Reviewed by John Irvine

For those of us familiar with John Bell's work with the lona Community, either through Greenbelt or through the recordings of the Wild Goose Resource Group, the style of this album, but not it's content, may come as a shock. The content - a series of meditations on the dark sides of human experience such as loss, bereavement, fear and grief- should be familiar ground to anyone who has attended a Wild Goose seminar in recent years. Certainly John Bell is probably unique as a hymn/songwriter in being able to address these areas of Christian experience, bring these emotions into the worship arena and release the hurt, anger and pain. Included in this collection are some of John's best known works in this area: some are original tunes, some are revisited folk melodies; but all of them have powerfully simple and direct words which speak directly to the heart and soul. John's settings from the Psalms "How Long O Lord" and "I Cry To God" are probably well known to many Greenbelters. The "lona Boat Song (The Last Journey)" is one of his most inspired settings: a beautiful melody reserved for the burial of Scottish kings in ancient times, now restored as a moving meditation on the fragility of life and the sustaining power of God's presence. Also included are some African-American spirituals. So no surprises as regards content. The surprise lies in the actual performance style: the Cathedral Singers are a choir of trained professional singers - and surprisingly enough the tunes and arrangements hold up rather well with this change of approach, despite some initial reservations over whether "folk" based material can be given its proper due by "classical" singers. The result will not be to everyone's taste, and I rather suspect that many fans of the Wild Goose recordings will be horrified by the approach taken here! However, the performances are in the whole very good, with only one or two questionable moments, and this album is a very good example of this type of music - typified in this country by the likes of John Rimer's Cambridge Singers. In many ways, however, I feel the strength of this recording lies in its potential to reach out to an often neglected area of our experience. Bell's sleevenotes arc particularly helpful here: "Expressions of deepest praise (and) cries of unfathomable despair; both are not only acceptable to God. Both are essential for our mental and spiritual health...our spiritual health requires that we go through (loss) rather than remain numb with no desire to recover, or sing victorious hallelujahs to avoid dealing with the mess inside." I hope that you not only enjoy and appreciate the musical side to this offering, but that you re healed by it. or better still able to offer healing through it.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.