The Trees Community

Last updated
The Trees Community
The Trees Community in concert.jpg
The Trees Community in concert
Background information
Also known asThe Trees, The Symphony of Souls
Origin Manhattan, New York, United States
Genres Christian, Folk, Experimental
Years active1970 (1970)–1977 (1977)
Website thetreescommunity.com
The Trees Community in Pecos, New Mexico Pecosmeadow.jpg
The Trees Community in Pecos, New Mexico

The Trees Community [1] was an Episcopal Church-affiliated Christian community and a music group. They were also known simply as The Trees, and originally as "The Symphony of Souls." They were at first a disparate set of unlikely young acquaintances that bonded in a sense of common brokenness and that resulted in a wide-ranging search for truth. From this simple beginning in a loft in Manhattan in 1970, the group evolved into a community with a formal, religious order. Based at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City, they were mentored by Canon Edward Nason West, sub-dean of the Cathedral, and novelist/Cathedral librarian Madeleine L'Engle Franklin. (West was her spiritual mentor, the basis of her fictional character Canon Tallis). The Trees also worked closely with James Parks Morton [2] who was Dean of the cathedral at the time they were artists in residence there from 1973-77. Dean Morton described the community in this Time magazine article:

Morton is pleased that at least one group of young people has chosen the cathedral as the base for one of those alternatives: a religious community. The five men and three women, ranging in age from 20 to 30, went through a virtual catalogue of religious experiences before undergoing their Christian conversions. Now known as the Trees Group, they live in an apartment near the church, regularly give concerts at the cathedral and also perform tasks like guiding cathedral visitors. This fall they will take preliminary vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

Time Magazine on July 16, 1973

When the wrecking ball transformed their Manhattan loft into a parking lot, the original group left New York in a converted school bus which became home for the 10 people, 2 cats, a small dog, and 80 musical instruments. They termed this initial journey (commencing in the spring of 1971) as a "pilgrimage with no destination". They made a host of contacts in Ontario and multiple US States. These included sojourns at a broad range of Christian communities ranging from farm communes (Hutterites at the Community Farm of the Brethren in Bright, Ontario) to large evangelical church communities (the Church of the Redeemer (Houston, Texas)) to Christian monasteries (the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Kentucky and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Pecos, New Mexico).

Eventually the group gained enough musical proficiency to start formally booking concerts and the pilgrimage thus turned into a set of tours to the Western United States, New England and Southeastern US regions.

Musically, the collective were known for their highly spiritual, ethereal vocals, with musical backing by a wide range of instruments from all over the world, such as sitar, tamboura, koto, Venezuelan harp, and bells. [3] Almost all their music is original.

They released two albums in their seven-year lifespan—1973's A Portrait of Jesus Christ in Music (only 2000 copies were pressed on tapes) and 1975's The Christ Tree—though there were other recordings made of the group, notably by the monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani and composer Calvin Hampton.

In 2007, a fan of the group, Timothy Renner of Dark holler Arts, salvaged the LP master and these other recordings, digitally remastered them and produced "The Christ Tree Box Set.", [4] of four CDs. He then produced "The Christ Tree" single CD.

Other fans of the group, Anthony Derx, and brothers Anthony and Chris Hoisington at Old Bear Records, will be re-releasing their music on vinyl and digital music services in 2019, The vinyl re-release will be a double LP from the Renner digital remasters, and will be distributed by Light in The Attic.

Related Research Articles

A cappella Group or solo singing without instrumental sound

A cappella music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term a cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato musical styles. In the 19th century, a renewed interest in Renaissance polyphony, coupled with an ignorance of the fact that vocal parts were often doubled by instrumentalists, led to the term coming to mean unaccompanied vocal music. The term is also used, rarely, as a synonym for alla breve.

Cathedral Christian church that is the seat of a bishop

A cathedral is a church that contains the cathedra of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches. Church buildings embodying the functions of a cathedral first appeared in Italy, Gaul, Spain, and North Africa in the 4th century, but cathedrals did not become universal within the Western Catholic Church until the 12th century, by which time they had developed architectural forms, institutional structures, and legal identities distinct from parish churches, monastic churches, and episcopal residences. The cathedral is more important in the hierarchy than the church because it is from the cathedral that the bishop governs the area under his or her administrative authority.

