FAITHFUL VOICES: WORKSHOPS

Each workshop lasts for 50 minutes. Participants will take part in all four workshops over the course of the afternoon. Workshops begin at 1pm and finish at 4.50pm. The workshops will be followed by an open evensong. Participants in the workshops should come to St-Martin-in-the-Fields from 12.30pm for registration and to find their workshop group.

Registration costs £10.
Registration is essential in order to create workshop groups and to monitor the number of participants.

Workshop 1 - Introduction to Vedic Chanting in the Hindu faith

Workshop Leader – Divyanand Caird

The Sanskrit word Nada in the Hindu faith or tradition translates ¬as “sound”, “tone”, or “vibration”. The Vedas, meaning “wisdom” or “knowledge” are the oldest texts of Hinduism. They began as an oral tradition that was passed down through generations before finally being written in Vedic Sanskrit between 1500 and 500 BCE. Nada-Veda-Yoga is deeply rooted in Indian Culture. Mantras, which are a sub-division in the Vedas, are chanted during daily worship, rituals, ceremonies, and sacrifices. Vedic chants as sound principles bring amazing results, both in terms of the text and tones handed down through millennia. The three-note practice with Vedic texts as mediation to anchor the tones in the body is energising and powerful. The workshop will focus on using the voice to produce the sound of the principal word ‘Aum’ (Om) in the Vedas followed by the three tonal positions to chant the Mantras. The Mantra covered in this workshop will be a Shanti Mantra. Shanti Mantras are Hindu prayers for peace which are recited at the beginning or end of religious rituals and discourses. 
Divyanand Caird is a London-based Indian Classical Musician of the Carnatic Music genre specialising in performance and teaching of the Saraswati Vina (South Indian Lute). He has been part of Brhaddhvani (‘Big Sound’ or ‘Universe of Sound’), a premier world music and research institute based in Chennai, South India. Divyanand has extensively toured with his teacher, Dr. Karaikudi S. Subramanian, to North America and Europe for performances and workshops. In 2017, he founded Brhaddhvani Global Centre for Music, a registered UK charity which promotes the Karaikudi Vina Tradition and Dr. Subramanian’s pioneering teaching methodology COMET.  He is also a resident artist at PRSSV Institute of Performing Arts and Heritage, one of the UK’s premier institutions propagating World Music and Dance. 

Workshop 2 – London International Gospel Choir Workshop (Gospel Spirituals)

Workshop Leader – Matt Bain

Spirituals are at the very heart of Gospel music. Created by African American slaves, they are songs expressing a deep faith in God and describing the relentless hardship of slavery. They were originally an oral tradition performed by either one or several slaves whilst at work, establishing the familiar call and response tradition as a cornerstone of all gospel music. In this workshop we’ll be learning two of the most important and influential spirituals ever composed, Wade in the Water and Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. In the process we’ll explore the original version of each song and the art of call and response, as well as more modern harmonised choral arrangements.
Matt Bain graduated from Oxford University with a first-class degree in music and a Master’s in musicology. As a violinist he performs worldwide, including with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, alongside classical and contemporary artists. He also leads a small jazz/soul group, IMC (Independent Musicians Collective). He is Head Musical Director of the London International Gospel Choir.

Workshop 3 – Niggunim (Songs without Words)

Workshop Leader – Polina Shepherd

Niggunim are the age-old Jewish “songs without words”. Usually, the term refers to religious songs and tunes that are sung by groups or sometimes soloists. It is a form of singing tunes often without any lyrics or words, although sounds like “bim-bim-bam” or “Ay-ay-yay!” are often used. Niggunim form a part of Jewish worship that enables the singer (either solo or in groups) to bring about a change in consciousness. This change in consciousness is known as “Dveykes”, or “union with (cleaving to) God”. This state of ecstasy is attained by singing the melody for anything up to one hour, when a state of trance and bliss is reached. A revival of interest in Jewish music was sparked as part of Hasidism. The Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism (Ukraine, 1700-), spoke of dvevkes niggunim as “songs that transcend syllables and sound.” Using niggunim, the participants will be invited to tap into deeply enlightening and powerful sources of energy present within themselves. Using improvisational techniques within the niggunim, each individual will find a way to express themselves through their own musical language. 
Polina Shepherd was born in Siberia and grew up in a home where songs were regularly sung at the family table. Now an internationally renowned singer, she brings the songs of the Steppes and the Shtetl up to date with passion and haunting soul. Her singing, though based on traditional forms, cuts a sound deeply rooted in east European Jewish and Russian folk. Growing up in Tatarstan also placed her close to Islamic ornamentation and timbre, which can be heard in her unique vocal style and four-octave range. Whilst living in Kazan (capital of Tatarstan, Central Russia) and studying at the State Academy, Polina joined Russia′s first klezmer band after Perestroika. She soon became the principal Yiddish choir leader of the former Soviet Union. She moved to the UK in 2003. Her latest and most ambitious project is 150 voices, a recorded collaboration between Polina, the lead singer of the Grammy Award-winning Klezmatics, Lorin Sklamberg, and choirs in the UK and the USA. Her choir work is united under the umbrella of The Polina Shepherd Vocal Experience and covers many aspects of vocal music from large scale choirs to smaller chamber groups. She has been choir leader of the Award Winning Russian choir of Brighton and Hove since 2007, the London Yiddish Choir and London Russian Choir since 2013, and the Brighton & Hove Yiddish choir since 2015. Polina also works as an educator, leading workshops internationally.

Workshop 4 – Kirtan

Workshop Leader – Ananda Monet

Kirtan is a call-and-response prayer and meditation, combining ancient Sanskrit mantras with soulful musical instruments, invigorating drum beats, and the voices of the community. This workshop will include a presentation on what kirtan is, its origins and context, the meaning and purpose of the mantras and the instruments used in kirtan. And, of course, we will see it in practice and sing together. 
Ananda Monet is a singer and manager of Kirtan London, a not-for-profit project dedicated to making this practice of mantra meditation accessible to everyone.