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Program Descriptions





Week of January 1, 2006
Altered States
Through the ages we have learned of music's power to excite, to calm, to heal, to enlighten, to alter our state of being. Ellen Kushner presents music from around the world that can radically change the listener's spiritual awareness, and talks with Klezmer musician Frank London about musical trance states, ancient and modern.


Week of January 8, 2006
Friendship
They say: "You can choose your friends, but not your family!" And so we choose friends to love us and support us, to share our closest moments and our darkest secrets. Join host Ellen Kushner for an award-winning celebration of friendship around the world and through the ages, in words and music.


Week of January 15, 2006
Fairy Tales
Ellen Kushner seeks out the deeper meanings to be found in fairy tales: we hear a conversation with writer and folklorist Jane Yolen, called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," and enjoy musical settings by composers as diverse as Tchaikovsky, Philip Glass and Loreena McKennitt, as they engage with the tales that have been a source of wisdom, amusement, even powerful transformation for people through the ages.


Week of January 22, 2006
New Spiritualists
Liturgical forms of classical music have been rejuvenated by a new crop of composers, including John Tavener, Gavin Bryars, Sofia Gubaidulina and Giya Kancheli. Ellen Kushner explores this captivating musical movement whose unique sound draws strength from religious faith and from music of the past.


Week of January 29, 2006
Monkey
From Hanuman the Hindu monkey god and other divinely associated simians in Egyptian, Greek and Chinese Buddhist lore, to Taoist and Jewish fables and negative depictions of monkeys in Christian and Islamic tradition - Sound & Spirit explores the fascinating myth, legend and folklore about monkeys. Join Ellen Kushner for a look at the animal whose uncanny resemblance to humans has given rise to a wide range of stories, images and music, a range that reflects our ambivalence towards a creature so like and yet so unlike us.


Week of February 5, 2006
Women Without Virtue
Locked in a spiritual battle against the cruelties of slavery and the resulting slander of black female morality, Black Women created and nurtured their own set of virtues to live by, lead with, and to pass on. Sound & Spirit host Ellen Kushner speaks with theologian Rev. Doctor Katie Geneva Cannon and focuses on the words and music of African American performers, writers and composers who have protected, redefined, affirmed and lauded their true spiritual stature as women.


Week of February 12, 2006
My Better Half
From Edvard and Nina Grieg to Gala and Salvador Dalí, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears to Lotte Lenya and Kurt Weill, Sound & Spirit explores the intimate, extraordinary, sometimes unusual relationships crafted by two people in love. Hear words and music by and about significant others, and sample the sweet fruits of conjugal affection and creative partnership.


Week of February 19, 2006
Out of Africa: The Spirit of Mbira
A land of many sounds and cultures, Africa is the cradle of some of the world's most spirited and spiritual music. Beginning with the complex sound and meaning of the mbira ("thumb piano"), Ellen Kushner engages in a fascinating dialogue with Zimbabwean mbira player and religious leader Stella Chiweshe about her life, music and beliefs... We'll also hear from contemporary non-Africans whose music has been influenced by mbira, including the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Steve Tibbetts, and the Kronos Quartet.


Week of February 26, 2006
The Voice of the Lord
If God were a musical instrument, what would it sound like? Sound & Spirit explores how religious traditions from around the world have heard divinity speak--in the blare of a trumpet, through the beat of a drum, in the sounds of a single flute or of a symphony orchestra, or in the silence, after sound has stopped. Host Ellen Kushner speaks with Quaker minister Cathy Whitmire about hearing God in silence. Join Ellen and listen for the voice of divinity in Brazilian bullroarers, the eerie call of the shofar, Mahalia Jackson's singing about the creative power of "His Word" and Bob Franke's song, "A Still, Small Voice."


Week of March 5, 2006
Songs of Our Parents
Like heirlooms, old photos and family stories, music has the power to unite us with the generations that came before, and tell us something about ourselves. Join host Ellen Kushner for a look at composers who have turned to the music of their ancestors to answer the question, "Who am I?"


Week of March 12, 2006
Esther: The Feast of Masks
This Sound & Spirit program is a unique performance piece made up of story and music written and narrated by Ellen Kushner, and features music recorded live in the studio! Experience the Biblical story of Esther, juxtaposed with the stories of four modern characters: Rita, a New York wife, defies her husband... Ida, a quiet schoolteacher, struggles with questions of "passing" in America... Natalie, an American diplomat in Rwanda, views a mounting tragedy and must make a difficult choice... Nate, a high school student, must stand up to his homophobic friend. With original arrangements of music ranging from African anthems to blues, folk and 50's pop songs, performed by Ellen and three of Boston's finest musicians.


