It was at the initiative of the Canadian producer Wally G. du Temple and his collaboration with Joëlle Rabu, self-taught singer endowed with an exceptional voice, that we owe what is firstly a tribute to Veselin Damjanov, but not only that.

The greater part of this compilation is dedicated to him, with pieces sung in Esperanto, recorded during a tour in Canada organized by Wally in the 80s. Digitized, remastered, and available to all in a format whose sustainability Veselin Damjanov would certainly have loved!

The second part of the album, separated from the first by two instumentals by Tom Neville and Charlie Knowles, presents two unique Édith Piaf covers sung in Esperanto and extracted from Joëlle Rabu’s vinyl record “Passport”. This album dates from the meeting between Joëlle Rabu and Veselin Damjanov, the latter having convinced Joëlle to adopt Esperanto in order to radiate her beautiful voice across borders. And it is by a multilingual song by Joëlle Rabu, titled “Esperanto”, that the album ends.

On the CD version there are PDF format documents presenting the artists and song lyrics, and an MP4 video filmed in the studio showing Veselin Damjanov singing two songs with the children of Wally G. Temple, Esperanto-speakers from birth!

Besides a slice of history of Esperanto music, which is crystallized by this work, this album captures a friendship that often arises when cultural barriers fall along with linguistic boundaries.

A collector!

Damjanov & Rabu in this album is:
Part. A
-Veselin Damjanov: Vocals
-Bruce Jhonston: Piano

Part. B
Interlude:
-Tom Neville: arrangements, guitar, mandolin and violin
-Robert Neville: pennywhistle
-Charlie Knowles: Bass, Fretless "trombone"
-Ron Stelting: percussion
-Jack Stafford: clarinet

-Joëlle Rabu: vocals
-J. Douglas Dodd: arrangements, accordion, guitar, synthesizer
-Claude Piron : esperanto translations (Edith Piaf, J. Rabu)
-Charlie Knowles: bass , cello, guitar, harmony vocals
-Tom Neville: violin, guitar, banjo
-Reg Block: guitar

The song "Esperanto"
-Bruce Rodney Dunn : Canada West Chamber Orchestra, conductor
-Marl koening : Concertmaster
-Robert MacDonald: clarinet
-Elizabeth McBurney: flute
-Bruce Dunn: french horn
-Brian G'Froerer: french horn
-Gordon Cherry: trombone
-Douglas Sparkes: trombone
-Reg Block: guitar
-Sal Ferreras: timpani, percussion
-Scott Robertson: pipe drum
-Robert Lang: Vancouver Children's Choir, conductor

Recorded in the studio Goldrush Recording Company in Vancouver (Canada) in 1984
.

Sound engineers: Simon Garber, Charlie Knowkles and Phil Posner
Digitizing and mastering: Simon Garber and Charlie Knowkles in 2013

Artwork design : Mark Dowding - Windgod Media Services