Program Descriptions
Week of January 5, 2003
The Lord Is My Shepherd
The Twenty-third Psalm -- six lines of rich, comforting pastoral images -- provides solace and inspiration for Jews and Christians worldwide. From ancient chants and Baroque cantatas to folk hymns and contemporary choral music, musical settings of the psalm abound. Join Ellen Kushner for a program dedicated this most beloved psalm of David, shepherd, psalmist and king.
Week of January 12, 2003
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 January 19, 2003
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 January 26, 2003
Musical Battles
It's a basic human impulse: to fight with another person to see who's the best or the bravest or even the most skillful. 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 February 2, 2003
Rome
The "Eternal City" conjures up many images -- from triumphant Roman legions, columns, arches and the Colosseum, to the splendors of the Vatican, the pomp and power of the papacy. For many religious traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Mithraism, just to name a few) all roads indeed led to Rome. Join host Ellen Kushner on a musical journey to the city of gods and popes -- from early Christian chants and Eastern cults, to Palestrina's music for the Sistine Chapel, Respighi's tone poems and more.
Week of February 9, 2003
What I Did for Love
What have you done for love? On this week's Sound & Spirit, host Ellen Kushner looks into the human psyche to explore how -- and why -- love changes us in astonishing ways. We'll hear real-life stories of death-defying risk, artistic expression and seemingly impossible feats -- all for love! Music tells the story, whether it's a medieval troubador battling incredible odds, or a classical composer encoding love letters into his score... Christine Lavin going to the opera to impress a new boyfriend, or an Estonian immigrant who crosses the ocean for a new life... it's all part of the transformative power of love!
Week of February 16, 2003
Rhythms of Resistance
Join Ellen Kushner for powerful music that has inspired people around the world to envision peace and work for social justice and freedom. Focusing on the religious roots of the music, the program includes the influence of African American spirituals on the songs of the civil rights movement; South Africa's anti-apartheid music; WWII resistance songs from Francis Poulenc and the Jewish ghettos; Nueva Canci—n from Chile; and the visionary music of Jamaica's Bob Marley.
Week of February 23, 2003
Singing
Singing sustains, comforts and liberates the human spirit everywhere. A song may blossom as a communal expression or as the soul-searing journey of a solitary singer. Join Ellen Kushner -- and a vast array of voices from different times and places -- as they explore the power of singing for healing, high art and happiness.
Week of March 2, 2003
Carnival
Carnival. . . Mardi Gras . . . Fat Tuesday. . . the gateway to the Lenten season, when worldly pleasures are forsworn. For centuries it's been a time of celebration when the world turns upside down and the rules run riot in an excess of food and music, costume and revelry. In this program, Sound & Spirit host Ellen Kushner follows the festival around the world and through the ages, from its medieval origins to the 19th-century German carnival music of Robert Schumann; to the samba schools of Brazil and Haiti's frenetic celebrations; to the African American Mardi Gras "Indians" of New Orleans.
Week of March 9, 2003
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 Reverend 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 March 16, 2003
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 with 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 23, 2003
Goddesses
Around the world and through the ages, many people have encountered ultimate reality as a Goddess -- awesome, powerful, creative, feminine and divine. Join Ellen Kushner this week on Sound & Spirit to explore unbroken goddess traditions of Africa, India, Hawaii, Japan... from the Hindu Kali to Hawaii's majestic Pele... the ancient rites of Demeter to some Japanese Divine Dirty Dancing! And learn how the goddesses of lost civilizations have been reclaimed by modern Americans. Ellen will also be talking with Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen, author of Goddesses In Every Woman, about her Jungian interpretation of our need for Goddess archetypes.
Week of March 30, 2003
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 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 April 6, 2003
Romani Voices
This week on Sound & Spirit, host Ellen Kushner explores the 1,000 year-old culture of the Roma, a remarkable people often known as the Gypsies. We'll learn about their origins in India, be introduced to some of their cultural wisdom, and hear from contemporary Romani poets. And we'll hear lots of great Gypsy music: from India and Turkey, from Macedonia and Romania, from Spain and France, and more!
Week of April 13, 2003
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. This week on Sound & Spirit 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 20, 2003
EasterThe divine mysteries of Easter have been the keystone of Christian worship for centuries - but the Easter story doesn't belong only to church. In this special Sound & Spirit Easter presentation, host Ellen Kushner examines how the story of the Easter resurrection and renewal is played out in music and stories around the world and through the ages, from the plains of Hungary to the mountains of Peru...medieval mystics to Spanish flamenco...American blues to Bulgarian chant... Join Ellen Kushner as Sound & Spirit celebrates "The People's Passion."
