Sacred Sound
As Companion on the Final Journey
Gregorian Chant and Sanskrit Mantra
As Support to the Dying
Music-Thanatology Training
Lane Community College
Eugene, Oregon
Professional/Academic Research Paper
Catharine Drum Scherer
May 2009
Acknowledgements
There are so many blessed guides along this journey. I will begin with Donna Madej, beloved
mentor, who played for my mother, shared her journey and guided me to the program in Music-
Thanatology offered through Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon. She has since spent
almost two years supporting me through my learning process at Sacred Heart Medical Center,
and the Providence Center for Faith and Healing in Spokane, Washington.
I offer a deep bow to Jane Franz and Sharilyn Cohn, who, following their inspired guidance,
have created such a strong program into which we, in the first class have immersed ourselves.
We have deepened and grown immeasurably as we step into this field.
It is also with gratitude I bow to our other teachers, Anna Fiasca, Suzanne Cerddeu, Laura
Lamm, Michael Sasnow, Andrea Partenheimer, Jeri Howe, Gary Plouff, Bob Scheri,
Sister
Vivian Ripp, Dr. Robert Richardson, as well as all the Music-Thanatologists who have come
before us. Both in the classroom and through their modeling how to live this profound work, we
have learned so much. I offer deep appreciation for their teacher, and founder of the field of
Music -Thanatology, Therese Schroeder Sheker, who listened to her sacred knowing, and opened
this work to the world of the dying.
My precious classmates have loved me and each other so well, providing support and nurturing
through the tough and transformative times: Beatrice Rose, Cyd Dudgeon, Elizabeth Markell,
James Excell, Jennelle Ediger, Jennifer Nackowski, and Trish Weaver.
Cynthia Wood, advisor to me as I wrote this paper continues to remind me to enjoy the journey!
Thank you to readers, Dianne Juhl, Mary Knight, Molly Zammit, who offered me their non-
Music-Thanatological perspective.
Mark and Arti Ross Kelso, spiritual and musical friends introduced me to the works of Vyaas
Houston and Cynthia Snodgrass. Cynthia Snodgrass, whose journey and writing and sharing
were the guide and foundation for this paper.
And lastly, to all the ancient mystics whose work and practice of sound have offered us deep
connection with our divine essence, as we attend to the sacred act of living and dying, I offer the
most profound bow.
Introduction
When we attend in the deepest way, with heart, soul, mind and spirit, to the moments that
surround our transitus from this physical form that we embody to wherever we go or whatever
we become next, something occurs that cannot always be expressed in words. Sometimes, if it is
not suppressed, sound comes unbidden, in the form of wailing, moving into a most elemental
song or chant. If we explore the fundamental nature of this sound and how we can use it to
support us in rich and sacred ways at this moment of dying, how much more present can we be in
this holy time?
“Sound, with its soothing and therapeutic qualities, is our friend, Sound is our
Companion on the way, and when the time comes to make the transition from this life to the
next, prayer and song and mantra can aid in the journey”
1
Where do we find the sacred songs, chants and mantras; offerings that profoundly assist
us in our final earthly passage? They come from all cultures and religions, with their various
notions of death, to assist us in healing, connecting us to the divine, and moving us on our
spiritual journey during our last moments in the body.
It is important for musicians involved in assisting the holy act of dying with sacred sound
to expand awareness of the diverse and abundant threads of music and sound from cultures that
may be different from our own. As we deepen this awareness, we become more equipped to
serve a greater number of people, and, perhaps more importantly we become aware of our part in
weaving a tapestry connecting us all at the core with sacred music.
2
The tapestry of sacred sound is vast. The threads are rich and many have enticed me to
follow them. I imagine these threads to be never ending. In this paper I have begun a partial
exploration of two threads of this immense weaving. These threads come directly from the
current sound journeys of my life, and, I believe, invite me to continue a deep, fascinating, and
lifelong quest of sacred sound.
Years ago I heard of Music-Thanatology, founded by Therese Schroeder-Sheker, who
began the Chalice of Repose Project in Missoula, MT, as a response to a call to offer palliative
and prescriptive music for the dying. Her focus was based, in great part, on the study of the
rituals created by monks at Cluny in the 11th century to assist the dying process of their brethren.
This repertoire is primarily Western and Christian; Gregorian or Plainchant, “sacred music
placed at the service of the needs of the dying in an atmosphere of love and support.”