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Diocesan cathedral of Dublin and Glendalough, Church of Ireland

Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the (Anglican) Church of Ireland. It is situated in Dublin, Ireland, and is the elder of the capital city's two medieval cathedrals, the other being St Patrick's Cathedral.

Christ Church Cathedral (Vancouver) Church in Vancouver, British Columbia

Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is the second cathedral church of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster of the Anglican Church of Canada. A place of worship in Greater Vancouver, the cathedral is located at 690 Burrard Street on the northeast corner of West Georgia Street, directly across from the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in Downtown Vancouver.

Christian music Music expressing Christian life and faith

Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around the world. Church music, hymnals, gospel and worship music are a part of Christian media, and also include contemporary Christian music which itself supports numerous Christian styles of music, including hip hop, rock, contemporary worship, and R&B and Hip-Hop-influenced Gospel.

Archivolt Ornamental molding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch

An archivolt is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the architrave in the case of a rectangular opening. The word is sometimes used to refer to the under-side or inner curve of the arch itself. Most commonly archivolts are found as a feature of the arches of church portals. The mouldings and sculptures on these archivolts are used to convey a theological story or depict religious figures and ideologies of the church in order to represent the gateway between the holy space of the church and the external world. The presence of archivolts on churches is seen throughout history, although their design, both architecturally and artistically, is heavily influenced by the period they were built in and the churches they were designed for.

<i>In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country</i> 2000 EP by Boards of Canada

In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country is an EP by Scottish electronic music duo Boards of Canada. It was released by Warp and music70 on 27 November 2000, in the period between the duo's albums Music Has the Right to Children and Geogaddi. Like those albums, it was well received by critics. It peaked at number 15 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Originally pressed on blue vinyl, the vinyl version of the EP was reissued on black vinyl in 2013.

William Henry Harris English organist and composer

Sir William Henry Harris was an English organist, choral trainer and composer, affectionately nicknamed "Doc H" by his choristers.

Religion in Medieval England

Religion in Medieval England includes all forms of religious organisation, practice and belief in England, between the end of Roman authority in the fifth century and the advent of Tudor dynasty in the late fifteenth century. The collapse of Roman authority brought about the end of formal Christian religion in the east of what is now England as Germanic settlers established paganism in the large sections of the island that they controlled. The movement towards Christianity began again in the late sixth and seventh centuries. Pope Gregory I sent a team of missionaries who gradually converted most of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, while Scots-Irish monks were active in the north of England. The process was largely complete by the end of the seventh century, but left a confusing and disparate array of local practices and religious ceremonies. The Viking invasions of the eighth and ninth centuries reintroduced paganism to North-East England, leading in turn to another wave of conversions.

Peter Elliott (Canadian priest)

Peter Elliott is a Canadian priest. He is the former (retired) rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of New Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada. Elliott grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario. In 1976 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and philosophy from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. Subsequently, he attended and graduated from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1981 he was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Niagara. Prior to coming to Vancouver he was Director of Ministries in Church and Society with the Anglican Church of Canada. In 1994, Elliott was made rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of New Westminster. He retired in October 2019 after 25 years.

The Church of the Risen Christ is a Roman Catholic church in Singapore. It is located at Toa Payoh Central in the Toa Payoh Housing Estate and was founded in 1971.

Christianity in New Zealand

Christianity in New Zealand dates to the arrival of missionaries in the early 19th century. It became New Zealand's largest religious group, but no one denomination dominated and there was no official state church. Today, slightly less than half the population identify as Christian. The largest Christian groups are Catholic, Anglican and Presbyterian. Christian organisations are the leading non-government providers of social services in New Zealand.

