RockOm

By Trevor Harden, Trevor@RockOm.net

You probably remember Venn diagrams from high school (or perhaps you're still using them in your classes or business). While each circle signifies a unique set, overlapping sections represent any common ground.

Since the beginning of known culture, religious traditions have remained mostly within their own circle, rarely choosing to overlap into its neighbor's territory. It's an egoic defense mechanism that shouldn't be blamed; in fact it makes perfect sense. Thankfully though, we're beginning to move into a postmodern era where the overlapping of circles is becoming more and more common. Doing this brings with it not necessarily a diminishing of each individual circle (as traditionalists would have you believe) but an attitude of acceptance and coexistence.

I'm reminded of the famous story by Thich Nhat Hahn:

Twenty years ago at a conference I attended of theologians, and professors of religion, an Indian Christian friend told the assembly, "We are going to hear about the beauties of several traditions, but that does not mean that we are going to make a fruit salad." When it came my turn to speak, I said, "Fruit salad can be delicious! I have shared the Eucharist with Father Daniel Berrigan, and our worship became possible because of the sufferings we Vietnamese and Americans shared over many years." [from Living Buddha, Living Christ]

Notice he didn't say fruit purée. A banana still remains a banana and the apple chunks are still apples. Similarly finding common ground between Islam and Hinduism, for example, and allowing their Venn circles to overlap doesn't necessarily mean the loss of either's unique identity.

What does all of this have to do with music?

As various bloggers, musicians and writers have said many, many times here throughout the pages of RockOm, music is one of the tools that allows people within different circles to begin the process of moving toward one another.

Take the old dichotomy of 'secular' vs. 'sacred'...

This week two very interesting articles piqued my interest. The New York Times reported about a church in Brooklyn that, because of dying church activities and attendance, opened its door for artists to use the building. Non-religious musical groups began rehearsing in a space that, in a previous era, may have been looked down upon because of their 'secular' bent. In a remarkably similar story, a blogger at musicthinktank.com shared last month a very cool story about overcoming reservations of performing 'secular' music in a church setting. She shares,

"I find it encouraging to see more mainstream Christian churches are also seeing that artists like myself are not off topic at all. For a few hours a month, they allow their house of God to also be a House of Blues, where secular artists entertain, educate, and inspire people to do good..."

So what do we make of all this and why do I even bring it up? For a couple of reasons...

1. Cease seeing other as other | Please be cautious of the times where your inclination is to draw a line in the sand, believing someone to be different than yourself. Their circle may overlap with yours more than you think. At least consider giving that person or group the respect to be who they are without requiring them to transform their circle into one that looks like your own.
2. Allow music to help you break down walls | Rarely are people as closed-minded about their musical tastes as they are about their religious belief systems. Get to know folks by asking them about their favorite music (everybody has a favorite!).  Or attend a concert and notice how 'different' everyone is from you, yet they're there as well, enjoying what you're enjoying.
3. It's all 'divine' | If you're a person of faith, consider allowing the lines to blur a bit between what you consider 'sacred' and 'secular'. From a musical angle, see if you can find God in a pop song or can connect to something larger through a rock concert experience. Or simply use whatever music is on - Jay-Z, Megadeth or Miley Cyrus - to help center you in the present moment.
4. You can still be you | Begin to understand that in finding common ground with others, your own beliefs and preferences aren't threatened or lessened in any way. There is a way in which we can drop our guard and find acceptance and understanding toward others while still standing firm and being rooted in our own tradition and convictions.

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RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• Good Vs. Evil Do Battle Joyously - "Hellfire and damnation, and a whole lot of heavenly singing and earthly argumentation. That's what you get in 'The Message Is in the Music (God Is a Black Man Named Ricky),' Jackie Taylor's red-hot new musical for the Black Ensemble Theater." (suburbanchicagonews.com)

• Meshell Ndegeocello: Sacredly Profane - "'If you could lick your balls,' chuckles [musician] Meshell Ndegeocello, 'you would!' With that playfully indelicate visual, Ndegeocello illustrates a point she's been making through music for the better part of her career: Spiritual growth need not preclude sensuality." (seattleweekly.com)

• In Search Of Beethoven - "Where did a man so flawed and troubled by life, love and illness find the spiritual depth to write music that was so moving and even joyous? Where does the hope come from?" (brisbanetimes.com.au)

• Unrelenting Desire for Spiritual Freedom Through Music - "Various literature and textbooks in the history have referred to music as the food for the soul. If the right chord touches the heart, it is said to soothe the mind and body of an individual, freeing them from all worries and stresses that are pent up inside. Nizar Lalani and Njane Mugambi are two people with a mission of accomplishing spiritual freedom through the music they create." (thenews.com.pk)

• Q&A with a Jewish Rock Star- "Rick Recht, a top touring international Jewish rock star, is distributing free copies of his brand new album of inspirational Shabbat melodies, Simply Shabbat..." (jewishinstlouis.org)

• Q&A: Michael Buble talks new CD, love and religion- "As I get older I have a different concept of what God is to me and — it's not that I'm into organized religion — the truth is that I don't know. I'm sorry if that offends people out there, but I'm just being honest, I don't know..." (news.yahoo.com)

Frontman James LaBrie opens up for the first time on the band's spirituality (and more)
By Trevor Harden, trevor@RockOm.net

Dream Theater has had one of the longest and most influential careers in all of modern progressive rock. Considered by many to be metal's alpha dog in terms of musical technicality and composition, it is no wonder the group's hardcore fan base is enormous, ecstatic and dedicated.

Black Clouds and Silver Linings arrived as Dream Theater's tenth studio album upon its release by Roadrunner Records on June 23rd. As you're about to see, the band considers it to be a return to their roots, exploring familiar musical and lyrical themes from DT's past. Throughout Black Clouds, as in the rest of their material, frontman James LaBrie shows off his tremendous vocal range through sweeping melodies and heartfelt delivery, singing lyrics that explore the spectrum from real-life experience to philosophical struggles.

In this exclusive RockOm interview, LaBrie shares his impression of the new album, discusses the group's team-based songwriting process and, for the first time, opens up about his personal convictions as well as the spirituality in Dream Theater's members and music.

RockOm: You guys have had quite a career and have a prolific catalog of music. With this new album's release, what would you say you’re most proud of on Black Clouds and Silver Linings whether it be one of the songs, something you communicated or something musically or vocally?

James LaBrie: I think it’s showing that I’m continuing to grow as a vocalist. What I always find exciting is I’m able to take the music and the lyrical message, through literal meaning and through my own interpretation, and make it my own so that emotionally and expressively it can become something sincere. It’s something I am really passionate about and it’s important for me to convey that. With this album especially – not that I haven’t on other albums – I think I landed on something that was really cool [in that way] and I think it shows.

