Missa Gaia / Earth Mass [Live]

Paul Winter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 1991)
• Original Release Date: 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Living Music
• ASIN: B0000000TU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,680 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A resounding paean for the musics of our sphere!, May 10, 2002

By 

Bob Zeidler (Charlton, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missa Gaia / Earth Mass (Audio CD)

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.

Paul Winter remembers:

"My first visit to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine was in the spring of 1974, for the funeral of Duke Ellington. The experience of hearing the extraordinary music of this service in the awesome space of the Cathedral was profoundly moving. A succession of renowned jazz soloists, all alumni of the Ellington Orchestra, played and sang great Ellington songs to a congregation of 10,000. This music felt entirely appropriate in the Cathedral. These songs were hymns of our lives.

"As we were leaving, recordings of Ellington came through the sound system, and I can still hear the velvet, liquid tone of Johnny Hodges' sax soaring way up in the vault of the Cathedral. I had then no clue that several years later I myself would have the opportunity to play in the Cathedral; and the last thing I would have dreamed is that I would be making music for liturgy."

From that day forward, the experience seems to have "informed" his playing style. The fact that he subsequently became an artist in residence at the Cathedral (and is now the principal artist in residence) is testimony to the experience. And it has provided him with a performance and recording venue that is perfect for his horn and for the ensembles he chooses to perform there. Moreover, it is nigh impossible to separate the Cathedral from its vast acoustic space and its wonderful organ, and one might as well take advantage of these facts. Nobody does this better than Paul Winter.

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 musics 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.

A full description, in Paul Winter's own words, of how the Missa Gaia came to be, can be found at his Living Music website (livingmusic.com/concerts/earthmass.html). The interested reader is encouraged to go to this web page to fill in the blanks that this regrettably short review cannot cover.

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

Bob Zeidler

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, September 11, 2003

By 

Jen (UMASS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missa Gaia / Earth Mass (Audio CD)

This is one of the most amazing works I have ever heard in my life. I will be privilaged enough in a few weeks to be able to perform the Earth Mass with Mr. Winter in NYC with my Chamber Choir. This will be the second time I have been able to sing with him.
I absolutely love performing this piece- the mix of the hymns, gospel and traditional, and the animal songs just makes such wonderful music all together- it's literally breath taking and should leave you speechless. If you get the chance- go attend the service at St. John's..otherwise just buy the cd because it is simply incredible!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystical dance of love celebrating all of life., August 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Missa Gaia / Earth Mass (Audio CD)

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.