Rosslyn Chapel
Museum
Sacred Sounds,
Sacred Places
(British Isles)
Music and the
Celtic Otherworld
Ancient Wisdom
& Sacred Sound
(at sacred sites
world-wide)
Magic Music of
Orpheus, Apollo
The Knights
Templar: A Quest
King Arthur's
Quest
St Columba's
Vision
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Sacred Sounds,
Sacred Places:
The Harmonic Earth
The ancients believed the natural landscape all around
us is 'singing' a song of it own, having an inherent musical or harmonic
quality. Whether a Christian monastic site, a Buddhist temple or a megalithic
stone circle, early sources all over the world frequently refer to sound and
music being associated with certain places more often than others. The Celtic
sources often use metaphors such as "the three perpetual choirs" of Bangor,
Wales, for example, to emphasize this point about the sacredness of the land
and the 'constant music' of the earth, as well as the Druidic 'Awen'.
Ironically, scientists have now found that the earth
itself emits a constant frequency---its very own resonance--and we will learn a
bit more about the recent scientific and medical discoveries about sound,
vibration, and harmonics. Although widely acknowledged in the eastern
traditions, the west, too, has always had a belief in the power of sound.
Certain places have always had traditions, myths and legends about sound or
music associated with them. Many indigenous peoples today, including the Native
Americans or Australian aborigines, still believe this (as did the ancient
Celts) as music and sound are central to their shamanic traditions and
religious beliefs.
We will see slides of (and/or visit) some of the early
Celtic sacred sites, such as Iona, Callanish, Orkney, Anglesey, Glastonbury,
Avebury, and Stonehenge, for example, as well as Christian sites of worship and
pilgrimage that were built on sacred geomantic points on the earth, such as
Chartres Cathedral or Rennes-le-Chateau. Chanting, meditation, dancing, and
painting our experiences of the sites will help us learn more about how we can
connect to them in a more direct way, while acknowledging those who have been
there long before us, to build such beautiful places. Presented by Dr. Karen
Ralls (Univ. of Edinburgh), author of Music and the Celtic Otherworld (2000), Indigenous Religious Musics (2001), The Quest for the Celtic Key (2002),
and The Templars and the Grail (May 2003).
(NOTE: Additional day field trips, or pilgrimage
options available for a longer weekend workshop/retreat/tour; or, where Karen
is a tour guide/lecturer on an organised tour to various sacred sites.)
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