Musically I think the album is incredibly reflective of Dream Theater’s roots. It’s a collection of who and what we are today and who and what we’ve been. I think that you can go back to songs such as “Learning to Live” and you can hear elements of that. You can hear parts of Awake, parts of A Change in Seasons, even from Scenes from a Memory. When you get into a song like “A Nightmare to Remember” it seems very linear and like a movie unfolding before your eyes. Because of that, it’s made the album very powerful and very personal. When we look out there and see the reception we’re getting from the fans, but also because the album is selling incredibly well for us in today’s environment, I think it goes to speak for itself and that we’re not the only ones who are feeling it. We’ve touched on something we can all be proud of.

RockOm: As Dream Theater really is a group effort with everyone contributing musically and lyrically, do you always agree with the lyrics that one of your other band mates has penned for you to sing? If not, how do you deal with that?

James: If something was written that I thought was very offensive and literally pointing out someone’s fallible qualities then I would definitely say something. I would say, “You know, I’m not comfortable singing this. If you want to somehow convey it some other way, then great.” But we’ve never crossed that bridge and I hope we never do. A creative environment is intense to begin with and you don’t need anything else to aggravate the situation.

I’ve always found that I sit down with the lyric, I read it and I have it say to me what it says to me. We all interpret things slightly differently because of our own experiences. So I take that first and I internalize that. Then I will go to whoever the lyricist was and get a literal meaning from them so that I’m absorbing exactly what it is that he is trying to say. From there, I will go away once again and I will sit with all that has been said and I make it eventually become who and what I am. So I’ve never really found it to be contrived, forced or insincere when I’m singing something. I’ve always found myself feeling, “This is how it moves me. This is the emotional strain that it has pulled from me. And this is how I’m going to express it.” I think that’s the only way to do it. If I was trying to be who and what the other lyricists are and how they’ve been affected by their experiences, I think it would be too mechanical, too forced and too insincere.

RockOm: From the earliest Dream Theater albums with songs such as "Voices" to more recent songs such as "In the Name of God" and now with "A Rite of Passage,” you guys have always peppered your lyrics with religious and spiritual imagery. This is done as both pro-spirituality and looking to one’s self for the answers as well as condemnation of religion’s negative aspects. Does the band have some sort of common ground when it comes to these philosophical and spiritual matters or is everyone more or less individual in that regard?

James: We’ve never actually talked about this. Let me first say, I respect anyone’s religion because it’s up to the individual what you pull from that. If that makes you feel more connected and more grounded then it’s always doing something good. It’s the reverse of that, when it starts to become something prejudiced and something judgmental that it no longer serves a valid purpose.

You know [guitarist] John Petrucci is probably the most conformed religious person in the band. He’s very much Roman Catholic and his Catholicism is extremely important to him and his family. And yet John will actually question the validity of religions and just how positive they can be is always open for debate because there’s so much corruption around organized religions. I think that’s healthy because when you stop questioning something – even if it doesn’t make sense to you – that’s when it becomes very scary. It then becomes more cult-like and you’re no longer thinking for yourself; you’re just doing what you’ve been told is correct. So I find it very fascinating to a degree that many of John’s stories and lyrics – like “In the Name of God” where he questions all these cult figures – are based around this figure that has all the answers and is the only way to eternity.

As for myself, I was raised Roman Catholic. My mother still goes to church religiously every week and my father passed away a few years ago but he did as well up until his passing. But I remember when I was 16 or 17 thinking, “This doesn’t connect with me any more.” There were too many questions, too many contradictions as far as I was concerned. So I started to get more into books like those by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and stuff that I felt was a little more open-minded and was for the good of humankind. I’m interested in understanding, first and foremost, who is within. Don’t turn that voice off, listen to it, because that really is your enlightenment. I think when we go to existential means to find the answers, our direction and our purpose, that’s when things get cloudy. If we look further into ourselves we all as a world community would be able to communicate much better and there would be more harmony throughout the world. There’s no doubt in my mind.

People should have philosophical questions. There’s not one day that goes by that I don’t think, "This existence, this consciousness is so bizarre... and space and what’s beyond space."  You can get into some really crazy and frightening thoughts if you want. But I think the goal is to surrender yourself and know that what this all is is beyond comprehension. I don’t think it is something we’re supposed to figure out at this point. I do think that there is something absolutely mind-blowing and incredible that awaits us beyond this physical form because… what the hell is this, you know? [laughs]

Everybody goes, “Oh, well this is all random.” This is all random? Look at space and look at the fact that the sun is where it is and we are where we are. Is it just a fluke that we’re just so many millions of miles from the sun that it’s the perfect setting for creating this planet as it is with organisms? Maybe so, but then again there’s supposed to be another ten million planets throughout the universe that are capable of holding life as we know it here on this earth. So, I don’t know – that’s pretty immense.

RockOm: I understand you’re a big fan of literature. What are you reading right now and/or what was the most profound book you’ve read recently?

James: I’m reading The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It’s based on this man that is thought to have been simple-minded but then when he speaks with other people he’s brilliant. He’s so wise that he floors everyone and they’re captivated by his speech. Everyone is magnetized by his wisdom. It’s set in the 19th century and the only reason he was thought to be “the idiot” is that he suffered from epilepsy and through frequent episodes, his body and mind had been drained. It’s just an interesting book and it gets into that whole love territory and how he immerses himself into that is really interesting.

RockOm: I’d like to ask you about a few of the themes and songs on Black Clouds. In the song "Wither" you sing, "Like reflections on a page, the world's what you create." Is that something that you subscribe to or experience?

James: I think it’s something we all experience. Through our experiences, we do create who and what we are and what we become. Because of those experiences, that’s what inspires the making of the character that we are, giving us the personality that we take on. So yes, who and what you are is a reflection of the experiences you’ve gone through that then creates the person in front of you.

RockOm: "Shattered Fortress" seems to me to be a song about shedding away your previous understanding of the world, maturing and adopting a new and more noble understanding. What does this song mean to you?

James: Well it’s the final chapter to the [Twelve Step] Suite that Mike Portnoy has written dealing with alcoholism and addiction. Yes, it’s about being assured that you are in a place that is much better than where you just came from. That you are much more insightful as to what really matters in life. Through that experience you realize all your mistakes and realize that no one is infallible. But what you’ve done is you’ve bettered yourself to a point where your life experience is much more rich and satisfying and mature.

RockOm: ...and then that opens you up to want to help and serve other people, according to the last line in the song as you sing, "I am responsible when anyone, anywhere reaches out for help."

James: Yes, absolutely because you’re setting an example for others in saying, “Look, as tough and as miserable as life became for me, this is where I am today. Nothing is impossible. You can do it as well and look to me and call upon me for strength if need be.” Anyone can exist within this realm, which is a much better place to be than living out the heinous acts that people take part in when they’re susceptible to such addictions.

