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Newcomer Creates Language Out Of Silence, Beauty Out of Ordinary
February 14th, 2009
by The Westfield Leader and The Times -By Meredith Mannino
Newcomer Creates Language Out
Of Silence, Beauty Out of Ordinary
By MEREDITH MANNINO
Specially Written for The Westfield Leader and The Times
WESTFIELD – Celebrating its ninth
season, the Coffee With Conscience
Concert Series will present celebrated
folksinger Carrie Newcomer this
Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February
14, at the First Methodist Church,
located at 1 East Broad Street in
Westfield.
Ms. Newcomer’s rich, smooth voice
and guitar playing are backed by a
brilliant harmony of violin, piano,
mandolin, cello, bass, percussion and background vocals.
The result is pretty, soulful folk
music with a new-age tint.
“There’s a really deep, spiritual current
in my work,” she told The Westfield
Leader and The Scotch Plains-
Fanwood Times.
“I’m one of a growing number of
people that do not want to put the
sacred in such a small container,” she said. Ms. Newcomer, a Quaker, feels this metaphysical vibe is especially strong on her most recent album, “Geography of Light.”
As is the case on many of her records, her latest work encourages its listeners to revel in the beauty that exists in simple, everyday moments. A busy, material culture prevents people from slowing down and appreciating the present, she said.
“The Geography of Light” is about “finding beauty and mystery in what seems to be commonplace,” she explained. Nature also inspires the folksinger. Her song “Geodes” describes mysterious rocks, native to her southern Indiana roots, which appear dull on the outside but, on the inside, contain sparkling quartz crystal centers.
The geodes “remind me to look deeper because often within what may appear quite ordinary is a core of beauty and mystery,” she commented.
This concept is expressed in the lyrics:
“I have found when I tried or looked deeper inside / What appears unadorned might be wondrously formed.”
Ms. Newcomer was not raised as a Quaker; rather, she found her way into the religion, which includes an hour of silent meditation in its meetings. She feels that the awareness developed in meditation creates a quiet space to reflect and find the words that eventually become the song.
“The best language comes out of silence,” she stated. “Amazing things happen when we stop and listen. I encounter silence not as an absence of sound but a fullness of spirit,” she said.
In addition to touring to performconcerts, Ms. Newcomer also leads a
series of workshops that focus on her
ability to combine her music, her
creativity and her faith. Her seminars
inspire attendees to develop their individual
voices based on their unique,
personal experiences.
“Everyplace I go has delightful
things and people about it,” she said. “I’ve never met a person without a story to tell.”
Her song “The Clean Edge of
Change” was influenced by theologian
Parker J. Palmer’s book “Let
Your Life Speak,” which contemplates
the transformative essence of the human
experience and the idea that
sometimes, “the only way out is
through,” she said. The chorus reflects this perspective:
“First there is the folding in /To
gather light and dark to you/The journey
down so far that it /Has nowhere
else to go but through.”
Tickets are $26 or $46 for dinner
and the show. All net proceeds from the show will be donated to local charities. For more information, visit coffeewithconscience.org.
Carrie Newcomer