"The Trees" were a Christian, contemplative community and a music group.  Based at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City, our traveling life in the 1970’s was shared publicly, across America and Canada, through original music as well as through other forms of service to others.

The Unlocked Door
The Trees Story began in the summer of 1970 with a group of disparate teenagers and young adults looking for the truth.  One at a time we stumbled after it, through an old door with no lock, into an abandoned factory loft building. Up four flights of dark and broken steps, we carried the shadows and brokenness of our young lives.  Our destination was an attic junk closet transformed into a would-be temple.

Here, at the corner of 4th Avenue and 12th street in New York's East Village, from several to over 40 regulars, friends, acquaintances, and strangers met in the reclaimed room that we just called 'the loft'. Under the improvised light of hurricane lamps and Christmas tree bulbs, surrounded by our original art hung on open brick walls, over dinners of black beans, brown rice, and homemade sourdough bread, we came not to party but just to really talk, discuss, and learn.

Learning how to listen
Our "search for truth" included meditational disciplines such as Buddhism and Yoga, where we learned the discipline of meditation. The ability to meditate taught us to really listen. Listening enabled us to really hear people out and learn new things, and made the unexpected possible. Whether in meditation or through social interaction, we were able to hear the unanticipated answers to our questions.

Hidden by the noice of the familiar
After turning the whole world upside down to find the truth, each of us found that it had been with us all along, but hidden by the noise of familiarity. Each of us had come from different Jewish and Christian backgrounds, both Protestant and Catholic. In searching for answers, Western religions were nearly ruled out based on personal baggage with painful experiences, and aversion to dogma. In this mix of bad memories and stifling religious practice, "Jesus" represented an idol to us, rather than an icon.

Meeting Jesus again for the first time
Now, however, with all pre-conceptions stripped away, and all of our images of what Christianity meant destroyed. we were ready to engage in what writer Marcus Borg calls "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time". For some this re-encounter was Pauline, as when Shipen fell out of a tree after being struck with Spirit. But for others becoming Christian was a more gradual set of steps.

Within only a few months a new, common faith prevaded in the loft. We had each experienced the welcome of our being in the private embrace of an indellible God. That embrace and faith would remain with us through our entire lives, well beyond the six years of our community existence.

Musical communion
From this personal awakening a new shared communion occured in the loft, and with that communion a different level of commitment. We were no longer a commune but a community. The communion sounded in the spontaneous music of worship. Whether with sound or in silence, the mystery and magic of that time defied explanation. Most who took part in this early gathering never wanted to leave, including a cult deprogrammer sent by a worried mom.

Growth into a community
Many of us did in fact stay, for a few days, a few months, several years, or the full eight years of the group’s existence. We would vary in size, growing as large as fourteen, and stabilizing at seven members. Our first name was the New York Tent City Symphony of Souls in Christ. We then changed our name to the Trees Community (aka. the Trees Group).

A pilgrimage without a destination
In May of 1971, the Loft that we jokingly called "the spiritual center of the universe" was scheduled to be destroyed by a wrecking ball, and become a parking lot. Within a few years, as with so many Manhattan real estate reincarnations, condominiums were built on the site.

Even before this event, or the problems leading up to it such as the power and water getting turned off, we had considered, and planned for, our next move.

With 600 dollars in cash between us, we left New York in a GMC School bus converted into a camper so we could cook and sleep as well as travel on the bus. Packed into the bus were a full kitchen, convertable beds, a pot belly stove for heat, our few napsacks, all of our musical instruments, fourteen people and two cats. When we left the city wee had no itinerary and were beginning our journey on pure faith. Gradually, our journeys, while continuing to be nomadic, were at least more organized as we pre-planned our visits and concerts in various Churches, religious communities, sacred spaces, and music festivals.

Church Affilation
From our first stop at the Jesus Movement "The Love Inn" through frequent interaction with the "Charismatic Movement" as well as many visits to monestaries, there was continued pressure for us to become part of a church community. Within only a year we would establish a denominational affiliation with the Episcopal Church, and specifically "a church" no less in stature and personal importance to us than the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.

