Eden CD liner notes

1 Eden - Amy Richardson
voice: Amy harp: Christina cello: Chris
Amy: Reminiscent of the relationship that "man" (Adam) enjoyed with God - "they walked together in the cool of the day...". I believe that an "Eden-like" relationship with Almighty God is available today through His Son, Jesus. The heart of God for each of us is to draw us close to Himself as we walk this life - in search of peace and hope in this crazy world.

Christina: This is in the myxolydian mode, with a chorus in D major (the mode has a C natural; D major has C sharp). This is a gorgeous, natural, feminine song. It reminds me of Amy. I wanted to construct a more complex harp arrangement, but Amy liked the sound of slow arpeggios – she said they sounded organic; like things growing.

lyrics

A gentle breeze, like a whisper, grows
And draws me into this place
Abide where peace and joy flow freely
And I rest from this race

chorus: This place is free; I hold the key
T'was given to me long ago
Amidst life's turmoil, to the heart of God
And to Eden I'll go

Silence comes and silence goes
But true peace some may never know
My well-worn path into the heart of God:
I have surely found my home

chorus

This place is free; yours is the key
T'was purchased for you long ago
And God is drawing you so tenderly
Even now I pray you'd know

2 Angels We Have Heard on High - French traditional
voice: Amy harp: Christina cello: Chris

Christina: Familiarity means than we all forget where various carols come from, so it’s nice to be reminded of the Gallic quality of this song. Note Chris’ wonderfully jaunty counter-melody during the French verse.

3 What Child Is This? - Traditional
voice: Amy harp: Christina cello: Chris

Christina:

4 Joseph's Song - Christina Sonnemann
voice: Chris harp: Christina

Christina: I feel extraordinarily blessed that I could write this song, have a fantastic singer interpret it and record it myself all in the space of a week or two.

I read about Joseph in the biographies of Jesus Christ by Matthew and Luke, prayed and contemplated what he went through. This is the first time I’ve written a song “from scratch” – lyrics, music and accompaniment.

You experience a lot of doubts trying to do something for the first time, which is also how I imagine Joseph felt. We often prepare ourselves for certain destinies, courageous acts or sacrifices, and then are called upon to do something completely different.
Chris:

5 Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) - Amy Grant/Chris Eaton (pub. Hebbes Music)
voice: Amy harp: Christina cello: Chris

Amy: This song is quite special to me. I have really empathised with Mary as she carried Jesus..."The Passion of the Christ" movie just recently made all the more real the incredible sacrifice it would be for a mother to carry a child - knowing that His ultimate destiny would be to die for the sins of a world who would later deny Him. A beautiful song.

Christina: This song was introduced to me by dear friend and wonderful musician Allison Farrow. Thank you!

6 Welcome to Our World - Chris Rice (pub. Nightlight Music)
voice: Amy harp: Christina cello: Chris

Amy: Like "Breath of Heaven", I'm often moved while singing this song - thinking of this little tiny child who would grow up to be the most amazing man this planet has known.

Particulary the verse, "Fragile fingers sent to heal us, tender brow prepared for thorns; tiny heart whose blood will save us, welcome to our world." Every time I've performed this with Eden, I've been pregnant myself - and sometimes the words are so moving I can't sing them for being choked up with tears.

Christina: This song is from Chris Rice’s album Deep Enough to Dream and I consider it a modern classic.

7 Still - Chris Richardson
voice: Amy harp: Christina cello: Chris

Chris:

Amy: Sung in an improvised style, with the primary aim being to create a "still", tranquil atmosphere of rest and peace to envelope the listener (and the performer!).

Christina: At one rehearsal, Chris told us about his concept for this song. This was obviously the nudge Amy and I needed to write songs for the three of us, as Eden and Joseph’s Song emerged shortly thereafter!

lyrics

When I leave the busy-ness of what is on my mind

And stop to rest and just be still, this is what I find:

The soft, still voice within quietens my soul

I rest in the arms of love that soothe and make me whole

He sings - (sings over me)

With joy - joy in His heart

I rest, knowing His love

I am still, still in love

8 O Come, O Come Emmanuel - 15th c. melody/13th c. Latin, trans. J. Mason Neale
voice & harp: Christina

Christina: This song could be interpreted thousands of ways without being exhausted. The words seem to refer to captivity of the Jewish people between 600-500 BC, but could equally be applied to more recent sufferings. In it, five very beautiful titles (all taken from the Bible) are used for the Messiah. Some will notice that I changed one word of the final chorus to reflect the triumphant historical answer to the song’s pleading.

9 Christ Child's Lullaby - Hebridean traditional
cello: Chris harp: Christina voice: Bethany Richardson

Christina: A year and a half ago I would have run away if you had asked me to play a note that wasn’t there on the page! We did this track unrehearsed, totally improvised and in one take. There is a God.

10 Pie Jesu - Gabriel Fauré
voice: Amy harp: Christina cello: Chris

Christina: This was one of the first pieces in Eden’s repertoire. It is from Fauré’s wonderful Requiem.

11 Rathvinden - Christina Sonnemann
harp: Christina cello: Chris

Christina: “Rathvinden” is a Christian centre in Ireland, a deeply blessed and healing place, run by dear friends Doug and Merrie Gresham. The traditional name of the house means Fort of the Fairies in Gaelic. I wrote this very simple piece as a birthday gift for Doug. This recording captures the first time it was ever played.

Amy: What a gifted composer Christina is!! This was just quickly played through to send to Christina's friend in Ireland - and I was overjoyed when I heard that Christina had written it and we could include it on the album. It's my favourite piece on the CD!!