2
The profound effect of this music on those who are in their final process of life and the
Music-Thanatologist cannot be easily quantified. What I know is, when the time came for me to
embark on my journey as a student of Music-Thanatology, my introduction and study deepened
my reverence and experiential knowing of the power of this music to assist in the dying process.
The music is, according to Schroeder-Sheker, intended “to meet the needs of each patient,
regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, gender, age or affliction”
3
and often it does transcend the
label of “Christian” “Western” and “Gregorian” Chant, in deep service of the dying. However,
there are times when, at the bedside, I have longed for sacred music that comes from a myriad of
traditions, to better serve that particular patient.
These experiences of intuitively sensing a need for music that was not available to me at
the bedside, began to intertwine with the calling of Sanskrit Chant, specifically mantras, hymns
3
and stories that come from the most ancient texts, the Rig Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad-Gita,
that speak of our relationship with the Divine and with Life and Death.
While pondering a topic for this paper, I visited old friends in Massachusetts. One day
we chanted a Sanskrit mantra together. I found myself deeply moved and imagined the power of
this music at the bedside. My friends, also wonderful musicians, handed me a CD they had
helped to produce, by Cynthia Snodgrass, a scholar of Renaissance music, Episcopal priest and
hospice chaplain. They said I must connect with her. The repertoire on this CD included not
only Sanskrit chant but also many of the Gregorian Chants that make up the repertoire that is
included in the study of Music-Thanatology. She had woven a number of them together
musically, including the two chants I use in this paper.
The strong call for me to be with these mantras, hear them, chant them, and feel them
reverberating through my body has deeply impacted my musical experience and moved me.
This, then, is more than an academic paper. It is both a very personal journey and an exploration
of a very small selection from Eastern and Western traditional sacred chant, and how they can
serve at the bedside of the dying. This paper represents a humble beginning, and an invitation to
the Music-Thanatology community to continue to explore these rich, sacred sound weavings, as
we, as Music- Thanatologists, expand our offerings of sacred music for the dying at the bedside.
Chant
The meaning of the word comes from the Latin, “Cantare” meaning simply to sing.
“Chant is defined as a body of traditional, sung religious music… it is purely melodic and
lacking strict meter. Sacred texts are contemplated through song.”
4
4
Beyond the definition, chant is ancient and alive, connecting us with the sacred through
sound and breath. “Chant…goes back we know not where or when-no doubt to the whisperings
of the Holy Spirit itself into the ears of countless generations of composers.”
5
“ Chant is singing our prayers. Chant is the breath made audible in tone. Chant is
discovering Spirit in Sound.”
6
In many creation stories, it is sound or chant that brings the world into being. In
Christianity, according to John in the New Testament, “In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
7
In the Hindu cosmology, the whole universe comes out of a single sound or vibration.
Whatever name we give this beginning, sound is at the foundation. Chaitanya Kabir, a Sanskrit
scholar and musician says, “Whether we call it the ‘Big Bang Theory or we call it OM, it is the
same thing. There is a single vibration that went forth from pure consciousness”
8
Increasingly,
people are experiencing the profound benefits for both spiritual and physical health gained from
chanting or “sounding”. During the summer of 1994, many were introduced to the Gregorian
chant of the monks of Santo Domingo de Silos of Spain, when their chant CD was a huge “hit”.
The increasing awareness of the benefits of Yoga, and accompanying chants by more and more
people, suggests a longing for the healing connections that are offered by chant. Indeed, when
particular focused sound in the form of chant is used, hearts, minds and the cells in our bodies
can be realigned and supported in our life journey, which includes the dying process. Robert
Gass speaks of sound and chant, “as a remarkable bridge between the two worlds…between
Spirit and matter. Through the vibrating energy that is sound, the invisible world can reach out
and touch this physical plane. Through resonance and entrainment, sound energy can make
patterns in sand, even move mountains…Sound, when organized as chant, can reweave the
5
patterning of our hearts and our souls.”
9
Music-Thanatologists have begun and must continue to
explore the immense body of music/sound that is most supportive at the end of life. Here is a
beginning exploration of two bodies of chant with an example of each and a discussion of the
prescriptive elements for use at the bedside of the dying.
