Standing Still

Jeff Johnson (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 13, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ark Records, Inc. / ArkMusic
• ASIN: B000SKKD0E
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #335,342 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Alleluia / Behold The Lamb

2. Lauds / Creator of the Starry Height

3. Kyrie / I Call To You

4. Standing Still / Abide With Me

5. Gloria / Remember

6. Crux / Our Father

Editorial Reviews

The opening note of a single hand bell begins a musical meditation on the profound beauty, wonder and holiness infused in this world by the Creator of the starry height. Here is a soundtrack for standing still featuring modern Celtic/Classically-infused music full of rich and subtle chants, instrumentals and improvisations woven together to create a backdrop for solitude and contemplation. Johnson s piano, keyboards and voice are accompanied by musical contributions from Brian Dunning (flute & whistles), Jozef Lupták (cello), Janet Chvatal (voice), Gwen Franz (viola), Tim Ellis (guitars) and Phil Baker (bass).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Still Point of the Turning World, March 31, 2008

By 

Gord Wilson "alivingdog.com" (Bellingham, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Standing Still (Audio CD)

I first encountered Jeff Johnson while a music reviewer for Campus Life magazine, now called, I think, Ignite Your Faith. By his third album, The Face of the Deep, I was knocked out. The vision behind it was sacramental. I learned that word reading Dorothy L. Sayers and Flannery O'Connor, two of the many authors the widely-read musician also looked to for inspiration. Shortly afterwards, a vocal album (as distinct from his purely instrumental albums) from what I'd call his middle period, called Icons, was, for me, a high point. Besides being filled with amazing songs, it also seemed to transport the listener, so that from the opening bars to the closing finale seemed like no time at all.

This album does that also. It seems far shorter than its 42 minutes. It follows Johnson's recent Selah series of albums, named from a word in the Psalms of King David meaning, "pause and meditate". This album seems to me to take it further, marrying new age style music with ancient Latin liturgy. From the opening bell ringing, with hand bells courtesy of St. Aidan's Episcopal Church, Johnson returns to scenes from earlier albums, including Linsfarne, Germany, and France. He's also joined by an earlier cast, as it were, including long time collaborators: musician Brian Dunning, and vocalist Janet Chvatal. Standing Still begins with the well known praise song from Scotland's Iona Community by John Bell, "Behold the Lamb of God", sung in English. It moves into "Lauds," an instrumental sixth century hymn, then into the Latin "Kyrie" merging into Johnson's "I Call to You", sung in English (the liner notes include the English translation: "Lord, Have Mercy", well known because of the Mr. Mister song by the same name.

In the instrumental "Standing Still" Johnson segues from an original composition into the hymn, "Abide with Me" by eighteenth century author, Henry Francis Lyte. "Gloria", beginning in Latin, moves into a communion song by Brian Moss called "Remember" that could be sung in any communion, even one with a high view of the Eucharist, as with the Catholic or Orthodox communions. "Crux", the closing piece, is actually the "Our Father" or "Lord's Prayer" sung in English, with cello improvisation by Jozef Luptak (there is an accent mark in his name I can't reproduce in this review).

The package unfolds three times, and includes Johnson's meditation that inspired the album's title, and which contains this arresting phrase: "Somehow we must find the grace to stand still". For those of any or no faith, who set out on the Journey (and wouldn't that be all of us?) Standing Still is a good place to start.

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for your music library, November 3, 2011

By 

Ann G. Jacobs (Canandaigua, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Standing Still (Audio CD)

The CD arrived in a timely fashion. It is an excellent addition for my music library and I would suggest it for anyone who enjoys a quieting form of music.