Week of March 19, 2006
Dreams
Prophecies, solutions to pressing problems, windows to the soul... Dreams are wellsprings of creativity, a place where our life and the shadowlands meet. Join Ellen Kushner for a conversation with the Sandman graphic novel author Neil Gaiman; and hear music written about or even received in dreams by Alan Hovhaness, David Maslanka (based on work of Carl Jung) and world artists from Hawaii to Australia.


Week of March 26, 2006
The Road to Santiago
Is life a pilgrimage from birth to death, and perhaps beyond? In this award-winningprogram, host Ellen Kushner explores this metaphor for the human experience through the music of the 500-mile long, one thousand year-old pilgrimage to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. Hear about the pilgrim's journey, from Dante Alighieri, medieval author of The Divine Comedy, to Jack Hitt, modern author of Off the Road: A Modern-Day Walk Down the Pilgrim's Route into Spain.


Week of April 2, 2006
Native Americans
Native Americans have always cherished music as one of life's great gifts. As a kind of spiritual language that unites people with nature, music holds a place of honor in every kind of Native ritual, ceremony, and celebration. Ellen Kushner explores the sacred sounds of traditional and contemporary music from Native American artists throughout the country including Kevin Locke, Ulali and Jerry Alfred.


Week of April 9, 2006
Psalms
The Book of Psalms: a hundred and fifty pieces of beloved devotional poetry originally in Hebrew but now translated into practically every language on Earth: From the beginning it seems that they were created to be sung. Join host Ellen Kushner to hear how the Psalms have inspired people around the world and through the ages - from the chanting of monks and cantors, to the complex layerings of Mozart and Vivaldi, to the contemporary singer-songwriters of Africa and the Americas.


Week of April 23, 2006
Easter - with Bob Franke
Explore the music and spirituality of Holy Week. Host Ellen Kushner begins with some of the church's early music, and then talks with singer & songwriter Bob Franke about his "Cantata for Good Friday". Music for the mystery of Easter, from Byzantine chant to J. S. Bach.


Week of April 23, 2006
From Canterbury to Graceland
Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" told of a band of medieval pilgrims making their way to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Over the centuries not just poetry but reams of wonderful music were written to honor the saint. The Canterbury pilgrimages are all but ended, but people still travel long distances to the graves of persons invested with mythic power. Some say that ELVIS is the new King of American Pilgrimage! Join Ellen Kushner as she examines the evidence and plays music from the Middle Ages to Memphis!


Week of April 30, 2006
Courage
Sound & Spirit celebrates courage - how we seek it, and what happens when we find it (or don't). Join Ellen Kushner for songs and stories about staying strong through life's darkest moments, fighting impossible battles, and rebounding from fear. There's music from Zulu warriors, songs from the concentration camps and civil rights marches, and even the lament of a cowardly lion.


Week of May 7, 2006
Musical Battles
It's a basic human impulse: to fight with another person to see who's the best or the bravest. But some human battles are not fought with weapons of destruction. They're fought with music. On this week's Sound & Spirit, host Ellen Kushner takes us into the world of these musical battles, from American jazz "cutting contests" to ancient Indian drumming competitions to modern Rap artists and Caribbean calypso. From the Inuit of the Arctic Circle to Beethoven and his friends, musicians just can't resist it - and neither will you!


Week of May 14, 2006
Motherhood
Mothers give life and they give music - from the lullabies they sing to the compositions they inspire. Join Ellen Kushner for a worldwide musical celebration of motherhood, with insights on parenting from guest Rosalie Sorrels - including her famous "Hostile Baby-rocking Song".


Week of May 21, 2006
Sisterhood
Sisterhood is beautiful...and complicated...and sometimes just a little murderous!  It's also a model for the deepest kind of friendship. Ellen Kushner joins the sorority of the Brontes, the Andrews, the McGarrigles - we'll learn from the wisdom of the African American Delany Sisters, taste the inspired silliness of the Roches and more - in a celebration of the inescapable intimacy of sisters.


