The Luna Vocal Ensemble, a women’s choir in Havana, Cuba

If you know anything about me, you know I love music. My trips always feature lots of music (unless someone steers me hard in another direction). A lot of my friends are musicians. And I sing a bit myself, at least enough to play around.

Actually, that’s a big way I connect with the musicians I meet. We start chatting, they realize I know some of the same music they do, and I end up jamming with them or something.

I decided to start sharing videos of these moments when we make music together… along with some songs they do without me, so you can appreciate their music without me getting in the way! (I’m tagging all posts in this series with the tag, “With or without me.”)

I’m delighted to present some dear friends, the Luna Vocal Ensemble from Havana, Cuba. This women’s chamber choir just won a couple gold medals at the last World Choir Games. So they can sing! They’re also friendly, fun, and unpretentious. Always a joy to chat with them or witness a performance.

A little more about Luna. IIRC, they were founded in 2002. For many years, they were the only professional women’s choir in Cuba. And their repertoire includes several major lines of work: Cuban music, contemporary sacred music, songs by women composers for women’s choirs, and world music.

Here are some of their informal performances I’ve recorded, plus a set they performed at the 2018 World Choir Games in South Africa! The songs I recorded were all during visits I made with my travelers.

First off, Dona Nobis Pacem, a song they perform in motion. In person, the effect is striking.

Next is Murmullo, a Cuban song by Electo Rosell, recorded at the 2018 World Choir Games. The whole set is worth watching, but I especially love this one.

This next song is Hamba Lulu, a Zulu wedding song. This is one of my favorites from their repertoire. I’ve heard them talk about how hard they worked on the pronunciation and intonation, not just for this song, but for all the songs they perform from other places/cultures/languages.

And last but not least, the Java Jive. At some point we picked this song for me to join in a little, so I get to guest star. Still working on the choreography!