Week of April 27, 2003
Hope
"Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul," Emily Dickinson wrote. This week on Sound & Spirit, host Ellen Kushner explores the many things that give us hope, and plays the music that keeps us going in times of deepest need. From the Greek myth of Pandora to a modern American woman's hope for children, the stories are many and varied. We'll hear from American poets and Irish singers, African bards and gospel wailers, all with the same message: "Don't lose hope. Everything's gonna be all right."
Week of May 4, 2003
The Spirit Confined
Sound & Spirit explores words, music and ideas from people in prison: From political prisoners to convicted criminals, host Ellen Kushner examines how the human spirit can thrive while the body is confined. Where do prisoners factor into the human family and what do their creations say about all of us?
Week of May 11, 2003
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 on this week's Sound & Spiritfor a celebration of friendship around the world and through the ages, in words and music.
Week of May 18, 2003
The Road to Santiago
Is life a pilgrimage from birth to death, and perhaps beyond? 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 May 25, 2003
The Afterlife
Where do we go when we die? The geography of the afterlife is as various as the spiritual imaginations of the people of the earth: Do we walk the golden streets of heaven, travel the road between the worlds, or do we cycle round again on the wheel of rebirth? Host Ellen Kushner explores the many worlds of the afterlife in myth and music.
Week of June 1, 2003
CreativityFor 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 - Through their most inspired words and music explore the wonder, joy and frustration of the creative process.
Week of June 8, 2003
Childhood
This week on Sound & Spirit, it's music and musings of Childhood. Explore "kid culture" from the playground to the classroom, as well as adult views on childhood, from Rousseau's philosophies to modern-day grownups looking back at their own childhoods. Literature, fantasy and music capture the essence of what it means to be a child... from Wordsworth to Pete Seeger, Peter Pan to Caribbean kids' songs. Join Ellen Kushner for an hour in the world of Childhood on Sound & Spirit.
Week of June 15, 2003
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 22, 2003
MarriageSound & Spirit's "Weddings" show has been one of our most popular - but what happens after the bells have stopped ringing? Ellen Kushner explores the many dimensions of marriage, from the joyous to the bittersweet (and even the disastrous!), in a wide-ranging program of music, myth, poetry, and wisdom.
Week of June 29, 2003
Sacred SpacesMusic opens and fills sacred space, be it a Gothic cathedral or a clearing in the rainforest. Listen to the power and acoustics of sacred spaces as Ellen Kushner plays sacred music from four continents and invites Yale professor Willie Ruff to recall his experience of playing Gregorian chants and spirituals from his African American heritage in St. Mark's, Venice.
Week of July 6, 2003
In Tune With NatureSounds of the natural world inspired Charles Ives, Henry Cowell and Olivier Messiaen--who, through innovative orchestration, sought to capture the divine spirit animating the colors and rhythms of nature. Now, a new generation of composers and recording artists are going to the source, incorporating the actual sounds of earthquakes and volcanos, songbirds and gorillas, to create what's being called "ambient music." Join Sound & Spirit host Ellen Kushner and explore the music of earth, air, fire and water!
Week of July 13, 2003
The Gamelan (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 Lou Harrison and Paul Dresher about how the sound & spirit of the gamelan has infused their work.
Week of July 20, 2003
WaterWater...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 27, 2003
Borders: the Debatable LandsThis week, walk the Borderlands on Sound & Spirit: explore the culture and the music of the English-Scottish borderlands, and the way this rich and violent tradition helped shape the culture of America today. Tune in to experience life on the Border on Sound & Spirit with Ellen Kushner.
Week of August 3, 2003
Flowers
People around the world have always used flowers to express everything from physical love to ethereal meditation. On this week's Sound & Spirit, host Ellen Kushner invites us to experience a world of flowers, from the oldest known use of flowers to honor the dead, to a modern love song to a late-blooming rose; austere chants dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to the sensual wreaths of a traditional Indian marriage.
Week of August 10, 2003
PrayerWhy do we pray? What do we pray for? And how do we know when our prayers are answered? Join Sound & Spirit host Ellen Kushner for the words and music of prayer: From the swelling chant of Russian cathedrals to quiet hymns of a Swedish church; the soulful testimony of African American gospel to the powerful call of the muezzin. We'll also investigate the musical power of prayer in Kenya, the Bahamas, Tibet, and welcome special guest Rabbi Harold Kushner (author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People - and no relation to our host!)
Week of August 17, 2003
TrickstersThis week on Sound & Spirit we'll discover why the trickster lives to play tricks, and plays tricks to live! From male culture heroes to prodigal daughters, Bugs Bunny to Dennis Rodman, the Native American Coyote to the West African Spider, host Ellen Kushner explores global traditions of the trickster. We'll hear music from Spike Jones and Richard Strauss, and talk with storyteller Bill Harley about how trickster sneaks into our own lives everyday!