The Trees Today
Today, some thirty years have past since our brief but timeless existence together as a community. We have each branched out in our separate lives. Four of our brothers have passed from this life, including our founder, Shipen Lebzelter, and mentor, Canon Edward Nason West. Our story and music are shared in their memory, for our children, and for all generations.

Music, in its melody and dissonance, grew out of our search for truth and was built on our common, monastic life. At first it played through us in complete surprise, as sounds from all over the world came to us in prayer. From this root of listening The Christ Tree evolved, its branches forming a woven tapestry including Balinese chant, American folk music, Indian raga, African rhythm, Tibetan ritual gong, and Mexican bell wheel Sanctus. These and other musical signatures from different nations and cultures, from ancient to contemporary, are heard in our meditation performed with over 80 acoustic instruments.

Personal as well as global, intimate while universal, our voices and diverse instruments paint an icon of struggle and inspiration from alienation (Psalm 42) to praise (Psalm 45). That range of emotion is layered in cacophony and compositional grace, from unique psalm renditions to original song in the empathetic “Jesus He Knows” and the hopeful, upbeat “I Will Not Leave You Comfortless.”

Creating The Trees Music
From its initial formation in our eary common prayer, the music was written in ways difficult to explain, except by an aclamation of faith in moments of spiritual inspiration, and sheer perseverance when times were tough. In all cases the music came to full fruition through a community experience where music was not formally written down.

At the same time there were definitely musical leaders among us, notably Katheryn "Shishonee" Krupa who sung and invented many songs and melodies on the Venezualan folk harp. William "Shipen" Lebzelter" played Sitar in all of its range from traditional Raga to improvisational tonality, as well as the Indian Shehenai (chanter). David Lynch played and composed the flute melodies whether on classical or Native American or African flutes, and also sung and played the guitar melodies that he created.

Philip "Ariel" Dross played the droning Tamboura (Indian bass) and cello, except for Psalm 44, where it was played by Shipen. Mary McCutchen played the harmonium (Indian hand organ), StephenGambill played Koto and Bruce Gambill played the Dulcimer. David Karasek and Marguarette Blythe were the main percussionists.

Several of the instruments were shared - including switching musicians within a given song. We just picked the ones that we wanted to play that communicated how we felt. These choices might just befor one meditation, or a usage pattern emerged.

Musical Influences
Influences in our music ranged from the Incredible String Band and Moody Blues to Indian Raga and Balinese Monkey Chant, from traditional American sacred folk music to Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Charles Ives, Bela Bartak and Claude Debussy. Otherwise the songs and words were purely spontaneous, soulful expression, giving us our first name, "The Symphony of Souls."

The Music lyrics were often biblical, most frequently from the psalms that spoke to us in the full range of human interaction with God from alienation to praise. The lyrics might also come from a poem such as Stephen’s Jesus He Knows or Katheryn’s Such a Love. All of our lyrics may be found on this site within each song playlist.

For general inquiries or comments
Katheryn "Shishonee" Krupa
Mary Vukman

For media or publicity
Mary Vukman

For web site design or CD print media design information
David Evan Karasek

To order the Trees music
Order from Amazon.Com

To contact our music publisher (Dark Holler • Hand/Eye)
Dark Holler • Hand/Eye Web site: www.somedarkholler.com

To purchase the Trees music
The Christ Tree CD, with extended tracks in The Christ Tree Companion, is available for purchase. Select one of the following links to order it:

Dark Holler • Hand/Eye (Christ Tree CD publisher direct sales)
The Saki Store (Christ Tree CD distributor sales)
CD Baby (web reseller Christ Tree page and CD purchase link)
Amazon.Com (web reseller Christ Tree page CD purchase link)

A warning about bootlegs
Be sure to order the official Dark Holler • Hand/Eye release of the Christ Tree. Most Amazon, Ebay, and other web resellers are selling the authentic CD.

However there is a poor quality Christ Tree CD bootleg, dubbed from our 1975 LP, produced by Radioactive Records, UK. Some resellers on Amazon and elsewhere are continuing to sell the bootleg.

The safest bet is to order from our publisher, distributor, CD Baby, or purchase from the specific Amazon link provided above.

About the Christ Tree Box Set
The Christ Tree CD Box Set (a 4 CD compiliation) has sold out.
This was published in limited quantity .