Week of May 28, 2006
To End All War
More than 80 years after the end of World War I, the stories and images of the Great War continue to inspire and move us to a greater understanding of our century and of ourselves. Ellen Kushner examines the "War to End All Wars" through some of the rich and moving poetry and music of its artists, including English poets Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke, German novelist Erich Maria Remarque and composer Benjamin Britten.


Week of June 4, 2006
Storytelling
Around the world and through the ages, people have turned to music to tell their stories. Whether it's an old Irish ballad of love and death that goes on for dozens of verses, or three pithy lines from a Tex-Mex corrido about politics on the border; an African story of family pride, or a contemporary American tale of self-examination; there's something about the way words and music intertwine that makes a whole greater than the sum of its parts.


Week of June 11, 2006
Spiritual Resistance
Ellen Kushner explores our own quiet, internal resistance, a stubborn survival skill that brings us strength to keep from going under. We'll hear how music helps to resist the oppression imposed by silence, from the cantata of a baroque nun to the cabaret music of the Warsaw Ghetto. And we'll talk with a modern Tai Chi master about how this Eastern physical and spiritual discipline teaches resistance through suppleness and yielding.


Week of June 18, 2006
Fatherhood
Ellen Kushner hosts a Sound & Spirit Fathers' Day special about what our fathers mean to us. Music and poetry, myths and stories from the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia combine to show what it is to have and to be a father.


Week of June 25, 2006
Creativity
For some, creative inspiration is constant as the sun; for others, it is fickle and elusive as the moon. Host Ellen Kushner speaks with Indi-pop star Sheila Chandra and looks at the lives of some of the world's most celebrated composers, poets and artists - and through their inspired words and music explore the wonder, joy and frustration of the creative process.


Week of July 2, 2006
Stuff
Too much Stuff--but can't seem to get rid of it?!? Sound & Spirit explores our relationship to the objects of daily life, their emotional and spiritual pull. Ellen Kushner looks at spiritual disciplines of East and West that seek to dissolve our attachment to Stuff, explores cultures that venerate certain physical objects and holy relics, considers the personal and community spirit that goes into creating practical works of art such as quilts, and looks at what makes musical instruments around the world appear to have a spirit all their own.


Week of July 9, 2006
Water
Water...It ensures our survival - and according to some, purifies our soul, heals our infirmities and nurtures our spirit. Join Ellen Kushner as she explores the influence of water in all its forms through music from medieval Europe, modern Spain, and even the Sons of the Pioneers! We'll discover how to bring rain, learn the bathing rituals of a Moorish princess and much more.


Week of July 16, 2006
Bicultural Women
Sound & Spirit seeks out those women musicians who straddle two worlds - the culture of their immigrant parents, and the culture of the new country in which they were raised - incorporating a synthesis of both in their words and their music. Join host Ellen Kushner and enjoy the stories and songs of the "Afropean" women of Zap Mama with roots in Zaire and Belgium, Mexican American singer/songwriter Tish Hinojosa, Ingrid Karklin and her Latvian American heritage, and Anglo-Asian singer Sheila Chandra.


Week of July 23, 2006
Rome
The "Eternal City" conjures up many images - from triumphant Roman legions to the splendors of the Vatican, the pomp and power of the papacy, and the liveliness of the daily streets. Join host Ellen Kushner on an award-winning musical journey to the city of gods and popes. Whether it's early Christian chant, Palestrina's glorious choral work for the Sistine Chapel, or Respighi's magical tone poems, the Eternal City is also a city of exquisite sounds.


Week of July 30, 2006
Borderlands
Sound & Spirit invites you to walk the Borderlands: a shared space between two worlds, a place where they meet and combine to make something new and vital. Explore the lively music and blend of traditions of the Tex/Mex border, the misty border between myth and reality where dreams are born, and the borders in our lives when we pass from one stage of life to the next. Join Ellen Kushner for life on the border on Sound & Spirit.


Week of August 6, 2006
Mountains
Explore the myth, poetry and music of mountains - their extraordinary power so often revealed in story and song. Join Ellen Kushner in a musical journey from the green peaks of Madagascar's sacred mountain to the mysterious sweeping crags of the Andes, the misty mountains and serene music of China and its poets to the icy Artic reaches of the Inuit experience.


