SPIRITUAL - Xtreme Music

gregorian MaSTerS
of chanT
Toni young
u.s. representative
“Music in the soul can be heard by the universe.” – Lao Tsu. From
the Age of the Neanderthal there has been music to accompany the
significant events of life; the joy of a birth, union of love, sorrow
of loss, rites of passage into adulthood, celebrations of the hunt
and harvests, pumping adrenaline to go into battle or sport, or
to accompany physical labor. All human emotions and life’s events
have a representation in music, and all cultures, faiths, and ethnic
groups have a distinctive musical foundation that has evolved over
the ages.
Music has the unique ability to touch the core of the human
soul and express emotion in ways that resonate beyond mere words
and gestures, which is why all of the world’s religions use music
to accompany their spiritual rites; from Buddhist chants to Vedic
mantras, from Islamic muezzin crying out the Adhan to the Native
American Ghost Dance, from the Jewish chazzan leading prayers
in the synagogue to the choirs in Christian churches and Catholic
monks singing Gregorian chants; these are all forms of music that
serve as the soundtrack to spiritual experience.
65