To contact our music publisher (Dark Holler • Hand/Eye)
visit our publisher's web site at Dark Holler • Hand/Eye Web site: www.somedarkholler.comAfter following this link, click on the tin man image to enter the site.

BIOS

Web site reviews
AllMusic.com - by Thom Jurek
Stylus Magazine - by Todd Burns
Sputnikmusic.com - by Spencer Schyma
psychedelicfolk.com - by Gerald Van Waes

The original Christ Tree LP was released in 1975. From that time until 2006 no efforts were made to create a CD, mainly because all of the surviving Trees members felt that the effort presented to many technical challenges.

Then this year, by the miraculous efforts of our publisher, Tim Renner of Dark Holler * Hand Eye, two Christ Tree CD recordings were produced. The first, The Christ Tree Box set, comprises 4 CDs including the digitally transfered LP as well as 3 other recordings. The second, The Christ Tree CD Single,

Tim has been able to work his digital magic to rescue the ancient tapes from oblivion. And the digitally produced music is of better quality than the originals! Here is Tim's story (reprinted frm the Christ Tree CD Box Set Brochure)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed is a collective work in two movements:

(1, below the earth)

African belanji, Japanese koto, Native American flute, Tibetan gong and Mexican bell wheel lead the 80 plus instruments that bring rhythmical waters from across seven seas to awaken the Christ Tree from its seed in the earth. Rich soil begins to nourish the dormant seed and life begins to stir it. In its cradle, the seed innocently starts to sink its tap root, helped by the warm sunlight. But as its root continues downward, it encounters a large rock. Undaunted, it finds its path to the deep soil. At the same time, its first shoots break free of the earth to embrace air and light.

(2, above the earth)

The young sapling greets its environment of insects, wind, and rainstorms, until it is established as a full fruit-bearing tree
also teaming with other life such as the monkeys who form the rythmic, vocal background of
The Trees Chant sung by Shipen Lebzelter, who also wrote its lyrics.
The background monkey chant as well as the foreground melody are from traditional Balinese Music. In Bali the musical form is called "kecak", because of the imitative sound of monkeys. The most well known recording of Balinese music to date is titled "Music From the Morning of the World" and this LP (now a remastered CD) was our direct inspiration.

The Christ Tree begins with Psalm 42, in the soil of the human condition, in alienation that begins with the lowest note on a mournful sitar, singing in terms of separation ("so my soul longs for you, my God"), and then despair, culminating in a chant of sheer vocal rage at God ("why do you forget me?").

After venting frustration a counter-voice of hope is awakened, pleading with the soul to have faith, beginning as a lonely chant woven around a plaintive flute, embraced by the soothing harp and a growing, harmonic community of instruments and voices.

As a doe longs for running streams,
So longs my soul for you, my God.

(What is praise, God praise?)

My soul thirsts for God--
Concealed in the face of God.
I have no food but tears day and night.
When shall I see your face?

Where is now your God?
How shall you save yourself?

I remember and my soul melts
For I was on my way to his wondrous tent

Amid cries of joy and shouts of praise,
An exultant throng.

Why so downcast my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Put your hope in God, I shall praise him yet,
My Savior, My God.

When my soul is downcast within me,
I think of you--
From the land of Jordan and of Hermon
Of you, humble mountain.

Deep is calling unto deep,
As your cataracts roar.
All your rushing waves,
Your breakers, have rolled over me.

In the daytime he commands his love to come
And by night his song is on my lips,
A prayer unto the God of my life.

Why do you forget me?
Why must I walk so bitterly--
Oppressed by my enemies--
Nearly breaking my bones--
My oppressors insult me.

Where is now your God?
How shall you save yourself?

Why so downcast my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Put you hope in God.
I shall praise him yet,

My savior, my God.

Adopted from Psalm 42 (the Jerusalem Bible translation), this original work's core melody and song are by Katheryn “Shishonee” Krupa. The music was then arranged and otherwise embelished collectively, with somewhat different variations evolving over time.

In Psalm 45 we cross time to the age of Solomon and celebrate the wedding of a maiden to a king, and experience the timeless wedding of the human soul to God.

