Climbing High Mountains CD

Amidon Choral Gems

Choral arrangements & compositions by Peter & Mary Alice Amidon

A collection of some of the Amidons’ favorites. All songs arranged by Peter Amidon.

CD only – $10

Mary Alice and I started singing together from the moment we met in 1975, when we were swept up in the rich world of traditional music and dance in Cambridge Massachusetts. Our harmonic sensibilities were influenced by our deep involvement in shape note singing, our tours with Larry Gordon’s choruses (Word of Mouth Chorus/Northern Harmony), the a cappella singing of groups like the Waterson family (Yorkshire England) and the Nowell Sing We Clear guy quartet, and the harmonizing-by-ear we did singing with our friends and family.

Mary Alice has the gift of creating the perfect melody for text and for creating songs that sound like traditional folk classics. Many of our arrangements and compositions were written originally for the Guilford (VT) Community Church, UCC Choir.

All the songs on this album were recorded by Al Stockwell, and sung either by the Friends of the Amidons singers, or by the Starry Mountain Singers (which includes our son and daughter-in-law, Stefan Amidon and Zara Bode).

1. 1. Solstice Song by Alouette Iselin –  Show MoreAlouette Iselin, a wonderful singer of traditional song, lives across river from us in New Hampshire. The recording is from a live concert by the Starry Mountain Singers.   audio and lyrics
   2. Blackbird by John Lennon and Paul McCartney –Show More I am the music director of Hallowell, an a cappella SATB hospice singing group. We are realizing that as we age we need to include songs for our generation, so I arranged this for our hospice singing. 
   3. There But For Fortune by Phil Ochs Show More– Dr. Rev. Lise Sparrow, the pastor of the Guilford (VT) Community Church where I am a co-choir director, requested this for our choir to sing at one of our Sunday services, hence this arrangement.  Zara Bode, the soloist, is our daughter-in-law; Mary Alice is on banjo.  audio and lyrics
   4. Climbing High Mountains traditional Show More– We learned this hymn from the singing of our friend, the late Lucy Picco Simpson (from whom we also learned “Prodigal’s Return”. She gleaned it from one of her collection of 400 19th and early 20th century hymnals. audio and lyrics
   5. Be Thou My Vision traditional Show More– Mary Alice and I have always loved this old hymn – what a perfect marriage of text and melody. audio and lyrics
   6. Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen Show More– I wrote this arrangement when the song was requested for a funeral. I thought that it was a strange choice for a funeral anthem, but it ended up being quite moving for everyone. Our daughter-in-law Zara Bode is the soloist. audio and lyrics
   7. Gift of Love by Mary Alice Amidon Show More– Mary Alice composed this song for her late mother, Alice Copeland, who, at the time, was drifting off into the world of Alzheimers. audio and lyrics
   8. Over the Rainbow by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg Show More– I met a man at a Vermont Hospice Conference who told me how much this song meant to him after seeing multiple rainbows as he walked out of the church after the funeral of his wife. I went home and did this arrangement for our Hallowell hospice choir.
   9. Prodigal’s Return by AD Merrill, 1845 Show More– Whenever we saw our friend, the late Lucy Picco Simpson (from whom we also learned “Climbing High Mountains”), we always made sure we sang through this old hymn she found in a 19th century hymnal. The melody and lyrics were as they are here, but the harmonization was uninspired, so we harmonized by ear, and, eventually, I did this arrangement so we could sing it with our church choir. audio and lyrics
   10. Kisses Sweeter Than Wine by Fred Hellerman, Huddie Ledbetter, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Ronnie Gilbert Show More– I cannot remember why I did this arrangement, but we sang it at my mother’s (Frances Robertson Amidon) funeral with a choir of about a dozen members of my family: Mary Alice, sons, daughters in law, brothers, sisters in law, cousins, nephews and nieces. It was a pretty wonderful funeral anthem for Mom. audio and lyrics
   11. Make Me a Channel of Your Peace music by Peter Amidon Show More– I composed this for the Guilford (VT) Community Church (UCC) Choir. The soloist is Louisa Sullivan. audio and lyrics
   12. Magnificat music by Peter Amidon Show More– When Pastor Lise Sparrow said she was using the Magnificat text in one of our Advent Sunday services last year (2017) I looked around and found a lot of wonderful big settings of the Magnificat. We needed one that was not so big, so I wrote this. audio and lyrics
   13. Corinthians 13 music by Peter Amidon Show More– A few years ago Pastor Lise Sparrow asked for service music that combined the classic text from “Corinthians 13” and some Hallelujahs, so I put the two together in this setting of “Corinthians 13”.  An Amidon choir of my brothers, sisters in law, sons, daughters in law, cousins, nephews and nieces sang this at my father’s funeral. audio and lyrics
   14. So Far From Home poem by Tom Mousin, music by Peter Amidon Show More– Pastor/singer/contra dance caller/morris dancer/calligrapher/poet Tom Mousin sends out an advent poem to friends and family every winter. This was his 2015 poem which resonates with the stories of so many refugees. audio and lyrics
   15. Still There Is Love poem by Edith Newlin Chase, music by Mary Alice Amidon Show More– Edith Newlin Chase and her husband Heman Chase lived in Alstead New Hampshire where he ran a watermill-powered sawmill and Edith was an early education teacher and poet. Mary Alice learned this poem from Andy Davis, who was a neighbor and friend of the Chases. audio and lyrics
   16. What a Wonderful World by George Weiss and Bob Thiele Show More– Our Hallowell hospice singers, for whom I did this arrangement, sing this a lot for men and women in hospice care. audio and lyrics
   17. Turn Around by Malvina Reynolds, Alan Greene, and Harry Belafonte Show More– I have always had fond memories of the Kodak TV commercial that used this song in 1960. Malvina Reynolds gave herself the goal of composing a new song every day. She is also the composer of “Little Boxes”. This is a wonderful song for an elementary school chorus performance. Our daughter-in-law Zara Bode is the soloist. audio and lyrics