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Songs of the Soul

The creation of spiritual connections that include and honor our whole selves. Spirit, spirituality, beliefs and personal truths, both within established religion and entirely separate from religion.

February 5 and 6, 2000
Janet Wallace Fine Arts Auditorium
Macalester College Campus
St. Paul, Minnesota

The program included the following:

Give Us Room To Roar is from Ruth MacKenzie's "Kalevala: Dream of the Salmon Maiden," based on the great Finnish epic myth-poem "The Kalevala." It is a joyous song celebrating life and the power of song and dance. Ruth MacKenzie is a local artist with great international renown and we were delighted to collaborate with her on this piece.

I Am What I Am, a rousing showtune from "La Cage aux Folles," where the singer (a gay man) defines himself with pride. This was a dance number, of course!

Amazing Grace, the long-time favorite but in an unusual arrangement (with bagpipes on melody and the chorus on countermelody)

Deror Yikra, based on traditional Jewish melodies from Turkey, Aden and (Sephardic) Jerusalem. Lilting and spirited, with a text that speaks of freedom and Sabbath rest.

Joy to the World, that old favorite from the 1970's -- yes, indeed, Jeremiah was a bullfrog!

Spirit Voices was written by Paul Simon, describing his visit to a traditional shamanic healer in the Amazon and the connection he felt to the "spirit voices that rule the night."

Strawberry is a fun, lively song based on a Zen Buddhist parable, a true example of the Zen principle of living in the moment.

Dravidian Dithyramb incorporates traces of ragas from the Carnatic music of South India and also resembles the tarana, a form of Hindustani classical music.

Cum Sancto Spiritu from Johannes Sebastian Bach's incredible B Minor Mass.

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