Katheryn "Shishonee" Krupa created the work's core melody and song. The music was then arranged collectively, with somewhat different variations added over time. Just about all of our instruments are heard in the piece, as well as several musical solos by Katheryn and David Lynch.

Among the more interesting instruments : Katheryn's Venezualan folk harp, a lyrical twelve string guitar played as a dulcimer by Bruce Gambill, and a proclaiming shehnai - an Indian oboe similar to a bagpipe chanter. The shehnai is used traditionally to announce weddings in India.

Flutes, bells, gongs build upon the instrumentation, as the Christ Tree opens its branches in upbeat praise.

Lyrics are adapted from Psalm 42 (Jersusalem Bible translation).

My heart is stirred by a noble theme;
To the king I must speak this song I have made.

My tongue is swift as the pen of a scribe;
To the king I must sing this song I have made.

You are the favored of the children of men;
Grace is poured upon your lips
For you God has blessed forever.

O mighty one, strap your sword at your side!
In majesty and splendor ride on, ride on.

Stretch your bowstring tight
In your dread right hand!
Nations lie at your mercy.

Your throne, O God, shall endure forever,
Your royal scepter is integrity.
Your love is for justice, your hatred for evil;
Your throne, O God, shall endure forever.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
With the oil of gladness above other kings.
All the virgins love and honor you.
Your robes are fragrant with aloes, myrrh, and cassia.
From ivory palaces you are greeted with music.

My heart is stirred by a noble theme;
To the Lord I must give this love I have found.
Your love is more delightful than the sweetest wine,
My sister, my promised bride,
This love I would make mine.

Listen daughter, forget your nation,
Your ancestral home.
The King desires your beauty.
He is your Lord; bow before him.

The people of Tyre come laden with gifts,
The wealthiest nations with jewels set in gold.

The daughter of the King is clothed in splendor.
She is led to the King with her maiden companions,
Amid cries of joy and shouts of praise.

Your ancestors shall be replaced by sons;
You will make them princes throughout all the earth.
May this song make your name forever remembered;
May the people praise you from age to age.

The hymn O Little Town of Bethlehem is a traditional hymn created in 1865. It is from a poem by Rev. Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal priest, and put to music by his organist Lewis Redner.

The final verse is sung as an invocation in the Christ Tree, with the words "descend to us we pray” asking for God’s presence and healing on earth.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray.
Cast out our sin and enter in.
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell.
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord, Emmanuel.

Themes from music in eastern and western cultures, as well as joyful noises all morph through one another, in a manner inspired by Charles Ives, fading in and out of different human landscapes seen from the Christ Tree.

Children as well as adults perform, just as they would if this were performed where the village orchestra idea originated - in Bali.

Original song from a poem
by Stephen Gambill
performed acapella

Jesus--He knows the textures of Mexico,
The qualities of sunlight in Spain.
He knows how an oak tree feels in the evening,
On the tarnished gold grass of a plain.

Jesus--He knows exactly why indigo
Can cause a painter to cry.
Our Father, through Him, first uttered the Word
That stained an indigo sky.

When a people longs for the strain of a song
To light them a hope in the night,
Jesus--He knows just the right kind of song
To keep their ship afloat in its plight.

Jesus--He knows why a selfish man closes
His heart to its own cry for life.
Only his peace can loosen the hands
And the bands of a worried man’s strife.

Jesus--He knows the heartbreak of Mexico,
The sun parched suffering of Spain.
He knows how an oak tree dies in the heat
On the languishing grass of a plain.

But lo, I am with you always
Even to the end of the world.
I am truth, I am Life.

I will come again;
I bring my kingdom without end.
The far reaches of the earth
Will have light.

Original song by Bruce Gambill
(also playing 12 String Guitar)
sung with all the Trees

I will not leave you comfortless
I will come to you
Peace I bring, my peace I give.
This peace I leave with you.
Let not your hearts be troubled.
Don’t let them grow afraid.
My love and I abide with you.
    And teach you things I’ve said.