Gregorian Chant
“The quiet ecstasy of Gregorian chant calls to people of all faiths…The chant speaks to
our hearts today because it is a universal call to enter the now: to stop, to listen, and to heed the
message of this moment. It speaks to the monk in each of us, to our soul, which longs for peace
and connection to an ultimate source of meaning and value.”
10
Study of Gregorian chant has
filled volumes. A brief history and how it has served the dying process is offered here.
This form of chant has common threads from ancient musical practices of the Jewish
tradition and quite possibly the eastern sacred chanting of Sanskrit. Vyaas Houston, Sanskrit
scholar refers to Sanskrit as the “elder sister of Latin and Greek from which most of the modern
European languages have been derived.”
11
From this connection in the earliest time, Christian
chant evolved and became through history what it is today.
Boethius lived for only about forty-five years in the 6
th
century, just long enough to make
his large contribution to the formation of Western music. While the foundation of Gregorian
Chant did not begin nor end with his work, his translation of important Greek works on
philosophy, mathematics, geometry, theology and music into Latin, lay the foundation for music
theory in general and Gregorian Chant in particular. Le Mee comments, “Music theory, which
not only is at the basis of Gregorian chant, but also forms the very foundation of the medieval
world view and infuses its thinking, was learned from him.”
12
Schroeder-Sheker speaks of
Boethius’ understanding music to be not just repertoire, but an “all pervading force streaming
6
throughout the universe as well as a principle that actually unites the integrity of the body, soul
and spirit.”
13
In the 6
th
century Pope Gregory I, was instrumental in bringing together chants for the
liturgy, and the repertory has been named for him. The Benedictines, with their orderly monastic
life, carried the chants through the 7
th
century and beyond. Le Mee notes that while the Roman
world began to disintegrate, losing any sense of cohesion, the monastic world maintained a sense
of order which was reflected in the music. “These principles of monastic life-attention to detail,
listening, obedience, simplicity, economy, and above all, unqualified love-are embodied in the
singing and are transmitted by the chants.”
14
We can carry this image of chant being sustained
with love in a disintegrating world to the bedside, where we offer these steadfast chants at the
time of death. When the world of the physical body, and the ego are coming apart, it is possible
to imagine the soul aligning with the music and being accompanied through the dying process as
it joins with the cosmos.
Eventually chant began to be written down. In the 11
th
century, Guido d’Arezzo began to
use neums, squared notes on a staff of four lines, using lines and spaces to designate pitches.
This innovation was said to be able to “produce a competent singer in one or at the most two
years, whereas previously ten years of study had not been enough…singers could now read and
perform a melody that they had never before heard.”
15
Because of this contribution, Music-
Thanatologists now study the chants in nuem form, connecting with all the singers that have
come before us, becoming, in “at most two years”, competent to offer our voices to serve the
dying.
7
In 910, the Abbey of Cluny was founded and was a huge force politically and spiritually
in the Christian Church throughout the medieval period. Its influence spread over France and
Spain while still keeping its independence from rulers both secular and religious.
Raoul Glaber, a monk and historian of the 11
th
century, speaks of the monks of Cluny,
“This convent has not its equal anywhere in the Roman world. .The very great number [400] of
monks [allows] masses to be celebrated constantly from the earliest hours of the day until the
hour assigned for rest: and they go about it with so much dignity and piety and veneration that
one would think they are angels rather than men.”
16
Each monastic community took St. Benedict’s rule and adapted it to its own particular
daily life. The customs of Cluny were written down by two monks, Bernard and Ulrich.
In his research and study of these customaries of Cluny, Frederick Paxton offers us a view of the
monastic death ritual and speaks of this rite of passage as an “elaborate play of gestures, prayers,
chants and symbols that accompanied the death and burial of a monk at Cluny, appearing not just
as a bit of monastic history, but as a profound expression of the human urge to structure and give
meaning to the mystery of life and death.”
17
The power of Cluny was finally overcome by the French Revolution. But hundreds of
years later, the power of their sacred ritual for the dying is returning. In western medicine, the
call for palliative care is growing. The acknowledgment of the importance of a dignified and
peaceful dying process is finding its way into “traditional” medicine. Into this field Music-
Thanatology recreates anew the traditions of the monks of Cluny, offering chant and a safe,
sacred container for those who are dying.
