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Chant harmonizes mind to body and body to rhythm. With chant, we call upon life's breath to creatively express the miracles and mysteries of living. As we do so, we dissolve the veil that separates the experience of watching life from the experience of being fully alive. In chant, we become enchanted, and our voice, so often a fit of starts and stops, is unleashed in a river of sound. Chant is also distinguished from song, in that the process and passion of its production is given greater priority than the aesthetic quality of the final product. In other words, the value of the chant is sought first in the internal experience for the artist.
When we combine chant with meaningful words and phrases, we crystallize the emotional energy of rhythm and movement into focused concrete intention. Our words become the vehicles by which the passions of movement and music are given identities that transcend the moment and enter into the realm of becoming. In this way, chants are like prayers or spells that are carried into the world on the wings of sound. Chant unleashes the power and the limitations of names, the possibilities of affirmations, and the productive focus of intentions, hopes, and dreams. In the Middle-East, it is sometimes said that music without words is like, “religion without scripture.” In contrast, South Asian classical tradition views words as distractions from the musical essence of life. For the rhythmatist, each of these represent different potentials. We may surrender to the infinite inclusive power of essential sound, or we may draw upon the focused worldly transformation that is contained within the word.
The chants that we use in our ensembles are usually short simple melodic verses. We choose those chants that have been particulary meaningful or beautiful to us. They are generally non-denominational, and some are only tonal. As with everything else in NWR, playmates are encouraged to write and share their own chants and bits of spoken word as a part of our sessions. When we look at the rhythm traditions of the world, we find that chant and song are key components in the musical magic of culture. Chants give depth and mood to the rhythms of life. With just a little practice anyone can easily learn to chant. Don't let the inclusion of chanting scare you away from this adventure.
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