Lyrical, ethereal, haunting sounds of an angel.

19 MP3 Songs
CLASSICAL: Traditional, WORLD: Celtic



Details:
A year ago I decided to make a cd recording of some of my favorite songs - songs I have sung in churches, in recitals and competitions, in concerts, at mass, at Evensongs, and at weddings and funerals. I wanted it for my children, those who live near and far away, and those who are separated by choice and by death. I wanted to leave a legacy for my yet unborn grandchildren and their children after them. We are their link to the past and they are our link to the future.
Singing is such an amazing thing. It can be light and airy, ethereal and glowing, heavy and sadly wrenching, and joyous and spiritually uplifting. I have been truly blessed by God in this life. I have been given talents, great joy as well as grief, supportive family, teachers, and friends. I have found that singing combines it all. God grants each of us gifts, and it is our duty to enhance and use them, or we will wither and die. I have chosen to work at developing this gift and use it to ease this earthly journey we all share.
Songs are meant to be sung - to be shared. They are taken in until they become a part of the singer, who then breathes life into them. My heart was broken and it has been healed by music. A friend wrote that when she first heard me singing in our small church, that she knew it came from a broken heart to help heal her broken heart.
I believe angels surround us, so I thought it most fitting to use them for the theme of my album. And what greater angel song is there than the one the Angel Gabriel proclaimed to Mary - what has become our Ave Maria. Thus, combining Aves and Angels seems very right.
Peace and joy be with you.

Shannon McCall, a first soprano, is cantor at St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church, Fort Monroe, Virginia. She sings in the choir at St. John's Episcopal Church in Hampton (the oldest Anglican church in this country). She is a soloist and member of the Virginia Choral Society. A Fine Arts major, she graduated Magna cum Laude from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She currently studies voice and piano locally, and has studied Irish ballad singing with the late Frank Harte, well known Irish tenor from Dublin, Ireland. She has sung in various church choirs, school vocal groups, and has taught art and music. She and her husband, Bill, a dentist, live and work in Hampton, Virginia. This album is dedicated to their four children, Caitlin, Meghan, Kyle, and Connor.

Future albums will include one of lullabies to herald the birth of our first grandchild, Quinconnor; a Colonial Music Sampler from a concert performance; a Christmas theme; and one of Irish ballads and ayres and other favorites. So please check back to the site everyone now and then.

May you find peace and blessings in abundance,
Shannon