8
Sanskrit Chant
The foundation of the Hindu religion lives in the sacred texts of the Vedas, the
Upanishads, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavad-Gita. The language of these texts, Sanskrit
itself, is most ancient, shrouded in mystery, refined as a sacred language for thousands of years,
then handwritten by Panini in 500 B.C. As Sanskrit scholar Vyaas Houston describes, “it had
reached a point where it was perfected, and ready to be laid down formally. The genius Panini
was born for that purpose. So masterful, concise and comprehensive was his great work in
formulating the Sanskrit language, that to this day, two and a half millennia later, no one has
been able to improve upon his original work.”
22
The word Sanskrit, indeed means, “Language
brought to formal perfection.”
18
Sanskrit was the official language of all of India until 1100 A.D., when the Muslims
invaded. Its structure influenced literature, linguistics, mathematics, astronomy and medicine.
In this modern day, NASA, exploring a language for AI (artificial intelligence), has found that
Sanskrit is the only unambiguous spoken language.
The question arises, why has such a language that has not been changed or
improved upon for over 2500 years, not become more widely spoken? As Vyaas Houston sees
it, we have had difficulty in accessing Sanskrit in the way that it is designed to be used.
I have not yet seen Sanskrit, or life, fit into anyone’s time calculations
or strategies. Sanskrit is a play, a dance of energy in the eternal now. It,
modeling life, is perfectly designed to take us beyond our expectations,
our self-images, our programming. But we must be ready to be in the
role of a perpetual learner, a student of life, of the ancient, eternal wisdom,
miraculously encoded in this sacred language. If we believe that by learning
a sacred language, we will gain knowledge and power, then we look to a future
goal, which is, by definition, opposed to our true nature. The power of a sacred
language is to immediately mirror this back as if to say, NO ACCESS.
A sacred language is one which guides us to our own true nature, and every time
9
we derail ourselves, reminds us in some way that we’re missing out on its
real nourishment. If we are going to engage, it must be with our total being,
one pointed awareness, free from the distraction of where it might bring us,
or rather, we might take it, in the future.
19
The language of Sanskrit was designed to deepen our knowing of ourselves and our connection
with the Divine; to be used as an instrument to wake us up to our real purpose. The word for the
concept “I”, who we are, our essence, AHAM, is made up of the beginning and ending sounds of
the Sanskrit alphabet. The alphabet begins with the letter sound “A” that is created by the breath.
On the effortless release of breath, with mouth slightly open, it is the sound that arises naturally
from the throat before any other. The last letter is “HA”, which is the only consonant that is
moved by the breath alone, and the only one directly in relation to the “A”. The “M” at the end
of the word is the last sound created in the mouth as the lips close. So then, AHAM is, “the
beginning, the breath of life which brings forth creation, and the end.”
20
It is more than a concept; it becomes a direct energetic, physical experience of “I” as the
beginning, the breath of life and the end.
This, it would seem, is a language very appropriate to chant at the bedside of the dying,
particularly at that time when we are separating from the self, the “I” as we have known it.
Offering the direct experience of sound that, just in its speaking or chanting, invokes this
remembering of who we are beyond our ego, may offer great support. Mantra is the Sanskrit
word indicating “mental liberation or “delivering the mind from its worldly conditioning and
limitations
21
Unlike Gregorian chant, there is no set melody for Sanskrit chants or mantras. The
power comes from chanting the words with deep attention and focus, with correct pronunciation,
whatever the tune. The tune is passed from teacher to disciple. It is usually very simple and
10
repetitive like a plainchant litany. There are often many variations of each chant. The melody for
the Mahamrytjunjays chant that is being discussed and notated for this paper, is the one chanted
by Vyaas Houston and Cynthia Snodgrass on the CD Waters from the Son/Waters From the
Moon: An Altar of Sound. Here they have created a suite with this mantra and the Gregorian
Chant, A porta Inferi. The blending of these two sacred chants has the potential of being a
powerful support in releasing fear and during the process of dying. I include a CD of this pairing
with this paper, both the version from Waters from the Sun, and an adaptation for the harp that
could be offered by Music-Thanatologists at the bedside.
A porta Inferi
Fig. 1. A porta inferi from the Liber Usualis, Desclee and Co., Tournail, Belgium, 1950, pp736-
737.
A Porta Inferi
erue Domine
animam meam
22
From the gates of death
And the Underworld (hell)
The Lord frees my soul.
