Chant Through Dances of Universal Peace, Ritual, and Poetry

It is hard to believe that the second semester is almost over. I arrived in Ireland the beginning of August 2010 to begin an MA in Ritual Chant and Song at the University of Limerick's Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, here it is four weeks to my final chant exam. I totally forgot how qucily an academic year flies by. Right now I am immersed in two papers and I am particularly enjoying process of researching and the writing. This is because these papers are relevant to the work I want to do once I have completed my MA Ritual Chant and Song Program. The first is a look at the use of chant in a nontraditional setting, meaning outside of a church, mosque, synagogue or other formal religious setting. In fact this will also be the basis of my thesis. For that I will develop a pedagogy (teaching curriculum) and a compendium of chants. Right now my focus is on the Dances of Universal Peace, a meditative and spiritual practice created to promote unity, compassion, and world peace by combining the chant and sacred mantras of world faith traditions with simply choreographed dance. The Dances were founded in the 1960's in California by Sufi Master Samuel L. Lewis and today they are a worldwide movement. It is the use of chant of so many different spiritual traditions that particularly resonates with me. The dances are a celebration of diversity and unity.

Creating and reimagining ritual is the subject of my second paper. I am looking at the work of Ronald L. Grimes, an ethnographer and teacher of religious studies in Canada. Now retired, his work on ritual theory and the importance of ritual in our lives, especially as it pertains to rites of passage is fascinating. One our classes this semester has been a ritual lab, where we have all created or reimagined rituals that we have conducted with our classmates. I have become very interested in how I might combine ritual with the teaching of chant once I am done with my academic work. This paper is helping me to examine that possibility.

Speaking of chant, I am happy to report that I am making great progress. I have found the vocal placement for singing Gregorian chant, I am overcoming the diphthongs that are so much of my American pronunciation of vowels, and well generally, I am feeling much more confident. Last week we had an in-house concert and I actually felt like myself as I was singing since I started the program. That included nerves, a fast heart rate and heat rash that I always get when I first start singing.

I have learned so much and it has been an amazing journey. It isn't over yet. I am still hoping that I might be able to extend my MA work into a second year. We shall see. In the meantime I remain as passionate about chant as ever and I am excited to continue to learn as much as I can in preparation for the work I will do once I finish my MA program. You might be asking what exactly is chant. Here is a partial answer in the first of two poems that I have written about chant. I will post the second another day. Let me know if you have any questions.

Love from Glocca Morra

On Chanting
Chanting is the voice of the Soul
rising forth in vocal express
to sing praise or prayer,
offer thanksgiving,
call the elements,
the spirits, and powers.

Chanting is G-d’s voice
rising forth in each of us,
to give expression
in infinite ways, and
combinations of notes,
and sounds.

Chanting is melodious,
discordant,
repetitious ,
flowing,
redundant or
spontaneous.

Chanting is a call to prayer,
worship, meditation.
Chanting is devotional.
Chanting is unifying;
the joining of voices
as the soulful expression of ONE.

Whether as a direct communion with the Divine,
as a solo act, or
with a gathering of people whose voices unite in
song, rally, cheers or charges,
chanting is joyous, energizing,
healing, and uniting,
Whatever chanting is,
most often it is an expression of love-
of the love of Source
rising from the depths of our souls.

Voice of My Souls sings through me, and
I am grateful for such a joyous
and blessed gift.

Marsha Eger, Voice of My Soul: Wisdom from the Stillness(2008)