RockOm: Let’s conclude with a question about performing. How do you describe those nights when the band is spot-on and connecting with one another so that you remember that night, that town, and those songs above all other shows? In other words, when you’re on and in the zone, what transpires making those concerts different from the others?

James: I don’t know! We used to go out there and say, “Oh, this is going to be a great show” but we don’t do that anymore because when we did it would always end up to be a cluster. We’ll come off and say, “What the hell happened there? There were clams here and clams there.” So I think it’s just you get into a zone where it’s a cohesive endeavor and it’s effortless. You’re finding that you’re up there and you’re responding to the energy that you’re getting from the crowd and you reciprocate that and it just makes for a really memorable and explosive evening.

You just can’t explain the times where you go on stage and you feel great but meanwhile something happens where you come off stage and wonder, “What happened? The night before we had such and incredible show and tonight we had a sub-par show.” For the most part, it’s unexplainable. Each one of us prepare ourselves before we go out on stage. We do what we know has become our ritual in order to prepare us to be in our top form and nine times out of ten it works for us. We might have that tenth time that for whatever reason it just doesn’t want to cooperate.

But on that note, I think that the voice has been on my side [so far this tour] and I think I’m singing better in my career than I ever have. I will go so far even to say that the band is playing better than we ever have our entire career – right now. I think we all kind of feel that way.

www.dreamtheater.net

Thanks to Roadrunner Records

Photography by Tom Crenshaw; Atlanta, GA

"There has always been a strong relationship between music and religion. It is because they both plug directly into the heart and can have real power for good or evil."

[Peter Gabriel]

By Tom Crenshaw and Trevor Harden

RockOm: You've just wrapped up the tour supporting your African Project: Throw Down Your Heart. What did your time spent working on this project - both in Africa as well as your time touring with these musicians - teach you about music’s ability to bring people of different cultures together?

Bela Fleck: It was a wonderful experience and I believe I will feel the repercussions for the rest of my life. It changed my musical worldview and opened my horizons.

RO: What will you miss most and reflect back on after your time with these great African artists is over and you move on to new projects?

Bela: The great relationships I have made with such great musicians are very special. I will miss these guys. But I plan to keep the doors open and see where the road leads.

RO: What should listeners expect from the upcoming CD with Zakir Hussain, Edgar Meyer and conductor Leonard Slatkin?

Bela: It is an interesting project for several reasons. There is the ambitious triple concerto that we wrote, which is my first recording with an orchestra. Then there are the six trio pieces that we wrote, which is a much more intimate relationship. Then there is the weaving of the trio music and the concerto, which flows together in a cool way. We pulled some themes out of the concerto and developed them differently. This connects the orchestra music with the trio music and makes for a very satisfying unity.

RO: Zakir Hussain spoke with us about the special soul connection that is made with certain musicians, thereby setting the stage for long term relationships. How do you feel about the spirit uniting you with Hussain, as well as Edgar Meyer, and do you approach performing with these two artists differently than with others?

Bela: I felt so comfortable playing with Zakir. And Edgar is virtually my brother. So Zakir freshens our relationship in an incredible way and inspires with ideas that are new to us. Plus he is a groovin' dude, and I love to groove...

RO: Abigail Washburn is such an inspirational artist and performer with a distinct spirituality, which she shared with RockOm in our interview last year. As a part of The Sparrow Quartet (alongside Washburn, Ben Sollee, and Casey Driessan), what did you take away from the group's multiple tours of China and Tibet, promoting an exchange between East and West?

Bela: It also expanded my worldview, replacing my images of what these places would be like with actual experiences. I learned music from the Chinese, Tibetans and my fellow Sparrows. It was incredible to be in Tibet with the two governments working together.

RO: Lastly, keeping in mind the Christianity of Bach and bluegrass music, the Buddhism of Tibet, and the Hindu roots of Zakir's tradition - and since you've played in or with these different genres and styles - what are your general thoughts on how faith and religion serve and influence music?

Bela: I think music can be its own religion sometimes! I respect everyone's views and keep mine to myself and a few friends.

RO: Does music inherently call forth our better selves and sever the distinction between creeds or faiths?

Bela: It certainly can. These types of collaborations can bring out that very positive aspect. However it can also be used in a negative way, so beware the awesome power of music.

MORE INFO: Bela Fleck recently wrapped a tour (8/12) with Toumani Diabate from the African Project: Throw Down Your Heart. He will be performing with RockOm alum Abigail Washburn on August 27-31 in Tonder, Denmark as part of the Tonder Music Festival. Beginning September 13, Fleck, along with Edgar Meyer & RockOm alum Zakir Hussain, will be touring and performing new music from their upcoming CD along side with their innovative "Triple Concerto for Banjo, Tabla and Double Bass". Beginning October 11 Bela Fleck and The Flecktones begin a month long tour. In early 2010 Bela Fleck and The African Project will be back out on the road. For more information on these concerts and dates please see Belafleck.com.

An Interview with Kirtan Artist Gaura Vani
By Tom Crenshaw and Trevor Harden

“I was given the gift of devotional song from birth, raised with the music of the temple, taught to sing and play beautiful instruments and dance... for love and for God,” says Gaura Vani, the heralded musician and leader of what Jai Uttal calls, “Simply the most wonderful kirtan band in the Western world.”  Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits has released their second CD entitled Ten Million Moons and are in the midst of a prolific year. Not only has the band been featured at the sold-out Obama Presidential Inaugural event Chant4Change, they have also recently been heard on NPR’s All Things Considered and seen in the CBS Television Special, Faith, Music and Culture.

At the age of six Gaura Vani left the US to study sacred music in a gurukula or temple school in the timeless town of Vrindavan, India. He learned ancient prayers in Sanskrit and Bengali and to sing and play ethnic instruments like the harmonium and mrdanga. Twenty-five years later he continues to share the magic he received and performs extensively with his kirtan ensemble, As Kindred Spirits, throughout the world from Europe and Asia, to the Americas.

The kirtan sub-culture is a lotus growing from the mud of materialism. Kirtan refers to the ancient practice of gathering for musical worship in the ancient traditions of India. It’s still very alive today. Empty rooms quickly transform into a churning mass of bodies, dancing feet, eyes flashing, hands striking two headed mrdanga drums. This is the epicenter of the kirtan subculture. Gathering together in yoga studios, temples, ashrams, homes (in the basement of your seemingly average neighbor) this vibrant spiritual and musical subculture thrives.

Gaura Vani founded As Kindred Spirits in 1998 with percussionist/multi-instrumentalist, Shyam Kishore, who studied classical Indian music directly from living masters like Zakhir Hussein. Together they have created a special style. Rooted in the Indian kirtan tradition, their diverse influences span the musical spectrum from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Jai Uttal, Jagjit Singh, and Axiom of Choice to Beck, Bjork, Peter Gabriel and DJ Cheb I Sabbah. This group brings a fresh take to sacred world-music.

