Wesley Johnston's Chanting Links Page

Wesley Johnston's Chanting Links Page Last updated June 18, 2000
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I'm sure there are other definitions, but to me:

chanting is short songs, repeated over and over, usually done a capella.

What is important is the physical and spiritual experience of the breathing and resonance and rhythm. The meaning of the words is less important -- and often not important at all. The words are more important as vehicles for the sound. Many times the chants are in foreign languages, and sometimes they are purely sounds -- in no language at all.

Here is a visualization of a Buddhist chant of 5 mantras:

I enjoy participating in THE NOAH PROJECT, founded by Doug von Koss, who continues as the artistic director. Here is Doug's description:

"THE NOAH PROJECT is a group of men who gather consciously to artfully explore the beauty and sorrow of the human condition using song, chant, group movement, poetry and ritual in community. We take our name from a Rumi poem that says, 'Start a large foolish project, like Noah! It makes no difference what people think of you.'"

We meet once or twice a month in the San Francisco East Bay, doing chants and songs from cultures around the world.

Here is a link to a blessing of spirit and of sound that I created for my niece Caroline and her husband Andy for their wedding.

Audio Sounds of Chants on the Web

Here are some links to world-wide chants. This page is growing slowly ... so check back later and there may be more links. What you will not find here are references to purchasing chant music; those are in a separate section below, although I may include some in this section if they have audio samples with them. I may also overhaul the organization of this list at some point, though I am satisfied with it for now.

DISCLAIMER: This is a music page - period. Music is the universal language -- a direct connection into the emotions. That's why you don't have to understand Italian to be deeply moved by an aria from an Italian opera. And where the emotions are invoved, people tend to deify their own preferences and prejudices. So take note: the inclusion or omission here of any religion or culture or language does not imply either endorsement or criticism of any religion or culture. If you think you are seeing an endorsement or criticism, then look in the mirror, because you are seeing only the reflection of your own prejudices and not any reality outside yourself. So please take responsibility for what is really yours, and don't send me e-mail about it. Any e-mail not dealing with the musical experience will not be answered.

European
- Latin
  - Taizé (France) Community song clips
Africa
- Zulu
  - Siya Hamba: Zulu and English Christian hymn
Middle East
- Arabic
  - Maronite Christian Chants: plus traditional Lebanese chant
Asia - Central
- Tuva: Overtone Throat Singing
  - Khoomei/Overtone Singing Page : Steve Sklar's gem of a site for quickly understanding a lot about Tuva singing
    - Tuva Sound Samples: Short Samples in Various Styles
    - Tuva Videos
Indian Sub-Continent
- Hindu
  - Siddha Yoga Chants Many chants (all with sound samples)
- Sikh
  - Sikhnet Gurbani Jukebox : particularly "Mool Mantra" (sung by Singh Kaur [born Laura Hill, later Lorellei], who died 4/14/98 of ovarian cancer at age 43) and "Mul Mantra", the text of which is here.
North America
- Native American
  - Canyon Records' Complete Catalog: traditional music (often with drums) of Apache, Blackfeet, Navajo, Papago-Pima & Hualapai, Pueblo, Sioux, Ute & Paiute, Yaqui and others -- with many sound clips.

Unusual Chant Music for Sale on the Web

Here are some links to world-wide chants for sale on the web. I'm not sure how this section will grow, but for now, I am limiting it to unusual sources, which means you have to search Amazon or Barnes and Noble or CD Now yourself. Note that these are not all exclusively chants but do contain some chants.

Sites with multiple sources of chants

Lark in the Morning's Ethnic and Traditional Cassettes and CDs: a world-wide collection of great sweep (no sound samples)
Dances of Universal Peace: a collection mostly of Sufi, Latin, Hindu, and Buddhist chants -- all on the same tape (no sound samples)
Springhill Media Group - Robert Gass & On Wings of Song: recordings of many traditions on the same tape or CD (numerous sound samples)
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: a world-wide collection of great sweep (no sound samples)

Sites with specific sources of chant

Hindu
- Siddha Yoga Chants: A pleasant site to visit - many Hindu chants (all with sound samples)
- Shanti Shanti: Sanskrit from the Vedas (no sound samples)
- Sri Ram Kirtans (no sound samples)
Other
- Canyon Records' Complete Catalog of Native American Music (many sound samples)
- Shanti Shanti: Sanskrit from the Vedas (no sound samples)
- Siddha Yoga Chants: A pleasant site to visit - many Hindu chants (all with sound samples)
- Music of Africa (some sound samples, but large files that only play a few seconds)

A Very Few Books on Chant

Generally doing chant is more important than reading about it. But here are a few books worth the reading when you aren't doing.

"Chanting: Discovering Spirit in Sound" by Robert Gass with Kathleen Brehony (Broadway Books: 1999)
This is a great book to get the overall sweep of many traditions, as well as a lot about chanting and sound in many ways. Here are the chapters:

A Journey: From Bach to Rock to Chant
The Power of Sound
The Power of Chant
Common threads: Chant Around the World
Learning to Chant
The Communion of Sound
Chant and Ritual in Daily Life
Discovering Spirit in Sound

There are also

Resource Guide
Bibilography

I Want to Chant!

So you want to chant. Where can you find a chanting group? I am going to put the answer to this on a separate page - so click here.