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1-Great is the Lord - This is jubilance and praise. Praise feels good. It exalts your heart and breaks chains of depression and self-doubt. Download the Sheet-Music
2- Think Not, When You Gather to Zion - Pete's first original melody for the CD. A melody that allows Eliza's words to be delivered plainly, like a folk-singer would say it. I love to hear words sung as if they were being spoken. And what a message, especially for newcomers to the faith! Download the Sheet-Music
3- Tho' Deep'ning Trials - Even though it deals with trials, this song is about the "up" side of the gospel. It should be a joyful, consoling song that breathes hope. I found out, when singing it with my Ward Choir, that this arrangement takes a lot of breath! Download the Sheet music
4- Let Those Who Would Be Saints, Indeed - "Virtue is liberty...The pure in heart are free!" Oh, how deeply that struck me! The challenge is not to be overcome by worldly distractions, whether pleasant or burdensome, and to remember that the power of deliverance is in righteousness. Download the Sheet music
5- Sacrament Hymn Medley - When Pete said, "I think we can have all the melodies sung at the same time... together." I was a little uncomfortable. As we tried and tried to figure out how to make them fit without dismembering any of them, it dawned on me that all we had to do was to wait one measure after Tanya sings "He lives. He lives. We humbly now,..." and then have her continue with "...around these sacred symbols bow." Then it worked beautifully. Download the Sheet music
6- The Lord Imparted From Above - I think Eliza was echoing old prophets who said so often to backsliding Israel, "Why will ye die?" I think she, who loved the truth and had it in her like fire, could not comprehend why some would treat such a precious thing as the Word of Wisdom so lightly. I do, however, have to add that I am terribly sympathetic to those who are struggling with a low self-esteem/addiction cycle. I'm sureSister Snow is too, but you can't cover all circumstances in one song or one sermon. Download the Sheet music
7- Awake, Ye Saints of God - Pete came to me one day, singing, "a-WAKE, ye saints, a-WAKE ye saints!" in the octave-jump phrase the bass and tenor parts are built on. How refreshing! It has the kind of jubilant energy that helps us all awake! Download the Sheet music
8- Truth Reflects Upon Our Senses - This message has long been a spur to me to leave judgment alone and love people instead. The music as performed on this CD is influenced by my years in Morehead, Kentucky, where I heard this style of Gospel music. Download the Sheet music
9- The Trials of the Present Day - An old version of this hymn went very slowly and took forever and you wondered if you were ever going to get through it. Pete created a melody that deals very effectively with the problem and turns eight slow verses into four energetic ones. We love the gathering momentum of combining voices to bring a large climactic ending... "in the Clestial Glory!" Download the Sheet music
10- O My Father - I had written a version of this hymn which I liked a lot, but when I presented it to Pete and a group of friends gathered to listen to a preliminary version of the CD, there was much discussion and the thought, put forth by Dave Tinney and Marvin Payne, was that it should be performed like a solitary prayer, maybe with a cello at the beginning. Dave gives a moving performance of this song. Download the Sheet music
11- The Time Is Far Spent - The concept that guides this arrangement is Pete's. The piano flourishes in the middle and the overlapped melodies passing at different paces are among his contributions to this energetic piece. I enjoy listening to the brass flourishes, too. Download the Sheet music
12- O Awake! My Slumbering Minstrel - Pete set the stage for this song by saying he could see in his mind's eye an older Eliza, sitting, thoughtful about the years she'd spent fighting and nurturing and caring and sacrificing for Zion. She confesses that Zion's welfare is her portion, her delight, and concludes, after all, that Zion is prospering. I can just feel her relief and her love. I feel it in Jenny's voice, which is marvelous. I feel it in the strings and the piano. When Zion prospers, all is well. Download the Sheet music
13- Think Not, When You Gather to Zion, Reprise - Pete really pushed me on this one. I always felt inadequate trying to express this song in a Gospel setting, but with his persistence, at last we concluded to make it a "white-folks" sort of gospel sound. From the response we've received, it seems that maybe we did all right. Many thanks to Vince Frates for coaching me on the fundamentals of Gospel piano playing. Download the Sheet music
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