23
While not all of the Gregorian chant offered by Music-Thanatologists can be attributed to the
monks at Cluny, this simple short, antiphon, “A Porta inferi,” was a part of the rites of
purification. Schroeder-Sheker refers specifically to this antiphon,
11
The largest part of the Cluniac customary is concerned with the liminal or
threshold condition, which can be accompanied by anything from minor
pain to prolonged agony, physical or spiritual. It is during this part of the
passage that the music is most effective. One of the Cluny pain antiphons
addresses liminal purification as a burning process. The text of the music
states, ‘Free me from the burning gates’ (of hell) or ‘from the gates of fire.’
This antiphon is sung and played over and over, repetition being an active
agent. The pain antiphon either serves as, or is analogous to an analgesic,
depending on the reception of the music by the patient.
24
Gregorian chant is sung in modes. In the nuems pictured above, it is written in Hypodorian on A.
This is akin to the natural minor of a key, so there is a minor feel to this piece, by Western
standards. This simple melody consists of only three short phrases, with a narrow ambitus,
moving from one step below the fundamental to the perfect 5
th
above. The comforting repetition
in conjunction with the unmetered nature of the chant, invites cooling flow and movement
through the fire of fear or anxiety. The word, “inferi” or hell, or is be sung with accompanying
major chords, further tempering the fire or pain. The chant can entrain with the breath, which, in
one who is fearful or in pain, can often be shallow and irregular. The beginning flow of the
melody with a minor feel, meets the distress and invites movement; a way out of the difficulty.
From time to time, the breathing may calm and deepen.
In the Catholic Liturgy, A Porta inferi is sung for the Office of the Dead and on Holy Saturday
(before Easter) along with the Canticle of Hezekiah. Reading this brings us into what someone
who is beginning the process of dying may be feeling. The singer chants,
“Like a shepherd’s tent my house
has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;
day and night you made an end of me.
12
I waited patiently till dawn,
but like a lion he broke all my bones;
day and night you made an end of me.
I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid!”
25
The time of separation, when we are coming to terms with our dying, can be a troubling,
fearful time. This is the time which Kathleen Dowling Singh calls the death of the self-project,
the time of letting go of what our ego has made us up to be. “It is the suffering of the dismantling
of the structure, the identity, the beliefs, the hopes the dreams, the cherished memories, the
fancied ‘proofs of the self.’ “
26
The introduction of A Porta inferi and its petition for aid, at this
time, offers the possibility of deep support and release from that trouble.
Maha Mrytyunjaya Mantra
Fig. 2. From Jyotish Vigya.com. http://jyotishvidya.com/mrtyunjaya.htm
OM tryambakam yajamahe
sugandhim pusti-vardhanam
urva rukam iva bandhanan
mrtyor muksiya mamrtat
27
13
We meditate on the creator
Of the three worlds,
Of Sweet fragrance
Who expands spiritual growing
Like the fruit-of-the-vine
Which leaves its stem
When fully ripened
May I be free from the
Bondage of death
But not from immortality
28
The Maha Mrytyunjaya mantra, or “The Great Mantra for Victory over Death”, is one of
the most sacred Sanskrit mantras. It is said to create the power to overcome all obstacles, even
the fear of death. The Maha Mrytyunjaya was composed around 1300 BCE and found in the Rig
Veda VII. There is no particular mode or scale, as found in Gregorian Chant, however, using the
melody used by Vyaas Houston and Cynthia Snodgrass, we find that it can be related to the
mode of A porta inferi, (Hypodorian) which, on the recording is accompanied by a single chord
drone on C. In other recordings of the Maha Mrytjunjaya chant that Snodgrass has created, the
chording moves simply from C major to Bb minor. For this paper I have used Western notation
for both chants beginning on D, relating to the Gregorian hypodorian mode.
Many sources from the Yogic, Hindu tradition speak of this chant. “The Maha
Mrytyunjaya Mantra is hailed by the sages as the heart of the Rigveda.”
29
As has been noted, it is
14
a great death conquering mantra, dedicated to Lord Shiva. Shiva is the God of death and
destruction. It is also believed, that to overcome the fear of death, Lord Shiva (part of the Hindu
trinity, Shiva, Krishna and Brahman) himself gave humanity the Maha Mrityunjaya.”
