History Thetrees

There are multiple artists named The Trees. For the British folk rock band please see Trees.

1) The Trees, also known as The Trees Community, were an Episcopal Church-affiliated Christian community and a music group. They were at first a disparate set of unlikely acquaintances that bonded in a common brokenness and resultant "search for Truth". From this simple beginning in a loft in Manhattan in 1970, the group evolved into a community with a formal, religious order. Based at the The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City, they worked closely with James Parks Morton who was Dean of the cathedral at the time they were artists in residence there. Canon Edward Nason West, upon whom novelist Madeleine L'Engle based the fictional character Canon Tallis, was their spiritual advisor.

The group purchased a bus and traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada giving music concerts. They visited and performed at a wide variety of Christian communities, from the Hutterites at the Community Farm of the Brethren in Bright, Ontario, to the Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas, to the Trappist monks of Gethsemani Monastery in Trappist, Kentucky.

Musically, the collective were known for their highly spiritual, ethereal vocals, with musical backing by a wide range of instruments from all over the world, such as sitar, tamboura, koto, Venezuelan harp, and bells. Almost all their music is original.

They only released one album in their seven-year lifespan - 1975's The Christ Tree - though there were other recordings made of the group, notably by the monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani and composer Calvin Hampton.

In 2007, a fan of the group, Timothy Renner of Hand/Eye, salvaged the LP master and these other recordings, digitally remastered them and produced "The Christ Tree Box Set." of four CDs. He then produced "The Christ Tree" single CD, currently commercially available.

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