Creativity Stargaze 2008

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BNC Songwriting & Creativity Stargaze 2008!


Sponsored by Performing Songwriter Magazine

Hey! We’re back with a bang in 2008! Come to the Stargaze and re-align your creative power. Two and a half days and evenings of incredible hands-on classes in songwriting, creativity boosting, and performance at the historic Dyer Observatory in Brentwood, Tennessee. Bonfires, guitar/piano pulls, incredible organic lunches, powerful instruction, Drive-By Hit Songwriters, critiques, and tons of inspiration all for $325! If you are a member of NSAI(Nashville Songwriter’s Association International) you can knock off fifty bucks and get in for $275!

Are you stuck in a creative rut? Find the thread that leads to your deepest expression. Sit with legendary songwriters and learn about their creative process.

Take Beth’s magical mystery tour through the creative process where you will come to unlock the powerful creative spirit within you. Acquire new tools and learn to step fully into the mastery of your skills. Through critique of student’s songs and lecture, Beth will also address how to protect your creative flow in the face of letting your songs “cross the street” from art to commerce without getting hit by the mack truck of the music business.

But you don’t have to be a professional songwriter to love this workshop. Any form of creativity may apply! This adventure includes tips, tools, song critiques, guitar-pulling, (and keyboard pulling!) bonfires, story swapping, and spontaneous “Drive-By-Hit-Songwriters” not to mention incredible home cooked organic lunch each day by Gabrielle Middlestadt.



Friday evening will be more like a casual cookout/guitar pull and bring your own beverage kind of thing. Then get ready for Gabrielle’s delectable heavenly lunches Saturday and Sunday.



Historic Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory sits perched atop one of the
highest hills in Nashville. The observatory is nestled in a park-like
setting of native oaks, walnuts and hickory trees. At Dyer, people of
all ages discover the wonders of the universe through the largest
telescope in Tennessee, the Seyfert Telescope. The grounds are a
perfect place for relaxation and contemplation. Dyer is known for
bringing science and art together with events such as Bluebird on The
Mountain. This concert series has become Nashville's most popular
outdoor venue for singer/songwriter concerts.

At Stargaze 2008 we will be introduced to the magic of the Star Chamber!
Renowned artist Chris Drury has created a one-of-a-kind sculpture at
the Observatory.



The 200 ton structure is made from native stone, hand carved timbers,
and is a marvel to contemplate. The sculpture is a camera-obscura,
seated inside the chamber, the top that allows images from the sky and
horizon to be reflected onto white-washed walls of the interior. The
chamber also functions as a huge sundial which marks the passing of the seasons by projecting a noon-day image of the sun in an analemma. There in the Star Chamber Beth will lead a class on how to use your voice. We’ll do some “toning” which centers on the power of the vowel especially as it applies to finding the words inside a melody. Yes, we’re going to walk inside this amazing igloo-shaped rock which will take you to a place in your center. From there will come some insights about how to sing from that same center.



Hotels Nearby
Some great little hotels are all around the Observatory. Here are some we can vouch for!

Comfort Inn and Suites
615-221-5001
5566 Franklin Pike
Brentwood, Tn. 37027

Mainstay Suites
615-371-8477
107 Brentwood Blvd
Brentwood, Tn. 37027

Candlewood Suites
800-633-8464
5129 Virginia Way
Brentwood, Tn. 37027

Steeplechase Inn
615-373-8585
5581 Franklin Pike Circle
Brentwood, Tn. 37027

Travel and lodging and dinner in the evening is not included (except for the “casual” weinie roast on Friday night during the sign-up). But the lunches will be astonishing!


Drive-By-Hit-Songwriter-Geniuses!
During the BNC Creativity Stargaze, we will feature a few great “drive-by-geniuses” of songwriting and recording fame, INCLUDING: Mike Reid! Mike is the writer of countless hits and also created musicals for theater. Mike co-wrote “I Can’t Make You Love Me” for Bonnie Raitt! Here’s Mike and I a few years back after I sang that song when he was inducted into the Hall Of Fame!



