DoukhoborMusic.ca was initially developed to recognize and make record (no pun intended) of a social phenomenon. Many Doukhobors don't recognize the phenomenon themselves, simply because they are (or rather, were) so immersed in it. But the fact is, from the late 40s to the second millennium, there was no other ethnic group that per capita produced more phonograph, cassette, or CD recordings, than the Doukhobors in Canada. It is simply nothing short of a social phenomenon in light of the relatively small size of this group. Interestingly, a significant and inexplicable number of descendants of the people who made up this archive, are still actively involved in music (in one way or another) today!

The DoukhoborMusic.ca library was started and developed over the fall/winter/spring/summer of 2012/2013 and then again into the winter of 2013/2014. It was not converted from any other known library; every selection in this archive has been, and will have be re-recorded/digitized, digitally re-mastered and enhanced where necessary, using the most sophisticated in hardware/software restoration and re-mastering tools available today. All of the albums' artwork have been and will be re-scanned and digitized as well, some even re-constructed as well. Using some J-Query coding, album artwork can be examined on the Internet in detail like never before, while not consuming huge host-server space, or over-consuming of the user's computer resources.

There are a few other online archives of Doukhobor music and respectful of those other archives, this is not a competition; put simply, this archive holds different and more complete materials (detailed re-worked album artwork, as just one example). Though other materials will inevitably make its way here (including an archive of 'shellac' 78 RPM recordings), this will be the most updated, fidelic archive of Doukhobor music from the vinyl era, known to date, along with a few rare 'tidbits' of Doukhobor music-related materials.

This project was not funded by any organization or institution, and is not affiliated with any society, organization or group. DoukhoborMusic.ca is not (presently, at time of publication) a registered non-profit organization and the project couldn't be funded through standard/orthodox methods. Though financial help was sought from a few organizations and individuals, none was offered until only recently - and we are grateful for their realizing this archive's significance. This archive was started to be the most professional-sounding archive of a golden era of Doukhobor recording. Just as museums are started to enshrine the efforts and make a historic record of our forefathers and predecessors, so was this archive started to pay tribute to a once-only era of a Doukhobor musical, and social phenomenon.

This portal is 'free' and downloading any Doukhobor Music via this archive is free also. Doukhobors sang almost 'evangelically' - it was more important to have a recording made, than to make money from it. No Doukhobor Choir ever dreamed that their album would receive radio play or enjoy a chart position; it would be a blessing if the album sold enough to pay the manufacturing costs. But that wasn't why it was done. It was done because that's one of the things Doukhobors do to nourish the spirit; they sing. And they did it to share that spirit and feeling with others. Today, in honour of these noble efforts, anyone who has an inclination or aspiration to hear it via the web, should hear it freely.

Donations are welcome however, for it will not have been idle time (hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours) that will have been given to produce this archive, developing the site, and done without traditional grants; even the domain and hosting takes money to run. Buying CDs is not a mainstay and inevitably it doesn't even help in paying development costs to this site, or even pay hosting and domain name fees. (Remember, the CDs are one-offs - not mass manufactured. Burning and testing each CD one at a time, printing the CD label and cover art, and packaging carefully, all takes time and simply does not make any money. It's a convenience only that DoukhoborMusic.ca offers).

And that's 'About' it. Enjoy your visit and enjoy the beauty of Doukhobor music and song.