What's in a Name? - An Oriana Songbook

I wonder if dear old Will Shakespeare had any idea, when he penned that famous, immortal question in Romeo and Juliet, just how useful and universal it would become.

“What’s in a name?”, indeed! Well, it's the name of Oriana’s next concert outing, for one thing. But why a song book, and why an Oriana songbook? And what exactly is a songbook?

Of course, the generally accepted definition of the word is a collection of song lyrics, with or without the sheet music, in some sort of thematic form. You can have a songbook of popular or hit songs from a particular artist; songs by a specific composer or songwriting partnership, such as Irving Berlin, George and Ira Gershwin, Rodgers and Hart, Lennon and McCartney; songs celebrating a certain epoch or cultural event, eg, Songs of the Second World War, or Songs from the Movies; the list of possibilities is endless.

There were many recordings made in the 1950s and 1960s, by established singers, which celebrated the works of various popular and jazz composers and songwriters. For instance, Ella Fitzgerald released many such albums, with titles such as Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook, Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Cole Porter Songbook (I have a copy of this recording, and it is excellent!), and so on. Such recordings as these help to keep alive much of the wonderful music that has been created in times past.

But calling a collection The Whoever/Whatever Songbook is a bit of a misnomer because, unless your Whover never wrote more than a dozen songs, it can never be exhaustive.

And such is the case with An Oriana Songbook. The Oriana Songbook would be a multi-volume collection of literally hundreds of works performed over the past twenty years. But Daniel Calder’s beautifully curated programme is a superbly representative collection of some of the musical styles at which the Oriana Choir excels. An eclectic assortment of folk, spiritual, and quasi-classical love songs, it demonstrates not only Mr. Calder’s impeccable music taste, but also the Choir’s great versatility in going from one song’s emotional mood to the next in one breath, so to speak.

These pieces are all, in one way or another, examples of ‘Art song’, which simply means that they are musical versions of pre-existing words. They tell stories, and the words are equally as important as the music. And they are all, without exception, a delight to sing, and a delight to listen to.

There could be many “Oriana Songbooks.” Perhaps this, An Oriana Songbook, could be the first in a series, based on the many styles of music contained in “The” Oriana Songbook.

Come along and see and hear for yourself. It will thrill your eyes and ears, and delight your soul.

An Oriana Songbook

Sunday 28 June 2026, 2:00pm - Stella Maris Primary School Hall, Maroochydore

Saturday 4 July 2026, 1:00pm - St Patrick's Catholic Church, Gympie

Ian Rix

May 29, 2026.

Oriana Choir

Oriana is proudly supported by

Storage Direct Sippy Downs