The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #71165   Message #3268031
Posted By: Jim Dixon
03-Dec-11 - 05:55 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Req: Dansez Calenda (Norman Luboff Choir)
Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Dansez Calenda (Norman Luboff Choir)
The Norman Luboff Choir did indeed record a song called DANSEZ CALENDA. It's on their album "The Very Best of" (2011)—and if I'm not mistaken, the cover of that album shows a twilight photo of the cathedral in St. Paul Minnesota—which is odd, because I don't think the choir has any particular association with St. Paul, and only 2 or 3 songs out of 37 on the album seem to be religious.

Allmusic.com says the song appeared on the album "Calypso Holiday" (1957) and a couple of later collections. It gives songwriting credit to Alan Bergman, Marilyn Keith, and Norman Luboff.

Wikipedia doesn't say whether the choir still exists. Luboff died in 1987.

I viewed the album cover and listened to the recording on Spotify.

The lyrics seem to be a mixture of French and English. The English parts seem to be sung in some sort of Caribbean dialect.

I don't think I'd like to try to transcribe it, because it would be difficult, and anyway, it's not a true folk song—at least this version isn't, although it might have been derived from one.