Description

Paradise Found
A Celebration Of Charles Wesley 1707-1788

Born in 1707, Charles Wesley (along with his brother John) went onto become one of the most important figures in religious music. He wrote a staggering 9,000 hymns, many of which are still popular today – including Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Love Divine All Loves Excelling and Rejoice, The Lord Is King. To say that he revolutionised the way that music was used in church is not an overstatement as hymns were strictly illegal in parishes at the turn of the eighteenth century. Wesley aimed his compositions at the working classes and his hymns were often sung at large open air gatherings. By using emotional, vigorous language to express religious thought Wesley turned much of the Church world upside down. In 1995 he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, an indication of his wide reaching influence.

It is not surprising that Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band have taken such inspiration from Wesley (the title of their second album, Sing Lustily & With Good Courage came from John Wesley’s instructions for singing). They have always revelled in taking music from down the ages and turning it into something that is both new and familiar, yet always imbued with the spirit of carnival. It is an approach that has made their concert tours such unmissable events. Their 2007 outing looks set to be no exception, a mixture of sacred and secular material from the eighteenth century featuring songs, ballads and dance tunes, all delivered in their own inimitable style.

Track Listing

1. Arm of the Lord, Awake! (tune justification J. Eagleton 1785–1832)
2. Hail the Day That Sees Him Rise (tune Bethel or Llanfair R. Williams 1781-1821)
3. O for a Heart to Praise my God (tune St. Paul’s)
4. I Know That My Redeemer Lives (tune University)
5. Come Away to the Skies (tune Middlebury)
6. Jesu if Still the Same Thou Art (tune Carey’s H. Carey 1692-1743)
7. Let Earth and Heaven Agree (tune Trumpet or Portsmouth New)
8. My God I am Thine (tune Harwich B. Milgrove 1731-1810)
9. Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (tune Westminster H. Purcell 1659-1695)
10. Ye Servants of God (tune Walsall)
11. Dead! Dead! The Child I Lov’d So Well (tune Old 112th Psalm Tune)
12. Soldiers of Christ Arise (tune [Handel’s] March G. F. Handel 1685-1759
13. Jesu, Lover of My Soul (tune Aberystwyth J. Parry 1841-1903)
14. Come O Thou Traveller Unknown (tune Vernon)
15. Come On my Partners in Distress (tune Consolation New)