And we’ll have some other legends as well, such as Bill Lloyd (Crazy Over You {Foster & Lloyd}) Bill Lloyd will wow you with his “Forest Gump” eclectic ability in all styles of music and his infectious tunes, as well as advice on the ins and out of pushing the boundaries of country, pop and rock.








AND!



Marshall Chapman (Betty’s Bein’ Bad, and the author of “Goodbye Little Rock and Roller”. Marshall Chapman will be doing a “Drive-by” and playing you some of her incredible songs and talking about her writing process. If we’re lucky she will also give us some sneak previews of her upcoming book “They Came To Nashville” which is sure to enlighten any aspiring writer!

We also celebrate the return of Annie Roboff,



(“This Kiss”, “If My Heart Had Wings”).



Annie Roboff will also be stopping by for a quick co-writing class with Beth. Writer of countless hits including “This Kiss”, written with Beth and Robin Lerner, Beth and Annie will let you in on some of their experiences as a co-writing team.

Master Class With Paul Reisler


Paul Reisler, one of the most popular songwriting teachers in North America provides a comprehensive and wonderfully digestible wealth of knowledge about songwriting and song structure. A teacher for many years and in high demand, Paul, songwriter, composer, songwriting teacher and founder of the musical group Trapezoid is also the founder and creator of “Kid Pan Alley” This past March, Kid Pan Alley was featured on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” Here’s star songwriting teacher Paul Reisler!



AND ROCKY!



This year we also have back astonishing astronomer-genius and caretaker of the Observatory, Rocky Alvey, who will lead us across the universe as we tour the magnificent skies at night looking through the telescope at incredible galaxies, moons and planets. There’s nothing like the vast expanse of the cosmos out there to mirror the vast expanse of the inner cosmos of creativity.

Rocky Alvey is infinitely engaging with his astounding knowledge of the universe. It’s just impossible to explain how he can warp your sense of dimensions with what’s out there in the great sky of stars. You have to see it for yourself! It will make you realize the ultimate beauty of creativity at its finest level!

So don’t miss the fun! Availability won’t last long! Sign up early because we have a limited amount of space and the space will go fast! Just download the registration form and send with a check for deposit to:

BNC CREATIVITY STARGAZE
PO Box 58156
Nashville, Tn.
37205

or sign up online. Instructions are all on the bethnielsenchapman.com website!

OH! And if you are a member of NSAI (The Nashville Songwriter’s Association International) you get $50 off the registration fee! If you are not a member you can become one and also qualify! So for $275 you can come for the whole she-bang!

See you there!! Love, BNC

April 19th-Austin Texas: Beth and Rodney Crowell perform for the "Healthy Child Healthy World" benefit.

April 19th, Austin Texas, "Healthy

Child Healthy World" hosts an early evening Cocktail reception and Benefit concert at 502 Riley Rd., Austin Tx. 98746. Grammy winning artist Rodney Crowell will be featured, along with artist Beth Nielsen Chapman.





Beth is on the Board Of Directors of "Healthy Child". Check out their amazing "website.

Barnes and Noble Loves Prism!

PRISM: THE HUMAN FAMILY SONGBOOK
Beth Neilsen Chapman
BNC Records

Inspired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu's concept of a common humanity, Beth Neilsen Chapman continues a spiritual journey that began even before her celebrated 2004 collection of Catholic hymns, Hymns, with the moving meditations on life and death she penned in the wake of her husband's passing and unveiled on her powerful 1997 CD, Sand and Water. Exploring the universal spiritual light infusing diverse religions, Chapman here presents two discs of music. Disc 1 is comprised of original and traditional songs that examine the common ground shared by all faiths, sometimes within the same song (the propulsive, percussive "The Mystery"); each in its own way demonstrates as well a common humanity informing the different styles of music on this disc--pop-country on "God Is In (Goddess In)," hip-hop on "My Religion," a stately, stirring reading of the Protestant hymn "For the Beauty," and so forth, all rendered seamlessly, with conviction as profoundly deep as it is lovingly understated. Disc 2 takes the same tack, but with a critical difference: the yearnings expressed are similar to those on Disc 1, but on Disc 2 Chapman goes global, singing songs centered on the spiritual quest in nine different languages, including English (the stark, a cappella rendering of "The Flame"), Zulu, Welsh (her voice an ethereal near-whisper in a tender old Gaelic hymn, "Durrow"), Farsi, and others. She concludes her ambitious journey with a solemn "Navajo Chant" to summon the Great Spirit, as Bobby Klein adds a rumbling, commanding baritone vocal, accompanied only by John Ragusa's airy flute lines carrying these souls' humble appeal aloft, as if on an eagle's wings, born ceaselessy to a place where there'll be no distinction, but rather an embrace of all as one. Remarkable and challenging, Prism is the stuff of life, and Beth Neilsen Chapman's finest hour. -David McGee

