Samuel Guarnaccia
A Celtic Mass for Peace, Songs for the Earth
A mystical and haunting journey in Classical counterpoint and Ancient Celtic melody.
A Celtic Mass for Peace, Songs for the Earth
The composition of music for the text of A Celtic Mass for Peace by Celtic spirituality author, speaker, theologian, and poet J. Philip Newell, is a result of a collaboration born of the meeting of Dr. Newell and Vermont scholar/composer/teacher Sam Guarnaccia.
This collaboration has resulted in a trans-Atlantic journey during which the work has evolved from its simple beginning of seven song/chants into its present form of ten sections, a full overture with nine songs and eight musical interludes. It has been performed and celebrated in many forms on both sides of the Atlantic, from simple liturgical settings on the island of Iona, Scotland, to concert settings in Nashville, Cincinnati, Lexington, and Edinburgh among others.
The present recording of ‘A Celtic Mass for Peace, Songs for the Earth’ with musicians and singers from both Scotland and the United States of many diverse heritages, was made in the Vermont landscape where both words and music were written, and is a reflection and expression of the theology/spirituality of liberation and inclusiveness far beyond the confines of any single tradition. From an unusual blend of classical and Celtic instruments, a distinctive harmonic space and melodic texture emerge, beautifully recorded on location in Vermont by the renowned jazz pianist and recording artist Chuck Eller.
The enclosed booklet contains the complete text of the song lyrics and the eight spoken prayer-songs for which the eight instrumental tracks were written to reflect their substance, spirit, and rhythm. The spoken sections with the interludes as accompaniment will be available as an optional ’download’ with the voices of Philip and Ali Newell, just as they would be heard in a live performance. This recording represents one of many possible instrumental and vocal expressions of the words and music, for which scores and parts will be available.
Sam Guarnaccia:_composer
Samuel Guarnaccia, a Vermont native, studied classical guitar in Spain and has performed throughout parts of Europe and North America. Having taught at The University of Denver and Middlebury College, he is now on the faculty of the University of Vermont, a Spanish scholar, player, and composer with deep ties to the history, struggle, traditions, and spirituality of ancient and contemporary Indigenous peoples. (www.samguarnaccia.com)
When first introduced to Philip Newell’s writing, and captivated by his clear and powerful exposition of the Celtic understanding of the life and teaching of Christ, I began to explore Celtic mythology, history, spiritual traditions, and music. After meeting in the U.S., Philip came to Vermont where I played music for his presentations, and where on the shore of Lake Champlain, he wrote the text for ‘A Celtic Mass for Peace, Songs for the Earth’.
I was deeply inspired by the haunting spirit of the Celtic world, and the power of music to reach and express the indefinable. When invited to set the text to music, the challenge was to express the deep longing and reverence both for the Creation and the Christ of Celtic experience. The melodies should be chant-like, easily sung and repeated, meditative but also expressive of the profound and sometimes complex written texts. From an unusual blend of classical and Celtic instruments, a distinctive harmonic space and melodic texture began to emerge, a mystical Celtic vocabulary of sound and feeling….oriented both from and to the depths of the Earth and the heights of Faith and Imagination, inseparably linked gifts of God to us.
J.Philip Newell:_lyrics______________________
John Philip Newell is an Edinburgh poet, scholar, and teacher. Formerly Warden of Iona Abbey in the Western Isles of Scotland, he is now Companion Theologian for the American Spirituality Center of Casa del Sol at Ghost Ranch in the high desert of New Mexico (www.jphilipnewell.com).
There was “delight at the Celtic Mass for Peac
New Age: Celtic New Age