Tracks
Sound clips below


Items with catalogue numbers are linked
to music available on this site. Click on link.

Compositions wholly or partially composed
by Paul Halley © Back Alley Music (ASCAP)
Administered by Pelagosmusic.

1.  ◙♫
'Canticle of Brother Sun'
Words: St. Francis, Book of Job
Music: J. Scott, P. Winter
HL 08744396 Hal Leonard Publication

2.  ◙♫
'Kyrie'
Words: Greek
Music: P. Halley, P. Winter (Tundra wolf)
HL 08744396 Hal Leonard Publication

3.  ◙♫
'Beatitudes'
Words: Gospel of St. Matthew
Music: J. Scott

4.  ◙♫
'Mystery'
Words& Music: J. Geffen

5.  ◙♫
'Return to Gaia'
Music: Improvisation P. Halley, P. Winter

6.  ◙♫
'For the Beauty of the Earth'
Music: P. Winter (sax solo)

7.  ◙♫
'Adoro Te Devote'
Words: St. Thomas Aquinas
Music: Gregorian chant arr P. Halley
PEL5015 'Adoro Te Devote/For The Beauty'
for choir and organ

8.  ◙♫
'For The Beauty of the Earth'
Words: F.S. Pierpont
Music: Trad. arr P. Halley
PEL5015 'Adoro Te Devote/For The Beauty'
for choir and organ

9.  ◙♫
'Sanctus and Benedictus'
Words: Roman Rite
Music: P. Halley, O. Castro-Neves, P. Winter
HL 08744396 Hal Leonard Publication

10.  ◙♫
'Stained Glass Morning'
Music: E. Friesen

11.  ◙♫
'Sun Psalm'
Music: Improvisation by P. Halley, P. Winter

12.  ◙♫
'The Promise of a Fisherman'
Words: Trad. Brazilian
Music: D. Caymmi

13.  ◙♫
'The Blue Green Hills of Earth'
Words & Music: K. Oler, arr. P. Halley
HL 08744396 Hal Leonard Publication

14.  ◙♫
'Agnus Dei'
Words: Roman Rite
Music: J. Scott, P. Winter (harp seal)
HL 08744396 Hal Leonard Publication

15.  ◙♫
'Let Us Go Forth In Peace'
Words: St. Francis, Book of Job
Music: J. Scott, P. Winter
HL 08744396 Hal Leonard Publication


Items with catalogue numbers are linked
to music available on this site. Click on link.

Compositions wholly or partially composed
by Paul Halley © Back Alley Music (ASCAP)
Administered by Pelagosmusic.

Choral octavo of Missa Gaia for SATB choir.
HL 08744396 Hal Leonard Publication

CLICK
for recordings


CLICK
for sheet music
 

Description
A jubilant, contemporary Mass setting created by Paul Winter, Paul Halley, and Jim Scott with additional songs by Kim Oler, Jeremy Geffen and Dorival Caymmi. This live concert album was the first recording made of this 1981 ground-breaking, musical work.


Rose window and nave of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Photos by Leland Cook.

 

Concert performance Christchurch, NZ with Paul Halley and Nick Halley and Maori dancers.

Reviews

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
                      

CREDITS

Artists

The Paul Winter Consort
with Paul Halley, piano and pipe organ
The Cathedral Chorus and The Choristers of The Cathedral of St. John the Divine,
directed by Paul Halley, Organist and Choirmaster


The Paul Winter Consort
Paul Winter – soprano saxophone
Paul Halley - organ and piano
Jim Scott – classical and 12-string guitar & vocals
Susan Osborn - vocals
Eugene Friesen - cello
Nancy Rumbel - oboe and English horn
Gordon Johnson – bass
Ted Moore – percussion
Jim Saporito - percussion
Guilherme Franco - percussion
Marcio Sapel - percussion
Phil Markowitz - piano on Beatitudes


The Cathedral Chorus

Gil Robbins, Conductor
Bruce Fifer, Contractor
Peter Atherton
Jennifer Brown
Nancy Coker
Michael Dash
David Dusing
William Hall
Bonnie Hamilton
Randy Hansen
Cindy Richards Hewes
Stephen Montgomery
Dora Ohrenstein
Maitland Peters
Adele Robbins
Jon Rollins
Gene Rickard
David Smith
Lloyd Thompkins
Cliff Townsend
Leo Warbington


The Cathedral Choristers

Paul Halley, Conductor
Temidayo Akinyemi
Rani Arbo
Christa Chang
Joanna Clymer
Niels Engberg
Ian Ford
Julius Ford
Laura Hildesley
Harry Kakatsakis
Jonathan Margulies
Sophia Morton
Samera Nasarredin
David Owen
Samantha Skolnik
Maxim Weintraub

Recording/Production

Produced by Paul Winter and Oscar Castro-Neves
Chris Brown, Associate Producer

Recorded and mixed by Dixon Van Winkle and Chris Brown

Location recording in the Grand Canyon by Mickey Houlihan

Mastered at Masterdisk, NY by Robert Ludwig

Recording Assistance:
Fedco Audio Labs: Tom Arrison, Pat Downes, Randall Thomas, Bill Strauss
Snow Sound: Brad Snow

Production coordinator: Cathy Rawlins
Production staff: Nora Percival, Duane Mortensen,
David MacLeod, Mary Schoonmaker, Werner Tiedman


Recorded at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, NY
and the Grand Canyon

The Cathedral rose window photograph by Leland Cook

Cover design by Christina Watkins

Package design by Randy Weyant, KatArt Graphics

All Rights Reserved
Made in USA