<i>Bitchin</i> 2007 studio album by The Donnas

Bitchin' is the seventh and final studio album by the American hard rock band The Donnas, released in 2007 on their own label Purple Feather and released through RedEye. It is their first album since leaving Atlantic Records. The record was produced by Jay Ruston and The Donnas. Two of the tracks, "Wasted" and "Here for the Party", were co-written with songwriter Holly Knight.

Paul Sylvester Morton is an American Baptist pastor. He is the senior pastor of Changing a Generation Full Gospel Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and co-pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also a recording artist, author, and founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, International.

Christian pilgrimage

Christianity has a strong tradition of pilgrimages, both to sites relevant to the New Testament narrative and to sites associated with later saints or miracles.

Christ Church Cathedral (Indianapolis) Historic church in Indiana, United States

Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral for the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis. Christ Church parish was formally organized in 1837. The present-day church building was erected in 1857 on Monument Circle at the center of downtown Indianapolis to replace the parish's first church built on the same site. Designed by architect William Tinsley, the English Gothic Revival-style structure is the oldest church building in Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana, that has remained in continuous use. It is also the oldest building on Monument Circle. Christ Church is known for its music, especially its pipe organs, one of which was donated by Ruth Lilly, and its professional Choir of Men and Boys and Girls' Choir. The parish is also known for its community service, including an annual strawberry festival fundraiser and other charitable work. Christ Church Cathedral was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 10, 1973. It is located in the Washington Street-Monument Circle Historic District.

Religion in Samoa Religion in the country of Samoa

Religion in Samoa encompasses a range of groups, but 98% of the population of Samoa is Christian. The following is a distribution of Christian groups as of 2011 : Congregational Christian, Roman Catholic, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Methodist, Assemblies of God and Seventh-day Adventist. Groups together constituting less than 5 percent of the population include Baháʼí, Jehovah's Witnesses, Congregational Church of Jesus, Nazarene, nondenominational Protestant, Baptist, Worship Centre, Peace Chapel, Samoa Evangelism, Elim Church, and Anglican. (A comparison of the 2006 and 2011 censuses shows a slight decline in the membership of major denominations and an increase in participation in nontraditional and evangelical groups. Although there is no official estimate, there are reportedly small numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, Jews and traditional believers, primarily in Apia. The country has one of the world's eight Baháʼí Houses of Worship. There is a small Muslim community and one mosque. The history of Islam in Samoa dates back to before 1985, when Samoa had a number of Muslim workers who were working either for the government or for a United Nations program, but their number was small and hardly affected the local population. In the mid-1980s, the World Assembly of Muslim Youth began operating in the Pacific, and consequently some Samoans began converting to Islam. According to the 2001 census, the number of Samoan Muslims was 48, or 0.03% of the total population. This number has increased to 61 Muslims, or 0.04% of the population, according to the 2006 census. This number is expected to reach 73 Muslims by 2020.

St. Pauls Cathedral (San Diego) Church in California, United States

St. Paul's Cathedral is an Episcopal church located in the Bankers Hill district of the city of San Diego, California. It is the formal seat of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego. It traces its origins to the first Protestant church in San Diego, founded in Old Town in 1853, although the building itself was only completed in 1951.

Christ Church Cathedral, Grafton Church in New South Wales, Australia

Christ Church Cathedral is a heritage-listed Anglican cathedral complex at Duke Street, Grafton, Clarence Valley Council, New South Wales, Australia. The cathedral was designed by John Horbury Hunt and built from 1874 to 1884 by Reynold Brothers (brickwork) and G. J. T. Lawson (woodwork). It is also known as Cathedral Church of Christ the King and Grafton Anglican Cathedral. The property is owned by the Anglican Diocese of Grafton. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 14 March 2003.

Religion in Louisville, Kentucky Overview of the religion share in Louisville, Kentucky

Religion in Louisville, Kentucky, includes religious institutions of various faiths; including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

References

  1. "The Trees Community Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic .
  2. Fiske, Edward B. (26 May 1972). "New Dean at St. John the Divine James Parks Morton". The New York Times.
  3. "The Trees Community - the Christ Tree - Review - Stylus Magazine". www.stylusmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  4. "The Christ Tree". Pitchfork .