"Wouldn’t it be really cool if you could get a CD that had many of the best Catholic music artists on it? Some you know and some you’ve longed to hear. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was packed full of songs, like maybe 30 or more and it lasted over 2 hours? Wouldn’t it be cool also if it was 2 discs, one with praise and one with worship? What if it cost the same as a regular CD? Wouldn’t that be cool? Well, guess what? That CD is here! It’s called “Catholic Music 2007.”

Spirit Wing Records has produced this CD compilation project that features 32 Catholic recording artists on a low cost double CD set. If this resembles the popular Christian project, WOW, it’s supposed to. The Protestants have been doing this for a while and now Catholic musicians have followed suit.

The creators of Catholic Music 2007, Gary Gersin of Cleveland, Ohio, and Mike Beloud (Rise) of Los Angeles, California, hope to bring awareness to Catholic music ministries. “Worship” is the first of the two CDs which features more traditional/prayerful music. The second disk, “Praise,” is full of more modern upbeat music.

The 32 artists featured on the CD project include: Angelina, Bernie Choiniere, Celeste Zepponi, Critical Mass, David Vogel, Father David Hemann, Fred Cacciotti, Gretchen Harris, Jeannie Pomanowski, John Grassadonia, Katholicus, Kitty Cleveland, Last Day, Lynn Geyer, Margo B. Smith, Mark Mallet, Matthew Baute, Michael Patrick, Nancy Krebs, Ned Tonner, Nick Alexander, Remember Rome, Renee Bondi, Rise, Romans, Sara Bauer, Sharmane Adams, Simonetta, Susan Jansen, The Perfect Cry, Trish Foti Genco and Veronica Morrissey.

This is a CD that makes a great gift for someone or for you to learn more about Catholic music.

Marie Bellet is back with her fourth CD titled A New Springtime. The new CD has helped classify Bellet with a strong sense of purpose and a solid Nashville sound, with a light mixture of bluegrass, jazz and folk. Bellet has a lyrical style that takes the ordinary life of a woman, who is a wife, mother and homemaker and elevates it to a vocation and a gift from God. A song that helps define this would be “We Are The Calvary,” which is a mother’s anthem. Bellet is a cheerleader for all the women who are chauffeurs with kids in minivans. They get looked down on for doing what they do by society, but society would not exist if not for them. They would die for their children. You hear this in the song “Nine More Months One More Time.” This is about the conflicting feeling that a Catholic mother may feel after discovering she is pregnant. There is honesty in the fears, the worries about the other kids, the meeting she had planned, the clothes, and in the end the thankfulness of having another child. “I Can Only Do So Much,” is a song about the conflict that a married couple may have with each other, but they need each other to make this life work with a family. Dealing with sickness, failures, and sleepless nights is much better when you have a partner.
Every time I’ve moved, I feel a little depressed about what that house meant to me and my family. My wife and I stand in the doorway each time and think about what happened in each room, then we close the door and move on thinking about what lies ahead for us. Bellet touches on this in her song “This House Is For Sale.” It’s a song about a person looking back on what went on her home and how each nail and board meant something. It’s the house that’s for sale and not the home. That you shouldn’t worry about the little things in life, but think about what is to come, is the message in “Closet Space.” “I am a woman who worries about closet space, and one day I’ll be dead.” The title track “A New Springtime,” is dedicated to the late Pope John Paul II. It deals with the hard times that you may deal with, but knowing that the Lord has a plan that leads to a new beginning. “...He said to us all ‘Be Not Afraid’; You’re not the sum of mistakes you made, but an image of the God who still loves you.” Marie Bellet has captured the love a woman has for her children, husband, family, life and God in A New Springtime.


