Pitchfork

The 12-minute "Psalm 42" opens this box set collecting of the work of the unclassifiable early 1970s project Trees Community. This psalm, chanson, ballad, chant, interlude, and veritable symphonic movement encapsulates the massive ambition of this seven-plus-piece troupe and stands as one of the group's greatest works. A perfect mess of musical history and geography, "Psalm 42" is indicative of the band's open-forum aesthetic, driven by an inclusive form of Christianity that today is missing in action. One could easily discuss the piece without running dry of insight-- but for the 62 other worthy tracks that follow. Our general understanding of modern Christian music is so far removed from what the Trees Community accomplished that this release comes as a startling revelation.

As explained by surviving members in 2005, the Trees Community's aesthetic drew inspiration from the most disparate sects of Christianity. Their pilgrimages in the early 70s included visits to "Trappist, Benedictine, Franciscan and Paulist monastic communities, evangelical and social outreach groups of every denomination, [and] a Hutterite farming collective." Returning in 1971 to NYC to join the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Trees "continuously learned from every group and person we met."

This all-encompassing drive resulted in a plethora of experimentations that are solidified by tradition-- many of the tracks are revived, often Eastern-inspired renditions of old standards, employing instruments like sitars, tambouras, harmoniums, harps, oboes, and more to create niche-less, luscious performances. Songs like "O Little Town of Bethlehem", here a 43-second a cappella stint, rely as much on mid-20th century folk as chanson and polyphonic traditions of hundreds of years past. "Bethlehem" moves fluidly into "Village Orchestra"-- a chanting, unstructured rumble with whispers of a bagpipe that coyly hints at the melody of "Amazing Grace"-- before transitioning into thunderous organic percussion, Sanctus bells, and a happy, marching vocal fadeout. Soon, the easy shifting strums of the acoustic guitar on "I Will Not Leave You Comfortless" appear-- an effortless counterpoint to the other expertly overpopulated tracks.

Tim Renner, founder of label Dark Holler, has gathered four different Trees projects and released them on imprint Hand/Eye, bringing to light their first legitimate release, The Christ Tree, the rare cassette A Portrait of Jesus Christ in Music, a portion of a live performance, live practices, orphan songs, and two concert tapes from a 1973 performance at the Cistercian Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, sometime residence of the late Thomas Merton. For a modest 30 bucks we get 80 instruments shared by a multitude of wide-eyed, inspired talents, educating us on the distinctions between live performance and practiced recording, between fleeting musical thought and revived traditional.

On the live cassettes, colorful renditions like "Kyrie" resound in their traditional cathedral setting, but they betray a youthful, vibrant freedom with female vocal parts that more readily recall Asian prayer songs than Christian monastic staples. The fast pace and percussive quality of the vocals on many of these live tracks are just one example of the way the Trees paint Christianity in a (now) revolutionary light: Their stylistic inclusiveness unequivocally implies a diplomacy of faith rather than cultural robbery.

On top of that, their work is indispensable as a premonitory vision of the current freak-folk scene. The eerie plucks and mutterings of "Lines Scribbled on an Envelope While Riding on the 104 Broadway Bus" are a flourish of lighthearted avant-garde experimentation, a precursory foray into present-day mixed-genre renascences. Continually emphasized and beautifully harnessed is this group's happy state of flux: "We were part of a living, breathing, unrehearsed story-- a symphony."