According to one story, Shiva spoke these words as he offered the mantra,
The light of this mantric shakti outshines millions of suns. It is with this fire of radiant
divine energy that I destroy the world in a flash and breathe life into it in no time. There
is nothing beyond this power… the Mrytyunjaya mantra, pervades the whole universe. It
is the source of all protection, physical, mental and spiritual. There is no mystery higher
than this-the mystery of my eyes, the fire residing in them, and how that fire manifest in
the form of Mrytyunjaya mantra.
30
The text of the Maha Mrytyjunjaya chant begins with an acknowledgement of the creator and
ends with a supplication to be released from the bondage or fear of death. It begins with the
sound of Om, which is offered many times in the sacred texts of the Rig Vedas, the Upanishads
and the Bhagavad Gita. Om is to be sung before any mantra as the sound which connects us most
profoundly with the Divine, the Ground of Being, or God. In the mantra itself, we have the
poetic image in the translation, of the ripening of the fruit, which, in its time, falls from the vine.
There is no fear invoked by this image, just an acknowledgement of a natural process.
The melody consists of very narrow ambitus of 5 notes. The lowest note, a 4
th
below the
fundamental, flows into the fundamental as the OM is sung, accompanied by the V and I chords.
The rest of the chant is sung on three notes, with an unmetered, gentle rising and falling syllabic
melody.
The two chords accompanying the body of the chant begin with minor, then come to
major, first on the word sugandhim, which is the reference to “the Sweet Fragrance which
expands spiritual growing”, then again with “urva” which in this translation refers to the ripe
fruit which is ready to leave the stem. Another major chord accompanies “mrytor” which refers
15
to the deliverance from the fear of death. The chant ends with the sound of Om accompanied
again by the I, and V chords, which are minor in this case.
Musically, there is a natural connection between the Maha Mrytyunjaya chant and A
porta Inferi, as prescriptive music. These pieces can be joined in a suite that offers
acknowledgement of pain or fear with the minor mode. There is the cooling, flowing aspect of
the unmetered music. In the repetition of simple melodies flowing in and out of accompanied
minor then major chords, there is invitation for safety and calm. The text in both is, in part, a
petition to the Divine for release from fear. In the union of these chants there may be woven the
possibility of this into deep acceptance of the inevitability of the journey through death, and the
releasing of fear.
16
Fig. 3. Western notation of the Mahamytjunjaya chant and A Porta inferi by Catharine Scherer.
17
A Weaving of Sacred Traditions
My mother was an artist. One of her paintings hangs above my altar. As I consider the
merging of these two chants, and chant them together in the early morning, I gaze at what
becomes two dark figures in the center of the painting. They are standing close together in the
fire. Orange and gold flames seem to dance around them. They face away into the cooling,
mysterious mist. One appears to have the hood of a monk. In my imagination they become the
two chants, side by side reinforcing one another, strengthening the soul for the journey into the
sacred Mystery.
As I chant, I become aware that I am not distinguishing where one chant begins and the
other ends, or even which one is Latin and which one is Sanskrit. I am aware of the sounds of
the open vowels, ah, mam, ahm, that repeat over and over in each chant. I am reminded that the
word for “I” in Sanskrit is aham, both the beginning, the breath of life, which brings forth
creation, and the end. Might these two chants join together, to meet the fear of letting go and to
energetically invite one who is dying into the memory or knowing of their connection with
something larger than the ego self? I Imagine them meeting the dying person in their fear and
pain, and moving with them into the next step of the sacred journey.
This is merely one example of how different musical traditions can join with the rich
body of Gregorian chant that forms the main body of the prescriptive music of Music-
Thanatology. The theology may differ substantially, but, at the core, in the pure resonance, these
chants meet.
Chant will continue to evolve, but to be authentically transformative,
the music must grow out of a life of contemplation, a lived acquaintance
with the deeper meanings of life, the spiritual realities of human existence.
Chant both gives birth to this transcendence and is born from it.
31
18
As Music-Thanatologists, called to this work, called to embrace the sacred mystery of
dying, and the music that connects us with that mystery, it is important to explore all expressions
that call to be offered through us. We will continue to deepen our practice and contemplate our
lived, direct experience in the presence of the ones who allow us to witness their most intimate
moments. We must listen, to be in the question always, what serves in this moment, and to have
the resources to offer that particular gift of music or silence into the holy field.
.