Hello World

Hello world! I’m writing this from Harlech, Wales. I’ve been hanging here for a few days working on the BNC Big Book of Songs. I’m hoping to have a fairly comprehensive songbook completed soon with the help of Maartin Allcock. I’ve had to wait until Maart finished Richard Thompson’s songbook, which is not thin!

Prior to Wales I spent four days in Belfast with some of my best friends in the world. “Kieran Goss & Friends” was being filmed at the Belfast Opera House and allowed me the opportunity to perform with my buddies for three sold out nights!

L to R: Kimmie Rhodes, Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast Bernie Kelly, Rodney Crowell, Kieran Goss, me and Brendan Murphy.


Me with Kimmie, Rodney and Bernie.

So after all that fun I made my way to Wales, land of the incredible sunsets. This one was taken by Maart. It’s just about in his backyard. The front yard is leaping with baby lambs.

Yesterday we went to Porthmadog, the nearby town from which came all the slate “to roof the world”. In the nearby Glaslyn valley live the only nesting pair of Ospreys in the whole of Wales!

Here I am looking at the telescope. But the Osprey couple isn’t due back until next week. I’ll just miss them!

Next week I’ll be heading to the Royal Albert Hall to perform with Kris Kristofferson. Can’t wait for that! Rodney Crowell, Brendan Murphy and I went to hear Kris last week at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast. Just Kris and his guitar. We were just blown away with his performance. Song after song. And those songs. Wow.

Oh, and before we leave Wales, let’s not forget about one of the prize cooking ingredients of roast potatoes, Goose Fat! (a French idea apparently), and in the upper left hand corner shelf we also have Lavabread which is Welsh seaweed. Part of a traditional Welsh breakfast!

Ok, besides that, I’ll be heading back to Austin, Texas to perform at an event for “Healthy Child, Healthy World” on April 19th. It will be held at a wonderful newly finished “green” home. Rodney Crowell will be performing as well. Check out this amazing organization.

I’m very proud to serve on its Board Of Directors. Having come through breast cancer I became extremely interested in what toxic stuff is all around us in this day and age. The HCHW website is chock-full of great information to help protect families from dangerous chemicals in the environment, many of which are considered “safe”.

And last but not least! Don’t forget about the upcoming Creativity Stargaze!

Sign up for the Stargaze HERE!

BNC in the news at SESAC

SESAC singer/songwriter extraordinaire Beth Nielsen Chapman stopped by the SESAC headquarters to celebrate the release of her latest CD, Prism. Chapman, responsible for penning such hits as Faith Hill’s “This Kiss”, Martina McBride’s “Happy Girl” and Willie Nelson’s “Ain’t Necessarily So”, among many others, is currently embarking on a packed tour schedule in support of her new CD release.

PHOTO: Kay Williams
Beth Nielsen Chapman and SESAC’s Tim Fink
Beth Nielsen Chapman Celebrates Release of Her CD, Prism

Catch Beth Live in Concert

Fri, February 22nd
Alabama Hall of Fame, Montgomery

Sun, March 2nd
The Eisemann Center Women in Film.Dallas presents The Topaz Awards Gala, Richardson

Mon, March 10th
3rd and Lindsley . Belfast/Nashville Sister Cities concert. BNC with Foy Vance and Ben Glover, Mary Gauthier, Brian Houston, Eilidh Patterson and Bill Lloyd., Nashville