Week of August 24, 2003
MonkeyFrom 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 host 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 August 31, 2003
Leaving HomeLeaving home . . . whether it's packing a car to go to summer camp, or packing your bags to leave your native land, it's a transformative experience. Through the centuries, poets and musicians have poured out their hearts about the sorrows and joys of leaving home: This week, Ellen Kushner takes us with them.
Week of September 7, 2003
Surviving Survival
Every day we hear about survivors - survivors of horror, of domestic violence or poverty. But how do we survive our own survival? "Surviving Survival" is this week's special broadcast of Sound & Spirit, and focuses on the survivor's search for solace and purpose, and the art, music, and faith that helps them on that journey. From the Cambodian refugee experience to survivors of Auschwitz to those who've experienced the loss of a child, "Surviving Survival" celebrates the enduring human spirit in the face of human suffering and loss.
Week of September 14, 2003
Songs of Our ParentsLike heirlooms, old photos and family stories, music has the power to connect 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 September 21, 2003
A Sound & Spirit Rosh Hashanah Special
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. Ellen Kushner explores the eternal struggle between fathers and sons this week on Sound & Spirit.
Week of September 28, 2003
"The Door Is Opened... A Jewish High Holidays Meditation"The Jewish High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur are a time for friends and family, for mending quarrels and affirming ties. They can also be a very personal time, for thinking about what went wrong in the past year, and how to make the new one better.
Join Ellen Kushner for songs from Philip Glass, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Harmonica Phil Wiggins, Laurie Anderson and others, and hear commentary by rabbis, scholars and poets.
Week of October 5, 2003
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 12, 2003
Facing Death
Sound & Spirit walks the edges of the shadow realm, seeing how people have faced the thought...the fact of death with courage, insight, poetry and music. Ellen Kushner speaks with Frank Ostaseski of the San Francisco Zen Center Hospice about a Buddhist way to acceptance and peace, and she considers the spiritual growth that people may encounter when faced with the end of life.
- Listen
- Playlist
- Frank Ostaseski interview transcript
- Transcript
Week of October 19, 2003
Hope
"Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul," Emily Dickinson wrote. Ellen Kushner explores the many things that give us hope, and plays the music that keeps us going in times of deepest need. From the Greek myth of Pandora to a modern American woman's hope for children, the stories are many and varied. We'll hear from American poets and Irish singers, African bards and gospel wailers, all with the same message: "Don't lose hope. Everything's gonna be all right."
Week of October 26, 2003
Ghosts
Ellen Kushner presents a world of ghostly lovers and vengeful spirits, protective ancestors and dancing zombies. It's a mix of thrills, chills and insights into how human beings view death and the immortality of the spirit - including observations from Margaret Atwood, Octavio Paz, a true ghost story from the journals of Louisa May Alcott, along with music from many traditions...and Ellen's own collection of spooky stories.
Week of November 2, 2003
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 November 9, 2003
Fairy Tales
Ellen Kushner seeks out the deeper meanings to be found in fairy tales; hear a conversation with Jane Yolen, called by some "America's Hans Christian Anderson"; and enjoy musical settings of some of these ancient stories that were once a source of wisdom and amusement for people of all ages from Tchaikovsky, Philip Glass, Loreena McKennit and others.
Week of November 16, 2003
Homesickness
Join host Ellen Kushner for beautiful music that has been written around the world and through the ages to express the longing for home. Hear music from Ireland, Finland, Israel and Tibet; hear West African musicians trying to make a living abroad and singing out for a heavenly home.
Week of November 23, 2003
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 30, 2003
Sacred Harp
Americans sang hymns, asserting their independence from European rules of harmony--hymns rising directly from the American spirit. Join Ellen Kushner for shape-note singing from the Sacred Harp and other collections of American folk hymns, and for concert music from American composers inspired by this rough and ready American hymnody.
Week of December 7, 2003
The 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 discover how Tolkien found his own inspiration in our world's mythic traditions.
- Listen
- Playlist
- Bibliography
- An Interview with Ellen Kushner
- Ellen Kushner's List of Fantasy It's OK to Read
- Transcript
Week of December 14, 2003
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mother, Maiden, Comforter and Friend--some of the many aspects of Mary, as expressed in prayer, art and music from around the world and through the ages. Ellen Kushner explores this rich tradition including music of Stravinsky, Monteverdi, J. S. Bach and John Tavener, 13th-century Cantigas de Santa Maria, Irish singer Nóirín Ní Riain, Incan festivals and the legend of the Black Virgin of Brunettella.
Week of December 21, 2003
Golden Dreydl: A Klezmer Nutcracker for Chanukah, The
"The Golden Dreydl" is a family entertainment featuring the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as interpreted by Shirim Klezmer Orchestra, with original story & 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 28, 2003
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 - 2004
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