RockOm: What was the inspiration behind Ten Million Moons and how is it different than your past CD?

Gaura: Well my last CD was almost like it fell on my head. I've lived in Washington, DC for the past 10 years and a friend of mine called me up from California and said, "I got a hold of some recording equipment. What are the chances of you flying out to California so we can make an album together?" So we got together in a friend's bedroom in a house full of people and tried to record during the times when no one was making noise. We did basically the whole album, give or take a couple of tracks, in a week. We threw a couple more songs on, some live recordings, and that was the first album. It had a lot of raw energy and was really from the heart and was coming from the love we all share as musicians.

This album, although I tried my absolute best to maintain some of that love, energy and spirit, was from a very different place. It was a much deeper place and I was going through some very tough times in my life. I was working at a job as a filmmaker doing training films for the US government, the Department of Homeland Security. It's a very politically-charged environment, very difficult for someone who's more artistic. It's very hard to function sometimes. I put everything I had into my music whenever I could. I would come home from working a 10, 12, or 14-hour day and put in one or two hours in the studio before falling asleep at the soundboard. Myself, along with my business partner Rasa Acharya, just put everything we could into this album after hours. It was such a personal creation, an exploration, and I honestly didn't know if anyone was going to like it. First of all, I didn't even know if the musicians on the album were going to like it because they come from such a wide array of influences - everything from very classical Indian to very modern and funky Western. I just was trying to use my sensibilities to honor their contributions while at the same time trying to create something brand new. Little by little I started showing it to some of the musicians who were on it and started to get a good response from them. Then I started to show it to other friends and record labels, and people liked it. I'm just so grateful and thankful.

The two albums come from such different places - the first was just a pure joy of creation with friends and the second one was more of a yearning, a longing for a more free and innocent time to be able to create like that, which didn't exist for me during the creation of this album.

RockOm: You founded As Kindred Spirits in 1998 with your percussionist and associate Shyam Kishore, who had studied under [RockOm alum] Zakir Hussain at the Ali Akbar Khan School of Music. What was the intention of starting As Kindred Spirits?

Gaura: Shyam comes from an Indian family. I come from an American family who converted to Hinduism and Krishna worship in the 1960s. So we came from two very different places and at the same time we were meeting in the middle, trying to find a way to take an ancient tradition and live it in a real, honest modern world. I think the reason we chose an English name as opposed to a Sanskrit name or a Hindi name is that spiritual life - whatever denomination, if you're a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Buddhist - we feel like it should be a living piece of your life, something that you don't only do on Sundays, something you can do 24-hours a day. You can live it at work, you can live it at private times and it shouldn't be something you're divided about. The idea of creating As Kindred Spirits was to take some of our influences - especially spiritual influences - and mold them and push them in a way that challenged us and that we could live by, and that our friends could live by, that could actually be the soundtrack of our lives. I feel that it is an important thing for our generation to say, "You know what? My religion is not something I'm doing for someone else. My spirituality is not something I'm doing as a social pressure. I'm doing it because this is my expression of my soul calling to the divine. And this is what I do, whether I do it at church or do it at home. It's a real expression of my heart."

RockOm: At the age of 6 you left the states to study sacred music at a temple in India. What was the catalyst for your move?

Gaura: During the tumultuous 1960s, there were people from all over the world who were away from where they had been raised, looking for something that made sense to them on their own terms spiritually. My mother and father were some of those people. I grew up in ashrams, which are like yoga schools, and temples throughout the world. There's a very traditional school in a small temple town called Vrindavan, which is where Krishna was born. It was like a boarding school that was connected to a beautiful, marble temple. Myself and a bunch of other kids from all over the world grew up there including the study of sacred music and sacred ritual. That was really an important time for me in my life. I was only there for a year or so, but that kind of experience is very formative. It changes your perspective on the world. I continued to study at ashrams until I was 10, then went to standard American schools. So those two worlds - having the ancient Indian spiritual education along with a regular old American upbringing - created a very interesting synergy in the mind and in the heart.

RockOm: Speaking of young people and changing the world, tell us about your experience and involvement in Chant4Change.

Gaura: Everyone was starting to feel enlivened by Obama's campaign. Even if you didn't feel Obama was the candidate, the idea that something like this was in the air was inspiring and exciting to everybody; that the old systems, the old boundaries, and the old ways of doing things were not necessarily how they were always going to be. And then for myself and a lot of my friends, when Obama won, it was really a sense of - wow, what will the future be? What is possible? What are we going to manifest through this opportunity?

We were in New York shortly after Obama won and after the initial fever died down, one of my friends said, "What are you going to be doing during the Inauguration, because I'm going to be in Washington?" I swear to you, it felt like a ton of bricks fell on my head and shoulders. I thought, "Oh, my Lord. There's no big chant event, no big kirtan event going on during that time. Conscious people from all over the world are either going to be in Washington or going to be focused on Washington. I just knew at that moment, standing on that street in New York City that we have to do something. So for that evening's concert and other concerts we were doing in the city, I started telling people that we are organizing an amazing event in Washington, DC that's going to be held on the Inauguration. Everyone around me just looked at me and said, "Are you sure you know what you're doing" But I just felt it, I knew it had to be done. I felt like it was an opportunity I couldn't pass.

That next week when we came back to Washington we had two months to organize this event, all the locations in Washington were sold out. There were rumors that even Oprah Winfrey and MTV couldn't find a location. We just did a lot of praying, did a lot of phone calling and seeing what was possible and we started to pull together like a coalition of friends: yoga teachers, conscious people, artists - everyone who was into it that found it realistic, possible and exciting. Chant4Change ending up being a totally sold out, star-studded event: Jai Uttal and Shiva Rea were there, very influential yoga and kirtan people, other yoga teachers and activitists, Grammy-award winner Toni Childs was there. It just became an event unto itself. We had a small church within sight of the White House on 16th street, so we were within sight of the focus of that evening's attention. [We were there] to chant, to empower and uplift the new administration, to bless ourselves and the city and the country and bless the outgoing administration. Somehow sending out blessings, we could take this energy and transform it for an even greater purpose. It was a real unification of body, mind and soul beyond the boundaries of country or race and was very, very successful. One of the Yoga Journal bloggers called it a prayer meeting meets a dance club in a church or something like that. People were singing at the top of their voices and dancing in the aisles. The video is online as well as photographs. It was truly amazing to all of us.

RockOm: Perhaps it should be an annual event now.

Gaura: We're working on a Chant4Change on the West Coast, in Los Angeles or San Francisco before the holidays. This event is going to be focused on the other ecstatic traditions, other than kirtan. So we're going to take kirtan, which is India's ecstasy chant and devotion tradition, and we're going to have it meet Sufi music, the Islamic ecstatic chant tradition, and gospel, which is the Christian ecstatic chant tradition. So at least those three traditions are going to come together for an evening of both traditional music from those faiths, as well as joining together to create a totally new unique sound. So that's very exciting.

