Track Listing

1. Stone Prison
2. Trumpet of Peace
3. Voice of the Angels of Mercy
4. O Zion Arise
5. Joyful Praises
6. Rights of Conscience
7. The Blessings of Peace
8. Holy Habitation
9. Thanksgiving
10. A Suite of Five Dance Tunes
11. Solemn Song of the Ancients
12. Mother Ann's Song
13. Path of Sorrow
14. Fall on the Rock
15. Sweep As I Go
16. Philomela
17. Mourning Dove
18. Mother's Pretty Dove
19. Consoling Dove
20. Woben Mesa Crelana (Indian Song)
21. Indian Song
22. Negro Songs
23. Pretty Home, song
24. Angel of Light, Shaker hymn
25. Angel Invitation
26. Four Little Angels
27. Sweet Angels Come Nearer
28. Mother's Comforting Promise
29. Holy Order Song (Shaker Hymn)
30. O Come, Come Away, spiritual
31. The Savior's Cheering Promise
32. Behold the Day
33. All Glean with Care
34. Work for the Harvest, hymn (a.k.a. 'The Harvest')
35. Angel Reapers
36. Light
37. The Angel Reapers ('Eastern' version)
38. The Shakers of Sabbathday Lake, Maine in converstation With Joel Cohen (Interview)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #363126 in Music
• Released on: 2000-10-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Amazon.com
Few collections are so aptly titled as The Golden Harvest, a rich survey of Shaker songs, chants, and spirituals dating from the mid-19th century. The music often recalls the shapes and cadences of English folksong, while its unaccompanied, unison performance tradition connects with medieval chant. Thirty-eight selections are partitioned into groups according to subject: there are songs about birds, heavenly spirits, and the all-important harvest. Joel Cohen, who transcribed much of this music from old manuscripts, mixes and matches performers drawn from the Boston Camerata in solo and group settings to ensure maximum timbral and expressive variety. Hear, for example, how the call-and-response patterns in "Pretty Home" build to a joyful climax. By contrast, some of the introspective, a cappella hymns quietly resonate with poignant simplicity. A bonus track features the six Shaker family members of Sabbathday Lake, Maine, in conversation with Joel Cohen. In sum, this disc is a beautifully assembled, excellently annotated follow-up to Cohen's 1994 Shaker anthology, Simple Gifts. Should you feel inclined to sing along, full texts are included. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews

Simply Beautiful
The Boston Camerata is characteristically superb in interpreting this new collection of 19th century Shaker spirituals. Like their previous recording of Shaker songs, "Simple Gifts," the Camerata captures the hope and humility of Shaker belief, performing with bouyant movement and emotional clarity. By dividing the songs into thematic sections however, this CD is untimately stronger and more consistent than the latter. The Native American songs are particulary unique and the addition of a youth choir and the Shakers brothers and sisters add a freshness and reality to the smooth as silk voices of the ever professional Camerata. The tunes sound like a combination of folk and traditional protestant church music, but the lyrics reveal many elements of Shaker theology, some quaint, some still as revolutionary as they must have seemed in 1830. This CD offers an inspirational experience no matter what your religious background, the perfomances transcend definition.

Shaker Music at its best
For authenticity and variety, this is one of the best albums available. It includes both well-known and new songs done in proper Shaker tempo using voices alone to convey the feelings reflected in the songs. The comments by the Shakers regarding their thoughts about their music gives a special touch to the album. This album, along with the earlier one titled "Simple Gifts", is a worthwhile addition to any collection.