Week of August 13, 2006
Gardens
This week on Sound & Spirit, host Ellen Kushner heads into the garden to see what's growing there. We'll go from the earthy satisfaction of getting our hands grubby and enjoying home-grown tomatoes, to a look at the spiritual dimensions of imagining our very lives and souls to be themselves a garden. The music in this award-winningprogram will range from a Navajo chant to an Armenian hymn. We'll also hear songs about love in a garden from Bulgaria, Texas and medieval France... and we'll learn the importance of gardens in the Baha'i faith.


Week of August 20, 2006
Santeria
Look closely at the rich tapestry of Cuban music and everywhere you'll find the Afro-Cuban religion known as Santería. A vibrant tradition with deep connections to music, Santería rhythms and rituals have popped up all over the musical map. Ellen Kushner looks at Santería and the powerful music tied to its history and practices, from ancient Africa to modern Cuba and beyond.


Week of August 27, 2006
Lord of the Rings
Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is "a work that will either totally enthrall you or leave you stone cold," wrote WH Auden, "and, whichever your response, nothing and nobody will ever change it." Ellen Kushner explores how musicians, artists and writers have been inspired by Tolkien's masterwork - through music ranging from sweeping symphonies to sassy satire - and investigates how Tolkien found his own inspiration in our world's mythic traditions.


Week of September 3, 2006
Spirituality of Work
From Mahatma Gandhi's idea of "bread-labor" to Matthew Fox's Christian perspective of the Reinvention of Work, spiritual traditions of the world see work as a way of connecting with the Divine. Join Ellen Kushner for an exploration of these traditions, along with the Jewish, Muslim, Taoist and Buddhist perspectives on work - and hear how music celebrates and aids us in our work and meditation.


Week of September 10, 2006
Surviving Survival
Every day we hear about survivors - survivors of horror, of domestic violence, of poverty and worse. How do we survive our own survival? This award-winning edition of Sound & Spirit focuses on survivors' search for meaning, and the art, music, and faith that can uphold them. From survivors of Cambodian and Nazi genocide to survivors of family tragedy, to all of America's survivors of September 11th, "Surviving Survival" celebrates the enduring human spirit in the face of suffering and loss.


Week of September 17, 2006
Teachers and Students
"Every time an old man dies, it is as if a library burned down" says a griot of Mali, and for them it is true - much of their peoples' tradition is taught in songs from one generation to the next. Ellen Kushner speaks with Los Angeles teacher Rafe Esquith and explores the spiritual dimensions of the relation between teachers and their students, and music of teachers ranging from the Sieur de Sainte Colombe and Nadia Boulanger to the Rev. Gary Davis and Malian griots.


Week of September 24, 2006
Fathers and Sons
The story of Abraham and Isaac is the story of a father willing to sacrifice his own son if he must. It's central to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, where it is used as a story of new beginnings at the new year. But this disturbing tale has also elicited fierce, passionate, even bitter work from poets and composers through the ages, including Benjamin Britten, Wilfred Owen, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan and Steve Reich. In this award-winningprogram, Ellen Kushner explores the eternal struggle between fathers and sons.


Week of October 1, 2006
Jonah
Every year on Yom Kippur, Jews read aloud the famous story of a man running from God who is swallowed by a whale. Join Ellen Kushner for a deeper look at the Book of Jonah, with the help of artists as diverse as comedian Lord Buckley and composer Alan Hovhaness, as she explores the music and meaning of the Biblical tale, and consider the implications of ignoring responsibility and one's inner voice.

Week of October 8, 2006
Rumi
Scholar, poet, saint... The 13th century Persian mystic Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi (known as Rumi) gave his name to the Sufi sect called the Mevlevi, whose traditions include whirling dervishes, inspirational stories, and music of surpassing beauty. Ellen Kushner delves into the spirit and poetry of this remarkable man, with a look at brand-new translations of his verse that are touching a chord across America, and new releases of music inspired by his life and work.

Week of October 15, 2006
Gamelan, The (New Music Ancient Spirit)
An orchestra of gongs, chimes, drums, flutes and voices: a Gamelan! In Bali and Java, islands of Indonesia, they are played for pleasure - and for the gods. Ellen Kushner shares the wonderful sounds of traditional gamelans and talks with American composers Paul Dresher and the late Lou Harrison about how the sound and spirit of the gamelan has infused their work.

Week of October 22, 2006
When Musics Meet
Whenever people meet, their separate worlds join for a while - and each can learn something from the other. Ellen Kushner explores the music that happens when cultures meet: Join her for some glorious sounds as an Afghani caravan collides with a Pakistani trader's music; Tahitians discover Christian hymns; and American jazz man Warren Senders teams up with classical musicians from India.