RockOm: What are the similarities and differences as you lead kirtan in different parts of the world?

Gaura: Each place has its own flavor. Kirtan ultimately is described as like a scrubbing, a cleaning of a heart. Sri Chaitanya [Mahaprabhu] - who is the founder of kirtan as we know it and who brought kirtan to the streets 500 years ago during the first documented non-violent social reform movement in India - brought the chanting out into the streets to erase some of those boundaries like castes and creed and class. He says that the holy names of God, of the divine, have the power to clean the heart. And when the heart becomes clean, we can see. He's comparing it to a mirror, that we can see who we are in relationship to the Divine. A dirty mirror doesn't allow you to see clearly but as you clean it you can see clearly, "Who am I, who is the Lord and what is our relationship?" So the kirtan experience is unique to the individuals and it's unique to their own experience.

In some places our kirtans are very meditative. When we were touring in South Africa, we performed at the Ghandi Hall in Lenasia, near Johannesburg, and it was mostly an older Indian audience. There was not a lot of clapping, not a lot of singing, and we were sweating bullets there on stage. We thought, they don't like it; they hate it. And then afterwards, everyone came up to us and said, "It was so beautiful... you did a fantastic job... we were so touched." It was their way of appreciating, just meditating. Other places, like when we perform in New York City, people will go wild and start dancing like whirling dervishes and it's just intense with people yelling, chanting and laughing. We did a kirtan in South Carolina and I didn't have a drummer, it was just me on the harmonium. It was very, very quiet. People were just singing along very peacefully and, little by little, people started crying just from the depth of their own prayer as we chanted. It's a totally unique experience depending on the mood of our heart or the way we approach chanting.

These names have all the power that the divine Lord and divine world invested in them. Whatever tradition - if you look at the Bible, David says in the Psalms to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord." The chant tradition runs so deep. This Chant4Change that we're tyring to do around the holidays this year is based on the idea that there is one underground river that all of the traditions of the world are drinking from. They're all being fed by this raging river underground which is God's love for us.

RockOm: Let's talk about some of the songs on Ten Million Moons. What prompted you to include the song "Surrender" on an otherwise straightforward kirtan CD?

Gaura: [laughs] Well, that is a question I asked! Kirtan is an expression of the soul calling. The saints and teachers of the kirtan tradition say that we should cry like a child for his mother. Rumi, the Sufi poet from a different tradition, says that we should be like the whining dogs calling for our master. This mood of a genuine heart cry is essential to the kirtan tradition. So the song "Surrender" was my attempt to write a song that does that in a language we're familiar with in English. I really put it out there in a way that people could understand the mood that I'm trying to cultivate in my heart, which is "Lord, make me an instrument." There are so many songs by great saints like the Prayer of Saint Francis, "O Divine Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love." It's a very beautiful prayer and it really embodies what they call a bhakta, someone who's trying to cultivate devotion. And that's what kirtan is all about, bhakti or devotion, and that mood that St. Francis embodies, that was what I was trying to bring to a song.

RockOm: Another great uplifting song is "Sleeping Soul (Jiv Jago)." How did gospel find it's way into kirtan?

Gaura: Like I said, I think gospel, qawwali music, kirtan and other ecstatic music are all the same thing. Not the same in the sense that everyone's exactly the same. Everyone has their own unique differences and it's our differences that create that beautiful diversity. But in the sense that they're all being fed by the same divine source, that underground river. I've grown up my whole life, since before I can remember, doing kirtan so kirtan is in my blood. I think and feel in kirtan. But when I go to a gospel concert, that same energy reverberates in my body and I want to get up and sing and dance and chant, just like I do when I'm in my own temple. They're the same call, that call from the heart to the Lord. "O Lord, make me an instrument. O Lord, bless me and know me. O Divine Lord, let me engage in service and devotion to you." I feel like gospel music is a sister tradition and there are some amazing gospel and Shaker songs that are undeniably personal.

There's this one gospel song that goes, "If you can use anything Lord, you can use me. And if you can use anything Lord, you can use me." And the verses talk about how God inspired David to pick up that little stone and that small stone took down the giant, Goliath. And if he can use that stone, then certainly the stone can use me. Then the chorus comes in again. "If you can use anything Lord, you can use me." So that tradition is really connected to kirtan. When I did "Jiv Jago", which is based on a 100 or 200-year old composition by Bhaktivinoda Thakura, I started hearing these overtones in the background. I would hum lines and then I started hearing this gospel choir. I sat in the studio late one night and found myself singing these gospel lines. I listened to them afterwards and thought, "This is ridiculous. It's 3 o'clock in the morning and that's why I think this sounds good." And so I shut the computer down and then the next day I came back and thought, let me just mix it down and listen to it in my car and see what I think. I thought, my voice sounds ridiculous but there's something here. I started showing it to some of my friends and some of my friends laughed at me. Other friends really loved it and so I thought something has to be here if people are this divided about it. At Chant4Change, C.C. White heard our group perform, heard Acyuta Gopi, our female lead singer, and said, "This is amazing. I want to do something with you guys." And then it hit me like a lightbulb. I said, "C.C., would you be willing to record?" She agreed, came to the studio, took the tracks that I had, redid the leads, added solos and harmonies and used my old tracks to mix our voices together. Though it's only two voices it sounds like an entire gospel choir. She was so sweet and kind and comes from a Christian background.  She's a professional singer who has performed with Ben Harper and some of the great musicians in the world. I told her that I didn't have a lot of money, only a tiny bit I could offer and although she took the check that I gave her, she never cashed it.

RockOm: So our diverse RockOm users should not be afraid of the word kirtan, because even sitting in the pews of a church, they are practicing a form of kirtan?

Gaura: For sure. The word kirtan means "to glorify." It just means to make glory unto the Lord. That's what we're doing in kirtan and that's what most of the traditions already do. I think this is the time for us put aside everything that we disagree on and say, "We could spend an eternity fighting or we could spend an eternity cooperating, uplifting, and empowering each other in whatever way we can." That's what I think is the essence of every "religion" of the world.

RockOm: What are As Kindred Spirits' plans for the future?

