Missa Gaia / Earth Mass

from Amazon.com - Bob Zeidler's Listmania

This is an ecumenical, ecological world view of how the idea and the form of liturgical music might be adapted to a celebration of Mother Earth as much as it is a CD full of performance highlights.

At risk of playing favorites, Paul Winter and Paul Halley do some of their best work in "Return to Gaia." Both are at the top of their form here; Halley's extended organ improvisation reminds us of what Virgil Fox was capable of doing so brilliantly on his better days. "Sanctus and Benedictus" is guaranteed to bring your musical muscles and bones alive, but be advised that it's probably not a good idea to listen to it while driving an automobile! And the several tracks that feature Susan Osborn showcase a wonderful and totally unique gospel voice that causes one to ask, "How do we get to hear more of Ms. Osborn?"

As much as the music is ecumenical in its inspiration, it is equally ecumenical in its usage of musical instruments. Human musicians and the music of various fauna species peacefully coexist in this joyous music. With only moderately careful listening, you can also experience the inventive coexistence of sitar, electric bass and a battery of world percussion with the more usual instruments in the Paul Winter Consort (if oboe, English horn, cello and pipe organ can be called "usual") as well as all of the outstanding singing by the remarkable Ms. Osborn and the chorus of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The electric bass riff in "The Promise of a Fisherman" (based on the Afro-Brazilian chant "Iemanja") stands out, and adds further testimony to Paul Winter's own musical ecumenicism.

An essential Paul Winter Consort "classic." Sheer joy from start to finish. Highly recommended!

- Bob Zeidler    

from Amazon Customer Reviews

Astounding. The Missa Gaia is, by far, the most amazing choral work I have ever heard. To put it bluntly, Paul Winter and Paul Halley are geniuses. I had the privilege of performing this work with the entire Paul Winter Consort and three of the four composers of the Missa Gaia two days ago at the St. Bartholomew's Cathedral in New York City. Very few choral works have given me chills when I sang them - this one succeeded. Buy the CD. You won't regret it.

- Evan Kinney

A mystical dance of love celebrating all of life.
I first heard this album in the mid 80's on the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the birth of Saint Francis of Assisi, a mystic who renewed the Church and reunited humanity with mother earth. The music brings together the Colorado River and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, wolves, whales and loons, cathedral choirs and native dancers. It is a fully human celebration of all of creation and the wonder of the Creator. This rare and creative work needs to be felt and imagined, not just heard. It has the power to transport, to enliven and to heal the soul. It will always remain a classic for me.

- anonymous

An outstanding accomplishment!
Those acquainted with the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, or similar liturgies, will recognize traditional themes in many of these compositions, expressed in fresh new ways, including the sounds of nature as part of the arrangements. But even for those without these same roots, there is reverence and beauty expressed in lyric, tune, and interpretation. This is true thanksgiving and awe at the wonders that surround us in the earth in which we live.

- anonymous