Fig. 4 The Reef, by Mary Kent Norton, from the collection of Catharine Drum Scherer, Spokane,
WA,
19
Notes
1
Snodgrass, Cynthia. The Sonic Thread: Sound as a Pathway to Spirituality. New York,
Paraview Press, 2002. p.83.
2
Schroeder-Sheker, Therese, “Music for the Dying, Using Prescriptive Music in the Death-bed
Vigil”, Noetic Science Review
, Autumn, 1994, Number 31. p. 35
4
Cerddeu, Suzanne, “What is Gregorian Chant?”, unpublished paper, April, 2008.
5
Le Mee, Katharine, The Benedictine Gift to Music
, New York/Mahwah, NJ, Paulist Press,
2003, p. 195
6
Gass, Robert, Kathleen Brehony, Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound,
New York, Broadway
Books, 1999, p12.
7
The Bible, Bible Gateway,
Gospel according to John 1:1, New International Version,
http://www.BibleGateway.com/passage/?searcg=John1:1&version=31.
8
Kabir, Chaitanya in Gass, p37.
9
Gass, p.38.
10
Steindl-Rast, David and Lebell, Sharon, Music of Silence
. Seatone Press, Berkely, CA 2002,
p 1.
11
Houston, Vyaas, “Sanskrit and the Technological Age”, Devavani, The Language of the
Gods, American Sanskrit Institute, http://www.americansanskrit.com/read/a_techage.php.
12
Le Mee, Chant
, p. 18.
13
Schroeder-Sheker, Therese, “Musical-Sacramental-Midwifery: The Use of Music in Death
and Dying”, Music and Miracles, ed. Don Campbell, Wheaton, IL. Quest Books, 1991. p.18.
14
Le Mee, Katharine, Chant
, New York, Bell Tower, 1994. p. 91.
15
Le Mee, Chant
, p. 94.
16
Glaber, Raoul, in Le Mee, Chant
, pp 65-66
17
Paxton, Fred, “From Life to Death”. Connecticut College Magazine, Vol 3, number 6,
May/June 1994, p. 27.
18
Houston, Vyaas, “Sanskrit, a Sacred Model of Language”, American Sanskrit Institute
.
http://www.americansanskrit.com/read/a_sutras.php. p.5.
20
19
Houston, p. 3.
20
Houston, p. 7.
21
Bernard, Patrick, Music as Yoga
, San Rafael, CA, Mandala Publishing, 2004, P86
22
Liber Usualis, Desclee and Co., Tournail, Belgium, 1950, pp736-737.
23
: Snodgrass, Cynthia, Vyaas Houston, Mark Kelso, Jim Oliver, Sue Richards, Waters from the
Son/Waters From the Moon: An Altar of Sound, Richmond, MA, Muddy Angel Studios, 1996.
24
Schroder-Sheker, Therese, “Music for the Dying: A Personal Account of the New Field of
Music-Thanatolgy-History, Theories, and Clinical Narratives”, Journal of Holistic Nursing
,
Volume 12, No. 1, March, 1994. p. 43.
25
The Bible, Bible Gateway,
Gospel according to Isaiah 38:9-20 New International Version,
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2038:9-20%20&version=31.
26
Singh, Kathleen Dowling, The Grace in Dying
, New York, Harper One, 1998, p.104.
27
Snodgrass, Cynthia, Vyaas Houston, Mark Kelso, Jim Oliver, Sue Richards, Waters From the Son/Waters From the Moon: An Altar of Sound, Richmond, MA, Muddy Angel Studios, 1996
28
Snodgrass, Waters From the Son/Waters From the Moon
.
29
http://www.gurumaa.com/mahamrityunjaya.php, April, 2009.
30
The Rhipidon Society.http://lauralane.blogs.com/rhipidon/205/07/maha_mrtyunjaya.html, July
2005.
31
Cerddeu, Suzanne, “What is Gregorian Chant?” unpublished paper, April, 2008.
21
Resources
Books
Bernard, Patrick, Music as Yoga, San Rafael, CA, Mandala Publishing, 2004.
Gass, Robert, Kathleen Brehony, Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound, New York, Broadway
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Hale, Susan, Song and Silence: Voicing the Soul, Albuquerque, La Alameda Press, 1993.
Kramer, Kenneth, The Sacred Art of Dying: How World Religions Understand Death. Mahwah,
New Jersey, Paulist Press, 1988.
Gardner, Kay, Sounding the Inner Landscape, Stonington, ME, Caduceus Press, 1990.