Wed, March 12th
SXSW, Austin

Thu, March 20th
Grand Opera House, Belfast
IRELAND

Fri, March 21st
Grand Opera House, Belfast
IRELAND

Sat, March 22nd
Grand Opera House, Belfast
IRELAND

Wed, April 2nd
Royal Albert Hall, London
England

Thu, April 17th
Second Presbyterian Church, Nashville

Sat, April 26th
Vanderbilt Dyer Observatory, Nashville

The Montreal Gazette Reviews "PRISM"

BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN
Prism
BNC/Thirty Tigers/Red

On this two-CD concept album, Beth Nielsen Chapman, who’s provided hits for Bonnie Raitt, Faith Hill and many others, sings beautifully while exploring the worlds of spirituality and religion from a pluralistic perspective. Most of the first disc is devoted to contemporary songs – many of them her own – which seek to find common ground among all the major religions. On the second, and more interesting, CD, she performs a dozen songs borrowed from various religious traditions: Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Zulu, Hindu, Native American and more. While her renditions are well-researched, her performances hardly feel like academic exercises. It’s quite remarkable how seamlessly the songs flow together. ***1/2

Podworthy: Pilgrim of Sorrow

--MIKE REGENSTREIF

Mike Regenstreif

Acting Editor: Ottawa Jewish Bulletin
Music Reviewer: Montreal Gazette
Music Reviewer: Sing Out Magazine
Host/Producer: Folk Roots/Folk Branches features, CKUT radio

mikeregenstreif@rogers.com

235 Metcalfe Ave. #402
Westmount, QC
H3Z 2H8

800 Riddell Ave. N. #303
Ottawa, ON
K2A 2V9

http://www.myspace.com/ckutfolk

BNC FeB 08 Yikes! Catch-up Blog

Hello world. Yikes! It’s already February! I am dreadfully behind in updating this blog….I just haven’t stopped!

So I’m just going to plow forward and I’m going to do my best to reconstruct the past several months, although I must admit I could get the times and places mixed up. My mind feels like it’s been put in a blender!

Most recently, in January I performed at a few benefits, one being a huge gathering in San Diego for my friend Ken Druck’s foundation. It was mostly speakers including Tony Robbins, Ken Blanchard, Michael Beckwith and others in an all day event called “The Secret To Your Best Year Ever”.

My son Ernest just happened to be in LA recording his great new album, so I had him drive down and come perform with me at the San Diego arena.

Prior to this I had decided to spend two weeks at a wonderful place called “Optimum Health” where I completely surrendered into a program to detox myself from sugar, caffeine and all other bad stuff I’d been enjoying too much of.
I had a great time on the wonderful tour of the UK and Ireland. Thanks to all the fans who came out to the shows!
But before I do that I want to mention that the BNC Creativity Stargaze will definitely be happening this year! I’ll be putting together a page on my site with info on how to sign up and some coming highlights.

And speaking of ‘creativity’, here’s something I wanted to share that someone sent me.

This amazing piece of writing captures the essence of “creativity” and how to be ok with not knowing the answer as a way of finding the answer:

"As our insights into the nature of the human mind-brain have deepened we are discovering that every act of perception, naming and knowing is a creative act. Moment to moment we organize the multidimensional chaos of our world into meaningful, and manageable interpretations organized in mental images, and symbolic notations. To look beyond our mental constructs back into the creative vortex of the mind-brain's fundamental chaos and to observe how perceptions form and coalesce into images, ideas and creative insights that are then further shaped and molded by our beliefs and intentions is fundamental to understanding and mastering our participation in the creative process.

To do this work requires courage. Courage is the key that opens the mind. While the closed mind limits itself to the familiar and fixed compartments of ideas, views, beliefs, and habits the open mind encompasses a space of limitless possibilities. The open mind is not for the faint hearted. It takes courage both to hold what you know and like lightly, to behold what you have long denied and to encounter and befriend what appears strange or unfamiliar. With courage we are equipped to fearlessly know our fear, and to feel compassion towards the burning pain of our anger. Within the open mind there are few certainties and many possibilities.

The simple act of observation is the key to transforming our lives. Observation suspends our conventional beliefs, conceptions and habit
allowing us to encompass with equal measure the objects that appear to our minds, the subject who is observing and the process of knowing itself. Thus we equip ourselves to embrace, experience and understand the process of knowing in all its multidimensionality. This comprehensive way of viewing ourselves and our experience allows new kinds of knowledge to emerge and reveals many previously ignored possibilities in our lives."