Gaura: We're about to go on tour of the left Coast, then to London, then we'll be at Bhakifest. We're touring the Northeast after that, then Australia and South Africa. We are to tie a garland around the world of God's holy names. Aside from that is Chant4Chant around the holidays. All of these things are being put on in cooperation with our brand new record label, Mantralogy. Mantra is a sanskrit word which means to transcend or deliver. It's the idea of sound as a way to uplift and deliver our hearts and minds from our bondage. So Mantralogy is the name of our new record label and the producers of Chant4Change. We're bringing new artists on to our label now starting with an amazing group from South Florida called The Mayapuris. They're a kirtan group who do hip-hop music and pop-rock music. It is a very exciting time for us and for our projects.

www.gauravani.com

www.chant4change.com

www.westcoastkirtanyogafestival.com (BhaktiFest)

www.mantralogy.com

• A Muslim music video, country-western style - "In December 2007, over 2,000 American Muslims were asked what they wished they could say to the world...." [RockOm note: Check this out - it's great!]
• 'He would have considered a Beatles reunion... he had great love for them' - In promotion of a new George Harrison tribute collection, wife Oliva shares about George's life and spirituality.
• Jazz Musician Daniel Zamir's Journey Back to Judaism - Jazz saxophonist Daniel Zamir has released a new CD with a tribute to kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit and a staggering 15-minute version of HaTikva.
• Jesus Rock - "Christian bands offer music of hope, and not just to believers."
• Of Gods and Music - A woman's interest in "Black Metal" leads her to investigate Norse mythology

Press release by Jeremy Murphy, CBS

FAITH, MUSIC AND CULTURE, an interfaith religion special, will be broadcast Sunday, June 7, on the CBS Television Network. Please check your local station for exact time.

Music is often a vehicle for expressing religious faith and belief. This broadcast looks at some modern music inspired within the varied cultures of four religions.

FAITH, MUSIC AND CULTURE highlights the work of Hasidic hip-hop artists DeScribe, Y-Love and Diwon, observant Jewish rappers with a spiritual message. In January 2009, the trio teamed up to release a four-song EP called Change. Their music is an effort to bring a more positive message within hip hop, to elevate and inspire, while encouraging unity among all people-regardless of faith or nationality.

Also profiled is the Brooklyn Qawwali Party, an eclectic 11-piece orchestra based in Brooklyn, N.Y. The group's founder, Brook Martinez, was inspired by the music of the late Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and formed his own band based on this style of music. The result is the sound of Qawwali with a funky jazz sensibility. Qawwali is the devotional music of Sufis, the mystical arm of Islam. The Sufis believe that communion with the divine is possible through this music.

FAITH, MUSIC AND CULTURE then looks at Kirtan, the ancient Hindu practice of call-and-response chanting of Sanskrit mantras. Considered a form of meditation, Kirtan is growing in popularity here in the United States. Featured are Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits, a Washington, D.C.-based Kirtan group that performs in concerts across the United States.

Finally, we hear the all-male a cappella group, Anointed Voices, that formed two years ago after meeting at Christian-based The Bowery Mission in New York, which has provided homeless men, women and children with food, shelter and clothing all free of charge, since 1879. All were once homeless and struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. The members of the group, Eugene Chisholm, Dennis Ogarra, Ian Williams, Charlie Thompson and James Macklin have found fellowship and a shared love of music through their participation. Anointed Voices, performs in prisons, churches and for youth groups around the New York area.

John P. Blessington is the executive producer; Liz Kineke is the producer. The special is produced with the cooperation of the National Council of Churches, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Islamic Society of North America, The Union of Reform Judaism, and the New York Board of Rabbis

* * *

Press Contact:

Jeremy Murphy 212-975-4577,  jeremy.murphy@cbs.com

An interview with composer Sam Guarnaccia and and lyricist J. Philip Newell
By Tom Crenshaw and Trevor Harden

"As never before in the history of humanity we are becoming aware of the essential oneness of the earth. Increasingly we know that what we do to a part we do to the whole. And we are realizing that we will be well only to the extent that we live in relationship with one another and with all things. At the same time, we are experiencing the most horrific brokenness as an earth community. The violence that is being perpetrated by nation against nation, by religion against religion, by rich against poor, and by humanity against earth’s species is unparalleled.

A Celtic Mass for Peace: Songs for the Earth gives voice and sound to earth’s deepest yearnings for peace. These are not just religious longings or Christian longings. These are sacred longings from the heights and depths of humanity’s song. They are as vast as the universe and as intimate as the human heart."

-J. Philip Newell

The composition of music for the text of A Celtic Mass for Peace: Songs for the Earth by Celtic spirituality author, speaker, theologian, and poet J. Philip Newell, is a result of a collaboration born of the meeting of Dr. Newell and Vermont scholar/composer/teacher Sam Guarnaccia. This collaboration has resulted in a trans-Atlantic journey during which the work has evolved from its simple beginning of seven song/chants into its present form of ten sections, a full overture with nine songs and eight musical interludes. It has been performed and celebrated in many forms on both sides of the Atlantic, from simple liturgical settings on the island of Iona, Scotland, to concert settings in Nashville, Cincinnati, Lexington, and Edinburgh among others.

The present recording of A Celtic Mass for Peace, Songs for the Earth with musicians and singers from both Scotland and the United States of many diverse heritages, was made in the Vermont landscape where both words and music were written, and is a reflection and expression of the theology/spirituality of liberation and inclusiveness far beyond the confines of any single tradition. From an unusual blend of classical and Celtic instruments, a distinctive harmonic space and melodic texture emerge, a mystical Celtic vocabulary of sound and feeling, beautifully recorded on location by the renowned jazz pianist and recording artist Chuck Eller.

RockOm: Sam, when did the inspiration for the music for the Celtic Mass of Peace first come to you?

Sam Guarnaccia: I met Philip Newell at a retreat in Pennsylvania in 2004 and then at another retreat in Vermont in the following year. I had just been improvising some music with a Scottish friend around that time, while Philip, separately, had been writing the words that would later be used for the Celtic Mass for Peace . I wrote to him when I was in Scotland and asked if he’d be willing to at least respond because I was deeply moved by his work. He sent me the whole text and invited me to write music for it. It was a wonderful conjunction of creativity between the two of us and it started our collaboration.

RockOm: Philip, is this the first time you’ve composed lyrics for this kind of endeavor?

Philip Newell: Of this sort of scale, yes. I’ve done some collaboration with musicians in relation to meditative chants, but this was the first time I’ve written anything on the scale of a full mass. One of the things I’ve realized is that Sam is gifted at conveying through sound what I have been trying to communicate through words. There was an awareness when I was writing the words for the mass that I wanted to both strike out a deeply personal note, an intimate note, as well as a vast and cosmic note as a way of speaking of the sacred presence that is at the heart of everything in the universe. But, this is also to be found in the personal depth of our own being. That combination of the personal and the cosmic was what I knew I wanted to put into words, and that’s precisely what Sam has done through the music. This has been very moving for us but it’s also been wonderful to see people respond to it in those terms… opening them into a sense of presence in the universe but also moving them very personally – often in tears.

RockOm: Philip, you say that A Celtic Mass for Peace is written for all, including those well beyond the bounds of our own religious traditions. What is it about A Celtic Mass that will carry it beyond Christianity to be understood by other faith traditions?