James, Jamie, The Music of the Spheres, Science, and the Natural Order of the Universe, New
York, Grove Press, 1993.
Kramer, Kenneth, The Sacred Art of Dying, New York, Paulist Press, 1988.
Le Mee, Katharine, Chant, New York, Bell Tower, 1994.
Le Mee, Katharine, The Benedictine Gift to Music, New York/Mahwah, NJ, Paulist Press, 2003.
Levitt, Jo Ann, Todd Norian, and Kent Lew, Sounds of the Sacred: Chants of Love and Prayer.
Lenox, MA, Kripalu Center, 1990.
Liber Usualis, Tournai, Belgium, 1950
Padoux, Andre, Vac: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras, Albany, NY SUNY
Press, 1990
Paxton, Frederick S., Liturgy and Anthropology: A Monastic Death Ritual of the Eleventh
Century, St. Dunstans’ Press, Missoula, MT 1993.
Paxton, Frederick S., A Medieval Latin Death Ritual: The Monastic Customaries of Bernard and
Ulrich of Cluny, St. Dunstans’ Press, Missoula, MT 1993.
Singh, Kathleen Dowling, The Grace in Dying, New York, Harper One, 1998
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Press, 2002.
Staal, Frits, Rituals and Mantras: Rules Without Meaning, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass, 1996.
22
Wilber, Ken, No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth, Boston,
Shambhala , 1985.
Journal Articles
Bourgeault, Cynthia. “The Hidden Wisdom of Psalmody,” Gnosis Magazine, Fall, 1995.
Dodd, Vickie, “Sound as a Tool for Transformation.” Halo, Winter issue. Elmhurst, IL, 1989.
Houston, Vyaas, “Sanskrit, the Language of Meditation”, American Sanskrit Institute.
http://www.americansanskrit.com/read/a_sutras.php.
Houston, Vyaas, “Sanskrit, a Sacred Model of Language”, American Sanskrit Institute.
http://www.americansanskrit.com/read/a_sutras.php.
Paxton, Fred, “From Life to Death”. Connecticut College Magazine, Vol 3, number 6, May/June
1994.
Schneider, Marius, “On Gregorian Chant and the Human Voice”, World of Music, XXIV/3,
1982.
Schroder-Sheker, Therese, “Music for the Dying: A Personal Account of the New Field of
Music-Thanatolgy-History, Theories, and Clinical Narratives”, Journal of Holistic Nursing,
Volume 12, No. 1, March, 1994.
Schroder-Sheker, Therese, “Music for the Dying, Using Prescriptive Music in the Death-bed
Vigil”, Noetic Science Review, No. 31, Autumn, 1994.
Schroeder-Sheker, Therese, “Musical-Sacramental-Midwifery: The Use of Music in Death and
Dying”, p.18, article from the book, Music and Miracles, Don Campbell, ed., Wheaton, IL. Quest
Books, 1991.
Dictionaries
Barnhart, Robert, Dictionary of Etymology: The Origins of American English Words, New
York, NY, H.W Wilson Company, 1995.
Randel, Don Michael, The Harvard Dictionary of Music, Cambridge, MA, London, England,
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, fourth edition, 2003.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia Americana. 2005. Scholastic Library Publishing, Inc.
Other
Cerddeu, Suzanne, “What is Gregorian Chant?” Unpublished paper, April 2008.
23
Gurumaa.com, http://www.gurumaa.com/mahamrityunjaya.php.
Houston, Vyaas, Kelso, Mark, Songs to Shiva, Warwick, NY, Muddy Angel Music, 1993.
Jyotish Vigya.com. http://jyotishvidya.com/mrtyunjaya.htm
The Rhipidon Society.http://lauralane.blogs.com/rhipidon/205/07/maha_mrtyunjaya.html, July
2005.
Snodgrass, Cynthia, Dream Chants East and West, Santa Fe, NM, Jim Oliver Music Studio,
2000.
Snodgrass, Cynthia, Vyaas Houston, Mark Kelso, Jim Oliver, Sue Richards, Waters from the
Son/Waters From the Moon: An Altar of Sound, Richmond, MA, Muddy Angel Studios, 1996.
Snodgrass, Cynthia, Essential Sanskrit, Santa Fe, NM, Jim Oliver Music Studio, 2000.