-- Joel & Michelle Levey from Inner Science & Technology: A Guide to the
Awakening Mind

Now I realize, like me, you may have to read that three times. But wow! It’s pretty chock full of stuff!

Now on to the adventures of the past two months!

First off I spend almost my entire September doing a promo tour to talk about the “Prism Tour”, which was a great success!

I started off flying in to perform at the final “Heaven & Earth” BBC TV show on September 1st and just ended up staying over as I had the Ken Bruce show for BBC Radio 2 to tape in the middle of the month and then the NIMIC (Northern Ireland Songwriting retreat) at the Giant’s Causeway at the end of September. My previous blog/newsletter left me off just heading to Northern Ireland. Here are some pictures from that great adventure.

Here I am taking a bite out of the Giant’s Causeway!
I made my way through many radio and TV stations with my excellent Northern Ireland publicist James Rollings.

Here I’m having dinner with JD Souther and James in Belfast:

Here I am dancing on the bridge at the Giant’s Causeway….fun huh?


Here I am with the legendary Ross Graham at the end of Sept 07. I was invited to teach at NIMIC’s Songwriting retreat at the Giant’s Causeway.
I’m excited to be working with Ross on March 10th 2008, in Nashville for a concert to celebrate Belfast/Nashville sister cities! And also we are doing a similar concert at SXSW in Austin on March 12th 2008. You can check the details out on my site.

Anyway…back to trying to catch you up! Here’s another shot of me and Father Brian D’Arcy who did a special radio show on “Prism” just before Christmas.

Then there was this fabulous fun at one of the oldest Pubs in Belfast.

Tim O’Brian and myself performed and here we are with that legend Gerry Andersen and of course JD Souther who graced us with his presence!




Here I am with the fabulous George Jones.




Back in the USSR…I was a guest on the last taping of the Heaven & Earth Show on September 3. Had a great chat with Gloria Hunniford and performed “God Is In” Heaven and Earth

And then I had great fun performing on the Ken Bruce Show. We ran into some great musicians from New Orleans, Jon Cleary, who plays in Bonnie Riatt’s band was just finishing his taping!

I was thrilled to have Chris Leslie, Maart Allcock, Simon Nicol, and Jerry Conway in my band! Here we are with Esther from Proper Music and Richard Wooton my PR genius in the UK.

Maila Vale Studio is a very historic studio that hosted Bing Crosby (among many others). Maart Allcock miraculously put the “Emergency Legendary Band” together with two phone calls. Maart on bass, Chris Leslie on Mando and Vocals, Simon Nicol on guitar and vocals, and Gerry Conway on drums.

Left to Right: Maart, Chris, BNC, Simon & Getty at Maida Vale studios. You can listen again at:

BBC Radio2 Music Club

I also had a really great string quartet on the Ken Bruce show. Here I am pretending I have a clue how to read music!

Thank you Patrick Doyle (see in my “tour” section about the upcoming show at the Royal Albert Hall on October 28th. It’s an evening celebrating Patrick’s stunning array of scores in some great movies. Here’s Patrick and I at Maida Vale Studio with Mike Walter, the incredible engineer!
As if that wasn’t enough fun…the next day I got to go to tape the Jools Holland Radio show. I’ve been wanting to meet Jools for ages! Here we are after recording “Sir Duke” with his amazing band!

After also taping the Simon Mayo show at BBC Radio 2 (great questions!) another stop on the non-stop Promo tour was a trip up to Scotland!

BNC appears on Deepak's Sirius Radio show "Wellness Radio" in NY

I’ve just come back from NY where I taped the Deepak Chopra “Wellness Radio” show for Sirius to celebrate the release of “Prism” in the US! Deepak had me on for a full hour and my buddy John Ragusa came and added flute and vocals, and Tripp Dudley (my nephew who came out on the UK/Ireland 2007 fall tour) played percussion. It was so great to be able to be there with Deepak this time around instead of calling in to the show as I’ve done in the past.

I got to play several songs and talke with him for a full hour. It was a great way to celebrate the US release of “Prism”! Deepak and I go way back…. look how far!

