Certain vocalists have a way of fusing experience, talent and passion into compelling art. Mary Donnelly Haskell is one of those performers. Well-known as an actress of considerable depth and emotional range, Haskell expresses those same gifts on her new music project Power Of The Cross.
Recorded with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, the collection features Haskell’s musically and vocally creative renditions of such time-honored classics as “How Great Thou Art,” “Precious Lord, Take My Hand,” and “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” The disc also includes two modern hymns, penned by Keith Getty, “In Christ Alone” and the inspiring title track, “Power of the Cross.”
Each song on Power Of The Cross is brought vividly to life by Mary’s stunning voice, an instrument that is both strong yet vulnerable, compelling yet intimate. She pours her heart into these songs in a way that brings out each nuance in the lyrics.
“My roots are deep, southern gospel and I also have a love for all of the contemporary worship music that is out now,” says Mary, who instantly connected with producer Eric Wyse’s approach on her new recording. “He said ‘Why don’t we combine selections from your favorite old hymns and at the same time look at songs Like ‘Lamb of God’ and ‘In Christ Alone’ that are just really wonderful powerful songs of ministry?’ Eric and I sat down when we first met in Nashville and immediately found ourselves on the same page. When we discussed putting a collection of spiritually-based songs together, we really wanted to look at both styles--the contemporary and the traditional songs and see what each would bring to the worship process in their own way.”
It’s that blend of classic and contemporary that makes Power Of The Cross such an engaging collection.
“I grew up with a love of and appreciation for how music affected me in worship,” says the Beaumont, Texas native who learned the hymns while growing up in church. “I’ve been singing gospel music literally all my life.”
Mary joined the children’s choir at her church when she was only five. Later she attended the University of Mississippi, where she majored in music and became active in theater. It was there that she met her husband, Sam Haskell. The couple moved to Los Angeles where he became the Worldwide Head of Television for The William Morris Agency.
“We were both raised in families with a very strong sense of faith and family, so when we began our lives together out in California, those two components were the rock of our lives together,” Mary says. “You don’t have to forgo your sense of self, faith and family to be successful and to have productive and wonderful lives in Hollywood. It’s a city of millions of people and we have a phenomenal community of faith and family.”
Mary and Sam have long been active members of Bel Air Presbyterian Church, where she serves as an elder, and have been involved in such charitable causes as the Los Angeles Mission through the Anne Douglas Center. Mary also serves as the Vice-Chair of the Mary Kirkpatrick Haskell Scholarship Foundation, an organization founded in honor of her mother-in-law that helps deserving Mississippi children attend college.
In addition to church, charity and family obligations, Mary has also maintained a successful film and television career. She has appeared in over 20 television movies and has had recurring and guest starring roles on shows such as “Sisters,” “Touched By an Angel” and “7th Heaven.” “I had a stage career for about six to eight years,” she says. “When we had our two children, I just found myself not willing to tour or to go to theater six nights a week and leave my babies. So at that point, I started to look at television as a lot more conducive to being a parent. I could do a guest star appearance on a show, maybe work hard for seven to nine days filming, and then be off for a while. So that’s how my career was redirected with acting in television and film. I’ve been really fortunate to work quite a bit.”
One of Mary's movies, "Twice Upon A Christmas" was even chosen by First Lady Laura Bush, to be screened at The White House for one of her charity events. Though she enjoys acting, music has always remained her first love. “I’ve always continued to sing, whether it was singing at our church or singing with a symphony here and there,” says Mary, who has performed in countless venues, including The White House for the George W. Bush pre-Inaugural gala, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and on board the Presidential Yacht, Sequoia.
“When my children were very young, in the late 80’s, there was a real void in the children’s music market at that time,” recalls Mary, who launched the personalized children’s music company, My Songs, with friend/collaborator Michael Reno. “I had it on my heart to try to create some positive, uplifting music for children and it just took off on its own. I’ve been very proud of it.”
Looking to further satisfy her own creative passion, Mary recorded Inspired: Standards—Good for the Soul on Concord Records. The critically acclaimed collection introduced Mary’s talent to the Christian market and paved the way for her newest effort Power Of The Cross, releasing May 22 through Martingale Music.
Mary says that she didn’t set out to record an album of songs revolving around a particular theme, but one emerged. “I really believe this is how the Lord works through the process of a project coming together,” she says. “I made my little list of songs that were very powerful to me and Eric made his list. When we came together, it’s so interesting that we found that there was such a message of resurrection and redemption that were in all of the songs. That’s not something we initially set out to do.”
Recording with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra is an experience Mary will never forget. “It was remarkable,” she says with a sigh. “Probably half of the players don’t even speak English. It’s the universal language of hymns they certainly recognize. You could just see their faces light up. The older Czech players didn’t know English, but you could clearly see in their face that they really just enjoyed it. It was such a blessed experience.”
In recording, Power Of The Cross, Mary had the opportunity to share some of her favorite hymns. “Precious Lord, Take my Hand” is one of the songs she sang at her mother-in-law’s funeral. “She had come through a difficult surgery and recovery that provided her with just several more months with us,” she says. “Through the pain and some pretty dark days, her faith never wavered. She was indeed tired, weak, and worn, yet so at peace, waiting for her Lord's final call home. She prayed, read her Bible, spoke with us about her funeral service, shared many ‘goodbye visits’ with friends and family, and being the strong southern woman that she was, proceeded to organize the family china and silver. I'll never forget it. There she was looking forward to Glory in God's house, yet still taking time to put her earthly house in order for us. Then, quietly on Easter morning, the Lord took her hand, and led her home. I've sung ‘Precious Lord’ at many a service since, and it never fails to remind me that God's hand is always there, to lead us through whatever pain, darkness, or storm we might face.”
“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” is another longtime favorite. “This is one of those hymns I grew up singing regularly in our church,” she says. “My mother remembers singing it very slowly as to give our organist--who had short legs--time to make the pedal change with her foot on the organ. For me, it's another hymn for which I find the background story an amazing testament to God's call on our hearts and lives. A 17-year-old, hearing God's call to him, leaving a path of drinking and gang-life, and committing his life to Christ sounds more like a story from Los Angeles in this century, than that of Robert Robinson, a young man living in London in 1758.”
Though she loves the classic hymns, the new songs on Power Of The Cross have become beloved additions to Mary’s repertoire. “My producer for this CD, Eric (Wyse) and his wife, Dawn Rodgers wrote this beautiful praise and worship piece,” she says of “Wonderful, Merciful Savior.” “It's one of those contemporary songs that still has a traditional hymn feeling. I guess that's why I love it so much and wanted to include it in this collection.”
Whether breathing new life into a classic hymn or introducing the world to a new standard such as “Power of the Cross” or “Wonderful, Merciful Savior,” Mary Donnelly Haskell uses her tremendous vocal talent to celebrate the gift of faith. “My heart is in a specific place where there is ministry in the music,” she says, citing Ephesians 5:18-19 as the scripture that inspires her: Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” “This verse in many ways sums up my feelings about the ministry of music. I love how there is no exact definition of, or limitation to how we ‘make a joyful noise unto the Lord.’ The important thing is that we make one."
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