live, Sugar Hill's re-release of Strictly Country Records' recording, Live in Holland. A new album, Devil of a Dream (Sugar Hill), was released this year. The harmonies of Robin and Linda Williams can also be heard on Mary Chapin Carpenter's album, Stones in the Road, and on Iris DeMent's Warner Bros. recording, My Life. As part of the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, the duo recorded a live album from Carnegie Hall (produced by Chet Atkins, on Sony Records), toured across the United States and Europe, and been featured on PBS' Austin City Limits.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Over the River and Through the Woods Review - The Serious Comedy Site
Over the River & Through the Woods, a 2 CD set featuring the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, the Hopeful Gospel Quartet, and Garrison Keillor, is perfect for those who prefer the music segments of A Prairie Home Companion. If you are a fan of hymns, gospel and traditional music there is a lot of joy to the ears in this 2004 VocalEssence records release. If you are wondering why this particular release is on a comedy site it is because I still absolutely love the later VocalEssence release Hymn to Potatoes and just wanted to hear more from this ensemble.
Personally, hymns and gospel are not my cup of tea but Over the River & Through the Woods is beautiful music. It is obvious while listening to this 2 CD set that VocalEssence and the Hopeful Gospel Quartet are not only great singers but that they sing with a joy that is contagious to the live audience and the listener. This is really what makes this recording work for me.
From what I know of this particular kind of music I know that the biggies of the genre are here: Morning Has Broken, sung by the audience, Rivers of Babylon (which I am only familiar with because of the Boney M version), Will the Circle Be Unbroken, and How Great Thou Art.
For fans of A Prairie Home Companion there is a News From Lake Wobegon story included here. My only reservation about this 2 CD set is Garrison Keillor sings a bit too often. When you have vocal ensembles as good as Vocal Essence and the Hopeful Gospel Quartet you should let them sing, especially if your own voice is not professional quality. This recording is, however, a tie-in to a Prairie Home Companion show so it was his show.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Over The River and Through the Woods - Thanksgiving Music

As we kick off November, we thought we would share a radio program from American Public Media "We Gather Together" featuring Garrison Keillor and VocalEssence. Much of this music is found on our recent releases Hymn to Potatoes and Over the River & Through the Woods.
Here is the introduction for the program from the American Public Media website (Click HERE to see it on the APM website):
November 2006
Garrison Keillor weaves together familiar melodies and his own observations into this charming and unique celebration of Thanksgiving. Keillor is joined by Prudence Johnson, Rich Dworsky, the VocalEssence Chorus & Ensemble Singers, Charles Kemper and Philip Brunelle in musical renditions of traditional hymns and humorous adaptations of songs for the season. Keillor guides us through the hour with his renowned story telling ability and reminds us of the treasures of Thanksgiving with his remarkable perceptions of American life.
Program Highlights:
The masterful narration of Garrison Keillor ("First there were those pilgrims who landed on the rocky shores, and then landed on the Indians..." "We had much more fun with food when we were children and we were able to throw it.") is perfectly matched with the musicians in the special—all of whom have been featured on A Prairie Home Companion.
Musical Highlights:
The intimate duets of Garrison Keillor with Prudence Johnson; Garrison narrating Psalm 106 with the VocalEssence Chorus "I will praise the Lord, though I am seated in the waiting room of a Urologist"; the Chorus singing traditional hymns, such as "Now Thank We All Our God", as well as a medley of food songs for Thanksgiving including "A Hymn to Potatoes" (with apologies to Schubert); and many others.
Here is the radio program: WE GATHER TOGETHER
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Hymn to Potatoes - Bohemian Rhapsody Sample
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Hymn to Potatoes Review - The Serious Comedy Site
Choral comedy? Listeners of Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor know choral comedy is not an oxymoron when it comes to the Vocal Essence Ensemble Singers. This choir has been regular guests on Prairie Home Companion and even participated in a News From Lake Wobegon story or two over the last ten years or so. Hymn To Potatoes is a 2 CD set that captures these appearances and is something that will definitely please fans of choir music, people who like funny songs, and fans of comedy in general.
Not that the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers only does funny songs. This is a real, genuine, obviously very talented choir that can shift from Ave Maria by Franz Schubert to the traditional Shenandoah (and keep a straight & voice while Keillor rips that old chestnut apart) to very good and very weird choral versions of the Archies'Sugar Sugar, Manillow's Copacabana, and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. This is a choral group that takes its serious music and not so serious music seriously without taking itself seriously.
The trick, and Garrison Keillor and the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers conducted by Philip Brunelle master it, is to know your classics so well you can perform them with the proper respect while also poking fun at them. Listeners will definitely enjoy the fake history of Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms as told by Keillor while the choir performs their greatest hits behind him.
Philip Brunelle also plays a starring role in Holy Trinity Lutheran Seeks Music Director where Keillor tells the story of a church's unsuccessful quest throughout the years for a good Lutheran director. As Keillor tells the story, Brunelle plays Onward Christian Soldier as various conductors like Wagner, Stravinsky, Gershwin, Sousa, Glass, Puccini, and other famous composers. That Brunelle has been able to adapt that hymn to reflect each composer's style is simply stunning.
That there is not one bad track on this two CD set shows how great Prairie Home Companion can be but also the versatile talents of VocalEssence. A personal favorite, aside from the hilarious story The Runaway Choir (with Sugar, Sugar and so on) and The Choral News From Lake Wobegon and its many religious songs is Song of the Sons of Bernie where the SOBs chant a hymn to male liberation.
Hymn To Potatoes is a great 2 CD set to give as a gift for any fan of classical or choral music who has a sense of humour.
You can purchase this album by going to http://gothic-catalog.com or go directly to the purchase page by clicking HERE.