FOLKWAX reviews "PRISM"

Front Porch
A FolkWax Review Spotlight

Beth Nielsen Chapman's
Prism: The Human Family Songbook


FolkWax Rating: 9
By Arthur Wood

Beth Nielsen Chapman's
Prism: The Human Family Songbook

Released on her own label and sub-titled "The Human Family Songbook," Beth Nielsen Chapman has been labouring on this two-CD project since 1998. The Tibetan chant, "Hymn To Tara," which appears on Disc Two was recorded that year and amounts to the spark that 'lit this particular fire.' Let's step back a little however and look at this musician's recent audio/visual output. While Look [2005], the CD that immediately preceded Prism, was a secular work, prior to that Chapman, raised in a Catholic household, gave us Hymns, a collection of centuries-old religious songs mostly sung in Latin. The liner of that 2004 release included the footnote, "This material is from a forthcoming double CD of world hymns." That said none of the eleven tracks that appeared on Hymns resurface here. In more recent times Chapman married sound and vision with her DVD release If Love Could Say God's Name [2007]. Filmed in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, four of the dozen (mostly religious) songs Chapman performed on that occasion reappear on Prism.

Given the foregoing insights, Prism has certainly not arrived like some unexpected bolt from the blue. The collection's title is rather clever since it infers completeness. Direct a light source at a (usually triangular) prism and it will refract the spectral colours. The skin that man is attired in similarly bears a rich spectrum of hues. Chapman has been a Nashville-based writer since 1985 and prior to her rise to fame as a solo artist was a composer of a string of Country music chart hits for other artists. Wearing her solo singer-songwriter hat, Beth Nielsen Chapman performs material that weds Pop, Folk, and Country influences. On Prism she has cast those previous associations aside and embraced a wide-spectrum of musical genres, and for that matter languages. More about the latter later...

The eleven songs on Disc One are mostly performed in English and Chapman had a hand in co-writing five of them, plus two more on her own. I deliberately used the word "mostly" in the previous sentence since the rhythmically infectious opening cut, "God Is In (Goddess In)," embraces a few foreign phases, while the composer credit raises the question, "How many musicians does it take to co-write a song?" Based on a composition by percussionist/performer Billy Jonas, street poet Chris Chandler, and associate Laura Mahr, Chapman and her long-time collaborator Annie Roboff edited the original lyric and added a bridge. The lyric to "My Religion (Sweet Love)," penned by Chapman and poet Atoaji Radellant is a freeform affair that references (by name) numerous world faiths while stylistically could be categorised as Hip Hop Jazz.

When it comes to Chapman's compositions, I greatly prefer those that she composes on her own. In that regard, almost two decades on, "Emily" and "Years" from her 1990 self-titled sophomore recording (in 1980 Capitol Records issued Chapman's solo debut Hearing It First) still give me chills. Chapman's piano-led "Prayers Of An Atheist" and the Disc One closer "This Life That's Lent To You" are top drawer efforts in that vein, and I'd even hazard a guess that Chapman's research into Native American beliefs inspired the latter lyric.

If I had to pick a Chapman co-writer that I admire, it would be Texan Kimmie Rhodes (as a songwriter Rhodes has also collaborated extensively with Gary Nicholson) and their "Shine All Your Light" previously appeared on Rhodes' Rich From The Journey [2000]. Rhodes' recording of her inspirational Blaze Foley tribute "Our Father's Face," on which, uncredited, Chapman performed a verse, possesses a similar heartfelt spirituality to "Shine All Your Light." As for Nashville-based hit songwriting scribes whose work is on display here, Chapman co-wrote the up-tempo percussive "That Mystery" with Mark Germino and Don Henry penned "Beautiful Fool" (and in the process succeeded in conjuring realistic images of troubled late 1960s America with mention of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the iconic Walts (Disney and Cronkite)). Gary Nicholson's "Choose Love" is a beautiful paean that captures the pain and joy of our earthbound existence (the lyric to Chapman's and Nicholson's "Beyond The Blue," from the former's album Sand And Water [1996], possessed a distinctly spiritual edge).