Lyrics by Shipen Lebzelter
derived from the Philokalia (early Christian writings of the Desert Fathers)
sung with all the Trees

O Lord, our God, have mercy upon us.
Look upon the faith of your people.
Heaven and Earth rejoice in the ringing of Jesus, Jesus:
singing in the hearts of men
Son of the living God, son of the Father
Son of the men who walk on the earth, grant us peace.
Grant us peace, dear Jesus, let us praise and be glad
at the coming of the light, O Hilarious light, o life-giving light.
Let us praise and be glad, Let us give thanks to God
that he gave us his Son, that we would know him through his son,
that we would see him through his Son
and never leave his house again,
that we could be with him forever singing
Jesus, Jesus, Blessed is your name! Blessed is your company!
Blessed are the people who carry your love and
blessed are they who will quicken to the word of life!
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus the Christ of God,
Jesus the favored one, Jesus the land of hope,
Jesus the gift of love that rose up from the dead,
that left the dead and gave us life to have forevermore-
Alleluia.
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
We praise you Lord for the victory and majesty,
the strength of your hand, the sweeping mercy of your hand,
the gentle move of your hand, the glorious touch of your hand,
O Hilarious light! O divine human move in
Jesus! Jesus! Maker of the Universe, judge of the evil one,
freer of the captive souls who are bound in bitter loneliness.
And by his holiness, bringing us to heaven’s shores
and giving us to live with him whose name will ever be
Jesus! Jesus!
Jesus is love! Jesus is faith! Jesus is hope!
Jesus is life by the power of the Spirit
who lives with the Father and the Son,
one God now and forevermore! Amen!
Thanks be to God! Amen!

Often sung at funerals, the Psalm’s undaunted optimism in the face of death is reflected through the shimmering of all of the instruments in a combined impressionist mosaic, led by 12 string guitar (sounding more like a dulcimer), flute and harp.

The work has been described as crossing many influences in classical music, particularly the music of Claude Debussy, Béla Bartók, and Charles Ives

Lyrics of Psalm 46 (Jersusalem Bible translation),
The last stanza is performed in this piece, but the Psalm is provided here in its entirety. God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

Though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of Hosts is with us;
our Citadel, the God of Jacob.
Selah

Come and see the works of the Lord,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord of Hosts with us;
our Citadel, the God of Jacob.

The Bird Song (4:02) is an instrumental work composed by the whole group and uses most of the instruments. The birds play as instrumental voices from within he Christ Tree branches, each with its own sound and presence, as the voices of many nations highlighted by Japanese Koto, African Belanji and Fly Wheel, and Native American Flutes.

The version heard here is part of the "Christ Tree Live" concert on disk 2 of the 4 CD Christ Tree Box Set. This concert was recorded in 1974 by Calvin Hampton, noted composer and organist, at Calvary Episcopal Church, in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, NYC.

Lift Your Weary Hand (1:52) is a selection from "A Potrait of Jesus Christ in Music", originally released in 1972 on cassette tape.

The simple style of this music, with Venezualan folk harp, light instrumentation and vocals are representative of the early Trees music that many of our friends from that time remember and cherish.

Lift your weary hand and give ear in your heart
For a voice is gently calling
As the wind whispers through the trees.

As the movement of the Spirit like the sound of flowing water
Reaches the soul saying,
'Cause your roots to sink deep in My love
And I will give you the breath of My spirit to kiss your branches
And make the buds to come to fruit in loving praise.

And I will adorn you with the fresh garb of humility
As the spring tree in green foliage
And I will fill your heart with My rich blood.

For the lost lamb is My beloved
And mountains will be moved to save her.
Lift then your hand and come with me,
For even now my holy angels are with thee
As ever I am with thee.

The Lyrics and music of "Lift Your Weary Hand" are by Katheryn "Shishonee" Krupa, and the arranged by all the Trees.

This and several other songs from our early days only survived in the form of the cassette recording of "A portrait of Jesus Christ in Music", released in entirety on Disk 4 of the Trees Box set.

The taping only happened through the efforts of a Santa Fe, New Mexico native named "Cherokee Darling". She fell in love with our music and recorded us in her tiny recording studio on the outskirts of town.

Tim Renner of Dark Holler * Hand Eye then worked his magic to produce the 2007 re-release of both the Christ Tree Box Set and the Christ Tree CD Single.

