The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass
The Holy Mass has been the inspiration for some of the most beautiful music ever written. Celebrated composers like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Puccini have written Masses that are still performed to this day. In the modern era Igor Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein and Dave Brubeck have composed Masses in the ongoing tradition that has embraced styles from Gregorian chant through baroque, classical and jazz.
And now bluegrass as well.
Carol Barnett and Marisha Chamberlain have written and recorded The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass, together with the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers and Minnesota-based bluegrass band Monroe Crossing. The style of the music is often more classical than bluegrass, but it is orchestrated for bluegrass instruments.
A CD of the Mass, along with several other American choral works, was released in November 2007 on Clarion Records, and a number of live performances are scheduled for this spring. It will be played in concert this coming weekend (3/8) in Appleton, WI and the following week (3/14) in Decorah, IA. On April 6 it will be performed in Minneapolis, MN and on May 18 in Washington, DC.
Audio samples can be found on the Clarion site, with more details about live performances on the Monroe Crossing site.


After a long cold ride it felt good to get inside the Congregational Church of South Hadley Falls, Mass., home of the CountryCornerCoffeehouse I saw a lot of familiar faces as I entered and bought a ticket. I was greeted by Dave and Rose Helman and made to feel welcome. Dave was hoping for a good...
In a continuing effort to fulfill it"s charter and aid the growth of bluegrass music, the International Bluegrass Music Association has developed an artist training workshop for the Bluegrass in the Schools program. The course includes information about educational tools available through the IBMA,...
We've written often about Berklee College Of Music in Boston and their recent embrace of the banjo and mandolin as principal instruments. Like most top music schools, Berklee requires all degree students to complete a minimum of two years of intense study (technical proficiency) on an instrument or voice,...
We've posted a number of times recently about the special Nashville Symphony concert this weekend, billed as Classical Americana. It will feature a number of prominent bluegrass and Americana artists performing with the Symphony, including Sam Bush, Alison Brown, Byron House and several others.
Sam...




Leave a comment
Comments are open and unmoderated for our registered users, only your first comment will require approval before publication. Comments do not necessarily reflect the views of The Bluegrass Blog. Obscene, abusive, silly, or annoying remarks may be deleted, but the fact that particular comments remain on the site in no way constitutes an endorsement of their content by The Bluegrass Blog.
You must