Celeste Zepponi has a style all her own. It’s a kind of power pop, praise and worship. She has the means to lift your soul as you listen to how her vocals and the music blend perfectly. Her new CD is called You Are Enough. It’s a collection of songs written by Zepponi, as well as some of her favorite classic Praise and Worship songs. The CD starts out with a burst of energy in “Psalms 27”. (The producer of the CD is Joe Hand, whose last CD was a collection of Psalms music.) The beat keeps up with the catchy tune “Choices.” It tells how throughout the day we are given choices and we must give these to the Lord to follow Him. The style here is almost a mix of the Pretenders meet Aztec Camera. You hear that same sound in the tune “Trinity.” Borrowing strongly from Aztec Camera’s Jump, Zepponi takes the Lynn Geyer penned song and makes it her own giving thanks to the Three in One. Zepponi wrote the pop praise song “Shout” which I could hear played at a youth rally. It gives God all the glory and extols His name. She also pens “Jesus Is Here” a song that let’s us know that everything will be alright because Jesus is always by our side. Other great songs of worship include I Exalt thee, As The Deer, Refiners Fire, Thank You Lord and others. I was truly touched by the original style of music and vocal that Celeste Zepponi put into You Are Enough. It is an excellent CD.

Let’s just say I love the title to Amanda Vernon’s Christmas CD. It’s called Something Worth Saving. With the number of places that are doing away with Christmas and even refusing to acknowlede that it is the birth of Jesus Christ that we are celebrating, this is a fresh change. Vernon has been a favorite seller in the Catholic music world with her first two CD’s “God Cries Too,” and “Shine Thru Me.” Many of the song here are originals or mix a traditional with new arrangements. Vernon sings songs that could be used in Advent as well as in the Christmas season. Advent songs include “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” or the Afro-American spiritual “Freedom.” This is beautifully arranged with a children’s choir and it speaks of the coming of Jesus ushering in true freedom. Vernon’s original piece, “Elizabeth’s Song,” takes the Magnificat and gives us a personal view of Elizabeth as she greets the mother of Our Lord. The song is awesome along with its vocals and music. It’s almost has an a cappella sound with a little percussion thrown in. Vernon’s soulful voice gives it a personal touch. It’s there also on “Behold,” a song that tells of Christ’s announcement via the angels and then again many years later by John the Baptist. Her voice shines again as she describes the feeling of every December 24th at 11:59pm as the bells chime to bring us to “Midnight Mass.” At that hour we observe the birth of Christ. Vernon captures the emotions that run through us as candles, incense, and music help us to celebrate the child born in a manger. More traditional songs are “What Child Is This,” “Ave Maria,” “Silent Night,” O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Go Tell It On The Mountain” and more. The title track reminds us that it is our souls that are Something Worth Saving. That is why a child was born and why we must remember that Child.


I heard the Mair Rathburn CD Christmas With The Harp last year. It’s an older Christmas CD but it has become a classic to anyone who has heard it. Rathburn is a beautiful harpist. Rathburn mostly solos on the CD, but there is an occasional accompaniment by violin or flute. The CD is great to play in the background at a Christmas party, which is where I first heard it, or when shopping and getting into the Christmas spirit. This instrument CD includes “Joy to the World,” ‘Silent Night,” ‘Mary's Little Boy Child,” “The First Noel,” “Away in the Manger,” “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen,” “I Saw Three Ships,” “O Holy Night,” “What Child is This?,” and more. Put Christmas With The Harp in your collection.


Bethany Music Ministry is from Norristown, PA and spun from a Lifeteen program with a group of volunteer musicians. The music chosen for the group was in an upbeat contemporary type. Shortly after finding a “home” at St. Titus Parish, the ministry took the name of Bethany. Their first, Born in a Stable 12.25.0000,  CD is a collection of Christmas music that they have performed. It’s traditional Christmas music done in a different style. Beautiful voices blend together to give us “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” The group gives a little rhythm to “Joy To The World,” as a single female voice sings the tune in a soulful way and it later joined by other female voices. “O Holy Night” is given a light jazz rendition. Bethany brings John Michael Talbot’s “Holy Is His Name” to the table as a song that fits very nicely in this Christmas collection. “Ave Maria” is sweetly done in a voice that will touch you as it mixes with a single guitar. Other songs on Born in a Stable 12.25.0000 include “We Fall Down,” “Angels Medley,” and “Humility Of God.”
 

--Jeff Burson