As for living legends, Chapman co-wrote "Thank You My Lord," which praises the beauty of creation, with Hal David (go on with you, of course you remember Bacharach/David?). One of two older songs on Disc One, "For The Beauty Of The Earth," dates from 1864 and was composed by Englishman Folliot Sandford Pierpoint, while Katharine von Schlegel's lyric "Be Still My Soul" dates from the opening half of the eighteenth century and is teamed with a Jean Sibelius melody, written in 1899, taken from the composer's masterwork "Finlandia."

While the twenty-page liner booklet contains copious details regarding the session players and recording studios used (worldwide), barring the opening verses from "Prayer Of An Atheist," sadly the lyrics are not featured. That comes as a bit of stretch since most of the dozen songs on Disc Two are performed in foreign tongues. All is not lost however, as those lyrics including English translations are available on Chapman's website and we've provided the link: links to the song lyrics including their English translations are located on the web at www.bethnielsenchapman.com/lyrics/prismlyrics.html.

That said, Disc Two opens with the Joe Henry/John Jarvis co-write "The Flame," Henry being a past songwriting collaborator of Chapman's. Given the task of proficiently performing in a foreign tongue, the end result is a testament to the care that Chapman has taken in constructing and completing this work. "Shalom Alecheim," a traditional Hebrew song, "Masibulele Ku Jesu," and the Negro spiritual "Pilgrim Of Sorrow" appeared on the aforementioned DVD.

Elsewhere on Disc Two Chapman performs an arrangement of the traditional "Yemaya" (Cuban) and there's the chants "Hymn To Tara" (Tibetan), "Veni Creator Spiritus" (Latin Gregorian), while, considering my comment about "This Life That's Lent To You," the closing track, "Navajo Chant," on Disc Two pretty much mirrors Disc One. The song "Bhavani" is derived from a Sanskrit text, "In Yonder Valley" finds Chapman visit the world of the Shakers, "Durrow" is sung in Welsh, and "Bad-e Saba" is based on a text by fourteenth century Iranian poet/scholar Hafiz.

Released in the U.K. late last year, musically speaking, 2008 has finally kicked in Stateside with the appearance of Prism. All in all it's a heartfelt song collection with no sell-by date restriction and definitely a family affair considering the insights I've offered regarding the contributing writers. That said, does this world possess the will to pause long enough to truly listen and adopt a path of love, in the process casting aside hate, greed, and many other earthbound ills?

Arthur Wood is a founding editor of FolkWax. You may contact Arthur at folkwax@visnat.com.

++++++++++++++++
Bio

Beth Chapman Nielsen


Beth Nielsen Chapman

Beth has turned harsh life events into great musical art

Beth Nielsen Chapman was born in Harlingen, Texas, in 1956. Her father was is the US Air Force and the family subsequently lived in California, New England, and Germany. Robert Nielsen's final posting, in 1969, brought the family to Montgomery, Alabama, where he settled upon leaving the service. Beth spent her early years playing a neighbour's piano and borrowing her father's guitar. By her mid teens she was a member of a local Folk quartet,Home At Last. She subsequently joined another band calledHarvest, who mutated into Harmony. A songwriter from an early age, Harmony performed some of her originals, as well as covers. She stayed with the band for two years. In the late 1970s Beth met and married Ernest Chapman II, and the couple settled in Mobile, Alabama.
Recorded in Muscle Shoals and produced by Barry Beckett, Beth's debut solo album was released by Capitol Records in 1980. A sealed copy of the album, Hearing It First, was sold in February of 2002 on Ebay for $130.00. The Chapman's relocated to Nashville in 1985 and Beth worked initially for MTM. She scored her first Country #1 in 1988 when Tanya Tucker covered "Strong Enough To Bend," a co-write with Don Schlitz. Since then Beth has written or co-written four more #1 Country singles, a slew of Top 100 Country chart entries, as well as six AC Top 10 singles.

In 1989 Beth's second, self-titled solo album for Warner/Reprise appeared, featuring classic story songs such as "Years," "Emily," and "Life Holds On." Beth's 1993 album You Hold The Key, partly recorded in the U.K., proved to be a weaker collection. Concurrently her husband was battling with lymphoma. He passed away, aged 50, in August 1994. Following a few years silence, Beth's fourth solo album, Sand And Water, co-produced withRodney Crowell arrived during the summer of 1997. Lyrically, a number of the songs were spiritual revelations, particularly the title cut. In 1999 Reprise issued a collection titled Greatest Hits, which drew cuts from her three recordings for that label.

