Sacred Sounds

If you are seeking inspiration, tune into a very uplifting gospel CD entitled Blessed, which is performed by the Soweto Gospel Choir. Southern African gospel music incorporates vocals with background drums and Blessed reflects that tradition along with the western church styles of music absorbed by the African culture.

Three revered Cantors gather in Amsterdam's historic, 17th century Portuguese synagogue to record this moving and magnificent audio collection of prayers, liturgy and traditional Yiddish folk and theatrical songs. The tenors travel in song back to the times when a Cantor was considered a Messenger of God.

A multicultural exploration of old musical traditions, the Chant: Spirit in Sound CD set brings to life the remarkable world of traditional and contemporary chant.

In Kentucky, Abbey of Gesthemani Benedictine Monks and Drepung Loseling Monks descend into Mammoth Cave, the largest cave system in the world, and gather at the Furnace Mountain Zen Temple and the Abbey of Gethsemani to record authentic chants from their religious traditions.

This 62-CD set of the King James Version of the Complete Audio Holy Bible features two of the best-known liturgical narrators, Alexander Scourby (Old Testament) and James Earl Jones (New Testament). Listeners are calling this audio meditation "the ultimate expression of the ultimate classic."

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen master in the Vietnamese tradition, scholar, poet and peace activist, says that his heart "is cooled by drops of emptiness." He and Sister Chan Khong, with the Monks and Nuns of Plum Village, which he founded, give the gifts of meditative poetry, chanting and solace to all listeners of this CD.

The Indian cultures of the Americas are reflected in the audio meditation In Beauty I Walk, recordings of Native American flutes, panpipes and ocarinas. This compilation of Coyote Oldham recordings beautifully projects the sounds of these ancient wind instruments filtered through electronic sound design.

These recordings are considered to be unique sound documents, musically, culturally and historically. John Levy, who recorded the liturgy on this CD, was a pioneering recordist who tapped into the expertise of the leading scholars of his day. Side I of Islamic Liturgy involves recitations invoking Blessings of Muhammad and Side II involves sacred dance, which is performed to induce a state of contemplation.

It is the prayer of Nechung Monastery in exile that the younger monks will be able to take the traditions kept alive, including the chanting on this CD recorded in Dharamsala, India, back to Tibet once it becomes a free nation.

The Abbey Monks express beautifully in this CD the layered textures of plainchant. Hymns selected from different centuries are some of the more easily understood chants of the liturgy. Gregorian chants with only one or two notes for each syllable of chant create an atmosphere that resonates with solemnity, simplicity and spirituality.

Japji, a sacred composition recited daily by Sikhs throughout the world, has forty stanzas called pauris, a number of which the vocalist Snatam Kaur chants in this collection of songs. The messages of these stanzas or pauris are simple and spiritual. Japji is defined by the Sikhs as meditation of the soul and Sikhs believe that these pauris are meant as a meditation for the soul for all peoples.

Fez, Morocco, is a 1,200-year-old city long known to be a center of Sufi spirituality. The camera in this new documentary wanders through the narrow alleyways of Fez during the annual Fez Festival of Sacred Music, focusing on singers, musicians and dancers ranging from Japanese drummers to the Irish vocal group Anuna to African berber women to a Harlem brass band. In this cinematic journey through the ancient North African city, whirling dervishes circle endlessly and a French early music group sings 12th century chorales.

Legend has it that an 80-year-old sage, Lao-Tzu, was encouraged to write down his wisdom by a border guard standing at China's western gate. Taoism: Essential Teachings of the Way and Its Power is a comprehensive introduction to the origins and philosophical beliefs of Taoism, the religion that Lao-Tzu founded more than 2,000 years ago. Lao-Tzu's writings are considered the "most enduring" sacred text in China and an "effortless philosophy for living."

Drawing from the Upanishads and other classical yoga texts, Yoga Chants includes ancient Vedic chant and chants in classical Sanskrit for Yoga practitioners. Sanskrit is designed as a language of sacred chanting and this instructional program focuses on the authentic meaning, precise pronunciation, and yogic application of traditional Sanskrit chant. Also found in this 2-CD collection are a wide range of Sanskrit chants from simple metered invocations to lyrical devotional songs.

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche, a Tibetan master of Vajrayana Buddhism, was renowned for his powerful singing voice. The Yogi's Song is a collection of twenty-six mantra, Tibetan prayers, songs of realization and folksongs recorded with Chagdud Rinpoche in many settings during the 1980s and 1990s.