The Bird Song (4:02) is an instrumental work composed by the whole group and uses most of the instruments. The birds play as instrumental voices from within he Christ Tree branches, each with its own sound and presence, as the voices of many nations highlighted by Japanese Koto, African Belanji and Fly Wheel, and Native American Flutes.

The version heard here is part of the "Christ Tree Live" concert on disk 2 of the 4 CD Christ Tree Box Set. This concert was recorded in 1974 by Calvin Hampton, noted composer and organist, at Calvary Episcopal Church, in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, NYC.

Your Name ... is an ointment poured forth ...(5:12) is a selection from a recording made of the Trees Music by the Monks of the Abbey of Gethsemani in 1973, released in entirety on the Disk 3 of the Trees Box set.

An original song for harp, flute and voice, composed by Katheryn "Shishonee" Krupa, it is inspired by the Song of Solomon and the Psalms.

Your name is as ointment poured forth
Therefore do the virgins love thee.
Your name is as ointment poured forth;
Therefore do the virgins love thee

Neither has he turned away his face from me.
When I cried to him, he heard me.
His left hand is under my head;
His right arm embraces me.

His wind shall blow
And the waters run.
The rock is changed into pool,
The stony hill into fountains of water,
The stony hill into fountains of water.

The Lord is sweet and righteous.
He teaches the meek his ways.
The Lord is sweet and righteous.
He teaches the meek his ways.

Behold, I shall bring upon her
A flowing river of peace.
All you that love her rejoice.

I hear the voice of my beloved
Calling me to his breast.
When I could not believe, he forgave me.
In the shadow of your wings, I will rejoice.

Your name is as ointment poured forth;
Therefore do the virgins love thee.
Your name is as ointment poured forth;
Therefore do the virgins love thee.

Spirit Raga...(5:12) is an original, spontaneous composition based on the tradition form of the Raga from India

It is performed by William "Shipen" Lebzelter on Sitar, Philip "Ariel" Dross on Tamboura, and Roger Gumbiner on Tablas

Psalm 44 (12:02) is a late "work in progress" recorded by the group in 1975.

“Wake up, Lord! Why are You asleep?”

From Jewish and Christian hymns of worship to raw vocal expressions of distraught madness to comforting Cello interludes, this music crosses intersections of spirit, tradition, and musical genre from ancient to modern times.

It carries influences from traditional folk to modern classical composition: from Aaron Copland in the American heartland to Béla Bartók in Eastern Europe, back to Charles Ives.

Through it all is the weaving of both song and distress in and out of time, crying out to God.

Interconnected with, or separate from, current events in the world, many of us feel that this work in particular resonates the timeless relevance of the Psalms.

Lord, we have heard with our own ears
Our fathers have told us the stories
Of things you did in their days,
In days long ago by your hand.

To plant them in the land you uprooted the nations.
To let them spread you drove the peoples out.
It was not by their swords they won the land;
It was not by their arms they gained the prize.
It was your hand, your arm, and the light of your face--
The light of your face because you loved them.

You it was my King, my God,
Who won those victories for Jacob.
Through you we trampled down our enemies,
Through you we overthrew our aggressors.
To plant them in the land you uprooted the nations;
To let them spread you drove the peoples out.

For I do not trust in my bow.
Neither does my sword save me.
We conquered our enemies through you.
You defeated all who hated us.
All day long our boast was in God.
We praised your name without ceasing

Yet now you abandon and scorn us.
You no longer march with our armies.
You allow the enemy to push us back
And let those who hate us raid us with their armies.

You make us like sheep for the slaughter.
You scatter us among the nations.
You sell your people for next to nothing
And make no profit by the sale.
Why do you sell your people?
Why do you sell your people?

Thanks to you our neighbors insult us
And make us the laughing stock of all who come near.
You make us a byword among the nations
To make them toss their heathen heads.
All day long I brood on this disgrace.
My face covered in shame.
Under a shower of insult and blasphemy,
A display of hatred and revenge.

All this happened to us though we have not forgotten you.
We have not betrayed your covenant.
We have not withdrawn our hearts.
Our feet have not strayed from your path,
Yet you crushed us in the place of sorrows
And threw the shadow of death over us.