In August of the opening year of the new millennium, Beth was diagnosed as suffering from breast cancer. Her almost complete next studio album was shelved, as Nielsen began the stringent treatment regime. By the summer of 2001 she was able to work again. Her album titled Deeper Still was released in the States by Artemis Records in 2002. Look, an eleven-song collection of Chapman songs co-written with others, appeared in May 2004, and six months later Chapman self-released the twelve-track Hymns - the contents of which hardly requires elucidation. The self-released DVD If Love Could Say God's Name, filmed in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, acted as a precursor to Prisms. The two-CD, twenty-three track Prism was released in the U.K. in 2007 and in the States during early February the following year. Chapman had been working on this multi-faith religious song collection for a number of years and, as well as songs performed in English, she sings in Hebrew, Welsh, Navajo, Tibetan, and Zulu.

Discography: "Hearing It First" [1980]; "Beth Nielsen Chapman" [1990]; "You Hold the Key" [1993]; "Sand And Water" [1997]; "Greatest Hits" [1999]; "Deeper Still" [2002]; Look [2004]; Hymns[2004]; Prism [2007]
DVD: If Love Could Say God's Name [2007]

Arthur Wood

BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN
The Elmwood Hall
Thursday 6th December
Tickets from Virgin Megastore or reserve by e-mail

Due to the demand for tickets we have moved the Beth Nielsen Chapman concert to the Elmwood Hall. Please note that tickets for the original venue will still be valid.

This means that we now have extra tickets available. These will be available for reserving by e-mail immediately and for sale over the counter at Virgin Megastore from lunchtime on Wednesday 7th November.

See you there!

BNC Guitar Raises £16,000 For BBC Radio 2 Children In Need

Beth Nielsen Chapman's Guitar raised �16,000 at the BBC Radio 2 auction for Children In Need!

The guitar, a uniquely hand-painted "baby" Taylor guitar was donated by Beth and is signed by Wake Up To Wogan favourites Dolly Parton, James Taylor, Jack Johnson, Art Garfunkel, Katie Melua, Nanci Griffith, John Fogerty (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Donald Fagen and Walter Becker (Steely Dan).

Autographs on the back include: Michael McDonald, B. J. Thomas ('Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head'), legendary guitarist James Burton (who played with Elvis, Ricky Nelson and Emmylou Harris), John Kay (Steppenwolf), country star Tanya Tucker, and Delbert McLinton (the man who taught John Lennon to play harmonica).

The guitar comes in a case with three unique colour photos of Dolly Parton, Nanci Griffith and Beth Nielsen Chapman herself, all holding the guitar, plus fifteen CDs featuring some of the artists.

Beth couldn't be happier to help such a wonderful cause. At the end of the day, the auction for Children In Need raised a record breaking �411,000!

IN CHESHIRE ARTICLE

Read the article on PRISM here!

Creativity Stargaze 2008

ANNOUNCING! The BNC Creativity Stargaze 2007 on April 25-27th at the Vanderbilt Observatory with special guests and drive-by hit songwriters! Melissa Manchester will be one of those coming to speak on the adventures she's had being a legendary artist/songwriter, from writing huge hits to writing for musicals and her tips on navigating the creative flow! And speaking of legends--there will also be more soon to be announced incredible special guests...not to mention the ultra-out-there-and-back-again astronomer Rocky Alvey who returns as the "genius-in-residence" and will absolutely expand your parameters and sense of perception and maybe even open up new balconies along the inner-workings of your creative genius! Mark your calendars and be on the lookout for more details unfolding that will be posted in the next couple weeks.

Me and Jools Holland

Me and Jools Holland after taping the "Jools Holland Radio Show"

PRISM IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE UK!!

You may pick up your copy at any of the following retailers:

HMV, Virgin, Border, Amazon.co.uk, Play.com, or any indie retailer listed
at Proper Partners.

We are working hard to have PRISM available from my website. Soon! Very soon!