Philip Newell: One of my convictions that grows increasingly out of dialogue and relationships with teachers in other traditions and people well beyond the bounds of our Christian household is that I think many people are looking to us to bring our most central treasure for the healing of the world. I am thinking of a native leader, a Pueblo teacher, in New Mexico. During one of our conversations a number of years ago, we were standing on the edge of the courtyard at the little spirituality center in New Mexico where I do a lot of teaching. Looking on to the courtyard and imagining this would be a place where there would be a dialogue between the great wisdom traditions of the world, a place that would focus on a healing for creation, I said to him, “This is sort of like a table of humanity that we’re trying to create here. If that is what this place is, what should I bring to the table?” And he spoke to me with a sort of simple but profound directness that I’ve now come to expect from native teachers, “Well, Philip, bring your treasure. Bring Christ.”

These words found their way deeply into my heart because I realize there are many of us in the Christian household who are not quite sure how to bring our treasure because our treasure, Christ, is so often used to beat people over the head and give them the impression that they need to become like us, all in the name of the truly humble One. Somehow we’ve created this arrogant tradition that we are somehow supposed to triumph or dominate other traditions. These words, “Bring your treasure; bring Christ” helped me realize that what many of us are struggling to find ways to do is to bring something back to the heart of our Christian household, not in terms of saying you must join us to receive our treasure or you must confess certain propositional beliefs about God in order to receive our treasure, but an awareness that we are to offer our treasure freely and openly for the sake of the healing of the world. For example, I think the way we’ve often celebrated communion is along the lines of putting all the conditions in place before we can actually share something from the heart of our Christian household. So that’s been close to the initial conception and birthing of this project… that we want to find not only a new language of expressing the ancient wisdom of Jesus but also find new ways of sharing this wisdom and to do it in ways that speak right into the heart of this point in time - especially to the longing for peace that we find in all of the great traditions.

RockOm: Sam, this music that you’ve composed has such a profound healing effect and essence to it. Can you take full responsibility for it?

Sam Guarnaccia: Oh, Tom… [laughs]. No, no. I really feel that God, or whatever word you want to put to it, but that God uses us, puts us together and finds ways, in spite of ourselves, for releasing these wonderful things. It’s been a great surprise for me. I’ve been thinking and feeling music deeply for much of my life to have found words that start to unlock melodies and unlock feeling. I’ll give you one specific example. All creative people, I think, struggle with themselves and tend to make things overcomplicated. But with this music there has always been something that has been shaping it and keeping it very simple. It’s a very humble feeling. One ends up being swept up and privileged to be a part of. You can’t really explain it.

Philip Newell: Sam has the gift of humility. I don’t feel quite so humble, but I’d like to set that in context. One of my favorite teachers is the 14th century mystic Meister Eckhart. Eckhart says that God is to be found in the human soul, not by addition but by subtraction. Namely, we don’t need to add anything to the human soul to find God. What we need to do is get the self-serving, dividing ego out of the way to find God. I think that’s my reading of what’s happened in Sam. He’s gotten himself out of the way enough to allow the One who is within us to be creative. So he is both totally responsible and not at all responsible [laughs].

RockOm: Philip, why does the mainstream Christian church know so little about Celtic mysticism when there’s obviously a long and rich history there?

Philip Newell: A couple of things. One is to say that there is a tremendous openness in much of mainstream Christianity as we’ve known it. I think there’s a great turmoil happening in which people are looking for ancient wisdom to speak in new ways for today. So while many will not necessarily be aware of the Celtic stream as a major resource, it’s right to say that many, many people are becoming aware of it as of the source. That’s not to say that we all need to become Celtic Christians, which would be as absurd to say that we’d all need to become Presbyterians, but it is to say that it is a significant resource.

There has been a long history of rejection of the ancient insights of the Celtic world. This began early on in the 4th century when Christianity became the religion of the empire. There was a weeding out or rejecting of what the empire deemed as incontinent truths. From the 4th century on we see the Imperial Church feeling threatened by many of the ancient wisdoms of the Celtic traditions about reverencing Creation, reverencing women or openness to the realm of the mystical and of dream life. All of these realms, the mystery of matter or the mystery of the feminine, all of these realms are not usually controlled by Empire. So I think a lot of the fear of what the Celtic tradition embodied and tried to give reference to was a sort of threatening to the holders of power.

Very close to the heart of the Celtic tradition has been celebration of the well of Wisdom that is deep within us - not just to be accessed in a subjective or individual way, but accessed together and in community as part of the healing of the world. The way in which imperial religion developed, it was convenient for the Empire to say that wisdom and truth was more like a possession or a type of deposit which would be distributed from above – that is from those who would, in a sense, tell us what to believe, or what the boundaries were. The Celtic tradition was often feared for reasons that were related to power and to the manipulation of power. Some of that continues to be the case today. In any tradition where ultimate power is situated - either with the Vatican, for instance from one end of the Christian spectrum, or the Biblical literalism on the other end – there’s fear around a stream of spirituality that takes seriously our responsibility to access the well of Wisdom within ourselves.

RockOm: Sam, there’s many collaborators on A Celtic Mass for Peace but two stand out. Tell me about the contributions of vocalists Suzanne Adam and Elisabeth von Trapp.

Sam Guarnaccia: Suzanne is an absolutely wonderful young Scottish woman from Edinburgh who is a friend of Philip’s and who did a recording with him called Sounds of the Eternal, which is a gorgeous album of meditative chants of a different sort than the Celtic Mass for Peace . When Philip invited us to Edinburgh to celebrate the mass as far as it had been composed at that point, Suzanne was part of the group of singers. We got to know her and when it was time to finally record the mass this past summer, an important part of the budget was to make it possible for Suzanne to come and share her glorious voice, and more than that her spirit to that project. Elisabeth von Trapp is, as you may know, the granddaughter of Maria von Trapp of The Sound of Music fame. She has several albums and is very spiritually oriented, with most her music having some relation to bringing peace and love and joy into people’s lives. So when I called her and asked if she’d consider being a part of this, she was happy to do it. She’s on three of the songs and was a wonderful addition to the mix of voices and players on the album.

RockOm: The question we ask almost everyone we interview, and to which we get a diversity of answers, is what is it about music and the arts that overcomes barriers between people with such ease?

Sam Guarnaccia: Music bypasses the cerebral cortex in a wonderful way. It’s truly a language at the heart of emotion, of the nervous system, of the body. It’s visceral and it’s truly spiritual. It works its way past the thinking and the analytical mind straight into the heart and so it has a magical way of helping us all to be free of inhibition. The music helps us to be truly honest with our feelings, to ourselves and to other people.

Philip Newell: I agree entirely. Edwin Muir, a Scottish poet, in one of his poems says that truth is not too complicated for expression; it is too simple for expression. The simpler we can be in our language, the closer we’re coming to the profound truths of the human mystery and of creation. Art and music often access much more immediately that realm of profound simplicity within us. Words often take us in the direction of what distinguishes or separates us. Words can lead to that less profound realm of differentiation and analysis while I think music and art are the gifts of expression that take us to the place that is profoundly intuitive because they come much more immediately after the heart, the soul or that deepest well of energy within us. For me, there’s nothing more wonderful than the combining of these faculties of word and sound and image. I think it’s often when there’s a convergence of these things that we find ourselves most deeply moved.

