Charisma Records released two albums called 'Songs for a Modern Church'. The first, from 1975 was 'Beyond An Empty Dream (Songs For A Modern Church)' while the second, from 1983, was just entitled 'Songs for a Modern Church'.
The track listing for the first album was:
Clifford T. Ward – Jesus Of Long Ago
Anawim – Give Us The Peace
The Charterhouse Choral Society – Take This Heart
Arranged By [Vocal Arrangement] – W. B. Llewellywyn
Organ [Organist] – Robin Wells
Producer – Anthony Phillips
Written by – A. Phillips, M. Rutherford
John McLaughlin – Guru
Anawim – Lady Of Sorrow
Anawim – Mother Teresa's Prayer
The Friends Of St Francis – The Man Who Turned On The World
Anawim – The Walking Song
John McLaughlin – The Name Of Truth
Anawim – Show Me The Man
Capability Brown – Sympathy
and, for the second:
Clifford T. Ward – The Traveller
Joan McGuinness (2) & Anawim – Prayer Before Birth
Peter Hammill & Van Der Graaf Generator – Refugees
Rare Bird – Sympathy
Graham Bell & 'Every Which Way' – Go Placidly
Lindisfarne – Clear White Light
Sir John Betjeman – Christmas
Paul Phoenix And The St. Paul's Cathedral Boys Choir – Nunc Dimittis
Keith Emerson And The West Park School Choir – My Name Is Rain
Kenny Rowe – Jesus
St. Paul's Cathedral Boys Choir – I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing (In Perfect Harmony)
Gregory Isaacs – Poor And Clean
"‘Clear White Light’ is utterly different from anything else Lindisfarne recorded. It starts a capella, with [Alan] Hull’s voice, strong and soaring, singing ‘Do you believe?’ It’s part of a line, and the rest of the band’s singers join him on the word ‘believe’, adding a powerful harmony. He goes on to ‘the clear white light’, with the same arrangement, the band joining in forcefully on ‘light’, before drawing the question into a final line, ‘is going to guide us on’, the band harmonising on the final three words. It’s instant and intense, very personal and immediately spiritual, and it’s this without reference to god or religion, that powers the song. The clear white light of which Hull sings is something beyond, a purity and a cleansing, but more of a natural force that exists and illuminates."
Anawim started life by contributing tracks to 'Beyond An Empty Dream'. Two years later Tom McGuinness and Jim Crampsey, two Jesuit priests, issued 'Mystery Maker' on the tiny Caves Records, which was based at Stonyhurst College, a private Catholic school in Lancashire. Cave Records released three LPs of original music on Jesuit themes.
Tom McGuinness wrote of 'Take this Heart', a modern hymn written by Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford: 'Reflective doesn't always mean quiet. A much bigger atmosphere is created in this live recording of The Charterhouse Choral Society in their own chapel. Anthony Phillips and Mike Rutherford wrote this together and both felt that the live recording held a much better atmosphere than the studio recording which was also tried. (The echoes are real).'
John McLaughlin, also known as Mahavishnu, is a pioneer of jazz fusion, his music combines elements of jazz with rock, world music, Western classical music, flamenco, and blues.
The Friends Of St Francis released 'The Man Who Turned On The World' as a single paired with 'How Is The World Today?' in 1974 on Charisma.
'Capability Brown was a band of 6 multi-instrumentalists with terrific vocal harmonies who were equally at home with short, snappy, should-have-been-hit pop songs as they were with complex extended pieces... Kenny Rowe had one solo single on Charisma, Jesus/Water Song.' 'Their second album, "Voice", released in 1973, is considered their claim to fame, incorporating an over-20-minute richly melodic piece called Circumstances (In Love, Past, Present, Future Meet).'
'Paul Phoenix’s long career in the music business began in the 1970’s, when he became a Chorister in St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir in the City of London. He sang in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee service in 1977 and recorded the Ivor Novello award-winning theme ‘Nunc Dimittis’ by Geoffrey Burgon, in the BBC adaptation of John Le Carre’s ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ in 1979, for which he was later awarded a gold disc.'
Keith Emerson said: 'My mother used to work at a school canteen. The headmaster there, when he knew who her son was, said: ‘Would he mind writing a school song?’ I wrote this theme, and I sat down at my barn with my tape-recorder and got the idea together, and sat on it for about 8 months. Charisma records heard it and liked it: ‘Oh it’s great! We’d like to use this on Songs for a Modern Church'.'
Gregory Isaacs was 'reggae’s “Cool Ruler,” whose aching vocals and poignant lyrics about love and loss and ghetto life endeared him to fans of Caribbean music'. 'Poor and Clean' begins "A rich man's heaven is a poor man's hell".
Peter Hammill wrote of 'Refugees': 'In the writing, however, the song developed a life of its own (as is always the best way), and the hope becomes much more than that for reunion with my friends. We are all refugees, and there is no home but hope."'
Rare Bird were an English progressive rock band, formed in 1969. They released five studio albums between 1969 and 1974. In the UK, the organ-based single "Sympathy" reached number 27 in February 1970, selling an estimated one million globally.
'Every Which Way took a more jazz influenced take on Progressive rock... The band recorded their only album at Trident studios soon after formation and signed with the recently founded Charisma label. The finished result was a fine record which earned much critical praise upon its release. The songs were mostly written by Graham Bell, whose superb voice was selected for praise... Highlights included the emotive 'Go Placidly'.
'Every Which Way took a more jazz influenced take on Progressive rock... The band recorded their only album at Trident studios soon after formation and signed with the recently founded Charisma label. The finished result was a fine record which earned much critical praise upon its release. The songs were mostly written by Graham Bell, whose superb voice was selected for praise... Highlights included the emotive 'Go Placidly'.
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