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British Columbia Suite

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British Columbia Suite is a 1969 studio album by Nelson Riddle, released on the Capilano Records label.

British Columbia Suite
Studio album by
Released1969
Recorded1969
LabelCapilano Records CAPS-701
Nelson Riddle chronology
The Contemporary Sound of Nelson Riddle
(1968)
British Columbia Suite
(1969)
Nelson Riddle Conducts The 101 Strings
(1970)

Origin

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"British Columbia Suite" is a work composed by Nelson Riddle that was commissioned in August 1968, by the Government of the Province of British Columbia, Canada, as a musical portrait of the province. Its premier performance took place in San Francisco, California, March 19, 1969, with Riddle conducting. The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra performed the suite at Butchart Gardens a year later, on April 14, 1970.[1]

Album

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The studio recording of "British Columbia Suite" was released on Vancouver-based Capilano Records in 1969, in a deluxe gatefold album with photographs and text depicting each of the twelve compositions comprising the suite.[2]

Then-Prime Minister W.A.C. Bennett is credited with the album's liner notes, which are congratulatory and laudatory of Riddle's efforts:[3]

It is singularly appropriate that a name as famous in the world of music as Nelson Riddle should be linked at last with a place in this world as well-known and well-loved as British Columbia, Canada.

Mr. Riddle is one of many millions of visitors who have been inspired by the mountains and river-valleys, the lakes and forests, the islands and coastal inlets, the colourful history and light-hearted recreations of Beautiful British Columbia — but he is a very special visitor, in that he has been able to convert that inspiration into beautiful music.

The delightful result is a tribute to our Province and a credit to the composer and his fine musicians, as I am sure will agree when you hear Nelson Riddle's British Columbia Suite.

In 1995 the recording was re-released in compact disc format on the Total Recording label, titled Symphony For The North[4]

Track listing

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Side 1

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  1. "The Route of the Haidas"
  2. "Peace River"
  3. "Victoria"
  4. "The Cariboo"
  5. "Valley of the Swans"
  6. "Government House"

Side 2

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  1. "Vancouver Nights"
  2. "The Okanagan"
  3. "Butchart Gardens"
  4. "Barkerville"
  5. "Garibaldi Mountain"
  6. "Moving Ahead"

References

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  1. ^ "The Nelson Riddle Collection MMS 4" (PDF). Inventory of the Papers of Nelson Riddle. p. 63. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "Nelson Riddle – British Columbia Suite". Discogs.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
  3. ^ British Columbia Suite (LP record). Nelson Riddle. Vancouver, B.C.: Capilano Records. 1969.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ "Nelson Riddle – Symphony For The North". Discogs.com. Retrieved June 25, 2023.