Week of October 29, 2006
Devil's Trill, The
While some believe that the beauty of music is actually denied to the great enemy of humankind, others credit the Devil as inspiration, or even author of particular music. Hear diabolical pieces by Tartini, Liszt, Robert Johnson; and consider with Ellen Kushner's guest, Dr. Elaine Pagels (author of The Origin of Satan) if the Devil is an expression of our fear of the evil in ourselves and others.

Week of November 5, 2006
Sacrifice
Sacrifice...the ritualized killing and destruction of plants, animals or people in worship of a higher power: Over the centuries, it has been a critical element of spiritual connection for people around the world. Sacrifice turns up in a wide variety of ways: From the Passion of Christ to the Sun Dance of the Lakota people; the Biblical Binding of Isaac to English harvest folksongs or patriotic acts of gallantry. Ellen Kushner explores the complex meanings of sacrifice in our lives.

Week of November 12, 2006
Riddles
At the heart of humanity lies the question--Why? Ever seeking answers, we turn this painful query into a story, a game: from the Riddle of the Sphinx to Zen Koans, the Riddle has been a venerable way to pursue our quest for meaning. Take a musical journey through the lore and wonder of Riddles, including English folksongs about testing wits with the Devil and African riddles designed to test our knowledge of who we are and where we come from.

Week of November 19, 2006
Cities
Cities - for some, they're an endless candybox of possibility and excitement! But for others, cities can frightening and alienating. Join Ellen Kushner this week as Sound & Spirit explores the heart, soul and sounds of the City, from the thrill of making it in New York to the mysteries of ancient Damascus; the loneliness of the immigrant looking for work to the romance of a night on the town with the tango in Buenos Aires.

Week of November 26, 2006
Harvest Home
Food, sustenance, abundance and life - celebrate the harvest with music! Join host Ellen Kushner for harvest songs from the fields of Africa and the Georgian Caucasus to the mountains of Ladakh and Provence; for ebullient celebrations of Sukkot in ancient Israel and of Harvest Home in the British Isles; and for a look at what harvests, good and bad, mean to the faith of the American farmer.

Week of December 3, 2006
Sacred Harp
Early Americans sang their own hymns, hymns rising directly from the American spirit, asserting their independence from European rules of harmony and formality. Join Ellen Kushner for shape-note singing from the Sacred Harp and other collections of American mountain folk hymns, and for concert music from American composers inspired by this rough and ready American hymnody.

Week of December 10, 2006
Chant
A Gregorian Kyrie from a Spanish monastery...an Orthodox vespers in a Byzantine basilica...Native American song in an all-night healing ceremony... Buddhist mantra on a Tibetan hillside... There is something about the sound of the human voice raised in chant that has seized the ears and gripped the imaginations of contemporary music-lovers. But chant was not designed as background music for brunch-time stereos; it is the sound of the human soul reaching out to the divine. Join Ellen Kushner for an exploration of the sound, and the meaning of Chant around the world.


Week of December 17, 2006
The Golden Dreydl: A Klezmer Nutcracker for Chanukah
"The Golden Dreydl" is an award-winning family entertainment featuring the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as interpreted by Shirim Klezmer Orchestra, with original story and narration by Ellen Kushner. Together, they have created a brand-new retelling of an old tale: Sara is a little girl with a problem: she hates the annual family Chanukah party! But when a mysterious party guest gives her the gift of a golden dreydl, Sara is catapulted into a magical world of demons and fools, sorcerers and sages.

Week of December 24, 2006
Angels
Expressions of divine love...messengers of Heaven...ancient spirits watching over us...all of these faces of Angels are expressed in music from medieval chant to Duke Ellington's Sacred Services. Join Ellen Kushner for an evocation of both the extraordinary ethereal sweetness and the solid strength of this music, including albums from Ensemble P.A.N. and Einojuhani Rautavaara.

Carols for Dancing
This PRI Holiday Special with Sound & Spirit's Ellen Kushner and RENAISSONICS, an improvisatory Renassance dance band explores the connections between traditional Christmas songs and Medieval and Renaissance dance.

Week of December 31, 2006
Cycles
As the calendar turns, many of us pause to reflect on the patterns that shape our year and our lives. Ellen Kushner examines the various passages in human life that mark significant changes, and how they are observed and celebrated in poetry, legend and music.


Next Year - 2007

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