RockOm: Will the Mass be touring? Will the world be able to hear this wonderful work?

Philip Newell: I need to ask my wife about that [laughs]. I hope the Mass will be in many ways made available in many, many contexts. I’m not sure Sam and I will always be able to be physically present, but it would be wonderful because we have so loved being together at different points in the unfolding of this creativity. But part of what we want to set in place is the musical resources around enabling other people to access this without us being present.

Sam Guarnaccia: It’s a wonderful opening for me to say that the score on at least two or three different levels – a complete version as in the recording, as well as simpler versions for smaller groups that would like to do all or part of it – are going to be published and available electronically as well as in hard copy. It’s being worked on right now. There is one manifestation that may be coming fairly soon and that is this fall around the International Day of Peace. In Vermont and possibly around the country, there are a number of churches interested in using the Mass for Peace , as a way of celebrating the same thing together at the same time and with that common united purpose of being conscious of our deep longing, our deep need to move toward peace. This will encourage spiritual communities in being helpful to the greater communities around us and in being able to move in that direction, really creating a culture of peace.

ABOUT PHILIP AND SAM:

Sam Guarnaccia - Composer
Samuel Guarnaccia, a Vermont native, studied classical guitar in Spain and has performed throughout parts of Europe and North America. Having taught at The University of Denver and Middlebury College, he is now on the faculty of the University of Vermont, a Spanish scholar, player, and composer with deep ties to the history, struggle, traditions, and spirituality of ancient and contemporary Indigenous peoples.
www.samguarnaccia.com

J. Philip Newell - Lyrics
John Philip Newell is an Edinburgh poet, scholar, and teacher. Formerly Warden of Iona Abbey in the Western Isles of Scotland, he is now Companion Theologian for the American Spirituality Center of Casa del Sol at Ghost Ranch in the high desert of New Mexico.
www.jphilipnewell.com

Music has magical powers. Each 'raga' of classical music has unique abilities --- to soothe the mind, to invigorate us and to bring rain, fire or storm. Music is divine, transcending boundaries it takes us to completely different world.

On the day of the performance of Tansen, the hall was packed with courtiers and royal guests. People had come from far and near to hear the concert.

Tansen was waiting with his tampura in hand and as soon as the Emperor entered and sat on the throne, the great musician began alap - the first portion of a raga. As he sang on, the surrounding air got warmer and warmer. The audience started perspiring. Leaves and flowers in the garden dried and fell to the ground. Water in the fountains began to boil. Birds flew away in fright. The unlit lamps on the walls lighted up mysteriously and flames appeared in the air. People fled the court in terror while the fire generated by the raga raged on, burning the curtains to cinder. As the emperor got up and stood listening with awe, the rose that he often held in his hand drooped and died.

Now Tansen's body was hot and feverish but, absorbed in Rag Deepak, he continued to sing vigorously. Such was the power of Rag Deepak, rightly named after 'flame' … the raga that brought fire on rendition.

Music is truly magical, every tune, every tone, every note… all sending across the right vibes to soothe the nerves. It emerges as the most powerful medicine of all, as well as the best form of entertainment.

There once existed ragas that could do miracles like Rag Deepak. History has it that the flames of the raga were supposedly doused by yet another raga, Megh Malhar. As the name suggests, Megh Malhar gathered up the clouds and it rained! While up north it is known so, in South Indian style of classical music, it is known as Amrithavarshini.

This rare talent to do magic with ragas is called 'nada siddhi' in Sanskrit. “It’s almost lost… dead with the first generation of Tansen’s disciples,” says Radhe, an ardent patriarch of music, who also owns plenty of blogs and websites of classical music downloads. “It has lost its fervour but one cannot say that it is a lost art, for it does exist in various other forms, sung in different styles,” she concludes.

Ragas can be really mysterious. There are different ragas in Indian music and each raga creates a different mood. A raga can make you so happy that you may want to dance or it can make you so sad that it brings tears to your eyes. Besides performing in the court, Tansen is believed to have often sung alone for Emperor Akbar. At night he sang ragas that would soothe and help Akbar fall asleep and in the morning Tansen sang special ragas that would gently awaken the Emperor.

“Only traces of those melodies exist in the present world of remixed and mirch-masala music. Carnatic music itself has very few followers these days,” complains S Padmavathy, a renowned musician from Chennai. Rakesh, a young singer, also feels the same. “Music is so powerful,” he says; “Unfortunately, only a few realise its potential.” Music can be such a good healer. “No intake of medicines, no side effects, no expenses… Just a leisurely day and a good old tape recorder. That’s what music therapy is all about,” says Ragini, who runs a music therapy centre. “There is a raga for every situation, every condition,” she says.

“Ragas really are therapeutic. Call them magical if you wish to, but they do have the powers to bring rain and fire. However, it is all in the singing that they manifest their true powers. All the musical exponents I’ve known believe that if properly sung, these ragas really do work wonders. The musician must really be extraordinarily brilliant and devoted to music for this to happen,” opines Archana, a singer.

The ragas are full of unexplored beauty, mystique and depth --- something utterly magical. Yet another powerful raga is Yaman. It is a veritable ocean - fathomless, horizonless, tranquil, full of dignity and repose. “What we musicians play is only the tip of its musical iceberg. Yaman is a raga for every mood, every ras, every situation. It is unmistakably the one raga that serves as a divine channel for communicating with God,” says Radhe.

Raga Darbari works its magic with the help of minutely flattened intervals recalling the harmonic ambience of the blues. It is a deeply moving, emotionally intense raga with enough detail and nuance to repay repeated listening. Raga Darbari is like, what we say, a dialect of the original raga of Tansen. Many such mystic ragas are ascribed to Tansen. Ragas like Mian ki Malhar, Mian ki Todi and Darbari Kanada are the most famous and are existent today too.

Says Rakesh, a finalist of the Superstar Global, a reality-come-musical talent hunt: “I think there exists a world which truly is unknown for a normal human being here, on earth... some call it the spiritual presence or the omnipresent force. Music promotes positive energy to that force. This is not only done by the singer but also by the listeners.”

“I think it is this positive energy that is reflected as rain or fire. Nowadays, there are not enough aspirants to sing those ragas with 100 per cent efficiency and there are no spirited listeners who appreciate great music. All these account for the absence of miracles.”

“Like fables and folklore, these musical wonders have changed through time. No one knows the ancient real McCoy but it still goes down generations with personal touches and changes. No one can bring rain or create fire anymore… It happens only in stories of the great Tansen,”concludes Shravan, a music composer.

by Padma Venkatrama for merinews.com