If we had forgotten you or embraced another God,
Wouldn’t you have found it out?
You know the secrets of the heart.
All day long I brood on this disgrace.
My face covered in shame.
You know the secrets of the heart.

For you our lives are being sacrificed.
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Wake up Lord! Why are you asleep?
Get up! Don’t reject us forever.
Why do you hide your face?
Why don’t you say something?
Why don’t you listen Lord?
You forget we are being exploited, cheated, oppressed.
We sink down into the dust
Our body cleaves to the earth.
Rise up, come to our help.
Redeem us for the sake of your love.

Initially Composed by “Shishonee’ Katheryn Krupa and then composed together with all Trees Community members at that time, including Marguerite Blythe Katchen, Stephen Gambill, Shishonee Katheryn Krupa, Shipen Lebzelter, David Lynch, and Mary McCutcheon Vukman.

The Annunciation(3:33), recorded live in 1973 by the monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani.

The work is plainsong flowing over Indian Tamboura (the drone instrument).

Came an angel in the night,
A sudden bright and fiery light
Like a star thrown from the sky
To the place where Mary prayed.

All hail, sweet Mary,
Why do you weep?
God has looked upon you
With favor that his promises you keep.

Softly virgin daughter
A child you shall bear
Though no man has known you
Yet God has chosen you most fair.

This child shall be a savior
A light to the world
And when you have born him
His name shall be called
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord
Be it unto me as you will.
As a breath of morning Gabriel spoke
And left her praying and alone.

Lyrics and Music by “Shishonee” Katheryn Krupa

The Symphony of Souls (3:19), recorded live in 1971 at the Abbey of St Gregory in Three Rivers, Michigan, was our original form of spontanous spiritual singing.

This was the partially harmonic, partially dissonent contemplative sound that first came about from prayer in our New York City loft, where we spent the long night singing, and then sleeping in tents pitched on the attic's hardwood floor.

Thus the early sound inspired the community's original name of "The New York Tent City Symphony of Souls in Christ."

From there the symphony found its way into the depth of subway stations, upward to the clerestory heights of the Cathedral of St John the Divine, and then outward across the American Open Road, accompanying our pilgrimage without a destination on an itenerary of faith in a converted 1973 GMC School bus.

Baptism (7:12 -- recorded 1973 at the Abbey of Gethsemani) Small tastes of locusts and wild honey evolving an outpouring of the spirit at the point of Baptism.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Behold, the Lamb of God
Who taketh away the sins of the world.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Every valley shall be filled;
Every mountain brought low.
The crooked shall be made straight
And the rough way smooth.

Have ye not known?
Have ye not heard?
Have you not been told
From the beginning?

Behold, the Lord God shall come.
As a shepherd he shall feed his flock
and gently lead those that are with young

The people came asking,
Who are you? Are you Elijah or a prophet?
How can you baptize?
Are you the Christ?

Who are you? Are you Elijah or a prophet?
How can you baptize?
Are you the Christ?

How beautiful are the feet of them
That preach the gospel of peace.

John answered saying,
I baptize with water
but there stands one among you
Who will baptize with the Holy Spirit
and with fire.

There comes one after me
whose sandals I am not worthy
to stoop down and unloose.

Behold, the Lamb of God
Lo, the heavens opened up
and the Spirit of God descended on him
In the form of a dove.

A voice came from heaven:
This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
And Jesus went into the desert
into the raging wilderness
and Jesus was 30 years of age.
Jesus was 30 years of age.



Lyrics selected and melodies by “Shishonee” Katheryn Krupa, orchestration by The Trees]

There is Such a Love ...that steals into the heart, planting a kiss on deep wounds... (1:14, recorded 1973 at the Abbey of Gethsemani) - A short original piece, to the point, and what we were all about.

There is such a love.

There is such a love
That steals into the heart,
Planting a kiss on deep wounds.
And hearts are filled with it

When in a moment’s sorrow
They are emptied--
Only then can they be full of
Such a Love, of such a love.

When alone and weary
Laying softly in bitterness,
Longing for that gentleness of a child,
There is such a love.

Words echoing with no one to listen
Trying to touch, to gather hope,
There is such a love.




Lyrics and melodies by “Shishonee” Katheryn Krupa