So….what do Billy Joel, Leonardo da Vinci and Kirtans have in common, you ask? Read on…
"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by."
- Billy Joel
| | |
| "Do you know that our soul is composed of harmony?" | |
- Leonardo da Vinci
“Chanting is a way of getting in touch with yourself. It’s an opening of the heart and letting go of the mind and thoughts.”
- Krishna Das
There you have it. It’s a belief that music heals and touches your soul. That it can light up your heart, bring a smile to your face, or send chills down your spine. If you love music—and we know you do--come check out our Kirtan this Saturday, Oct 23 from 8-9 pm at Yoga Haven. Led by teachers Denise Madden (vocals and harmonium), and Ann Casapini (vocals), as well as by three professional jazz musicians – Arthur Rotfeld (who composes many of the numbers, sings and plays the guitar), Alan Eicher or Stefynie Rosenfeild (keyboards), and Steve Mansfield (drums), the evening promises to be an uplifting and joyful experience. If you’ve never attended a Kirtan, you may have some questions. Maybe you don’t know what it’s all about. Maybe you’re afraid you’ll be forced to sing in public. Maybe you think it’s just not your thing. Well, we sat down with Denise, Ann, and Arthur to find out just what a Kirtan is and why Yoga Haven offers this musical event for its students and the greater community.
What is a Kirtan?
Ann: To put it simply, at a Kirtan we’re sitting around singing and making music together. For me, it’s pure joy. I love to sing. But, you don’t have to be a good singer. It’s not about that. It’s a joyful thing. We sing. We make good music. We uplift our mood because it’s fun. It’s all about sound and sound vibration. We’re raising our vibration level which can actually heal the body and raise our spirits.
Denise: It’s a celebration of the community and a chance for us all to come together in a joyful way. Simply by being at a Kirtan you open up to an opportunity for the mind to settle and become focused and then the heart is able to recognize its true nature of joy and freedom. Chanting creates a space of such support and you become absorbed in the universal language which is simply love!
Is there a cost?
Denise: We ask for a $10 donation which the musicians generously accept as their payment for the evening. But if that’s a hardship, you can donate whatever you’re able.
What are you singing?
Ann: We’re singing chants. If you’ve taken yoga classes, you may have heard some of these tunes before. We sing music by Krishna Das and Jai Uttal, and by our own Arthur. We sing in a call and response style. I sing a short phrase. You sing a short phrase. And it’s repeating back and forth between you and me. So it creates this flow of vibration and a sense of community.
What do you mean by vibration?
Denise: There is a particular back and forth, call and response rythmn to chanting. This rythmn holds the vibration of everyone in the room and when you have a lot of people in the same room, energetically offering their voices it is powerful! The chants are sung in Sanskrit and we sing it in this language because of the vibrational quality of the words. It’s the juxtaposition of the vowels and the consonants within the Sanskrit words that hold the vibrational resonance which makes it intensified. And then we use instruments like the harmonium, guitar, drums, keyboard and our voices to elevate and maximize that vibration. It’s that vibration that moves through us and opens our hearts. This is the kind of music that can move you into a deeper understanding of your heart.
What’s the music like?
Ann: Some of it is melodic, some of it’s upbeat -- there’s a range. There are quiet numbers, numbers that sound almost romantic, numbers that sound like you could dance to them, and some with a Latin feel. And Arthur writes these beautiful pieces that brings something more contemporary to it.
How do the Kirtans at Yoga Haven compare to the larger venues in NYC?
Ann: There is something to the intimacy we have -- kind of like being in the front row of a concert as opposed to being way in the back. There’s an immediacy to the exchange of energy. You feel it in your bones when you’re that close. It’s a pretty cool thing. It’s not like the audience is in the dark and we’re in the bright lights. It’s a shared experience and it builds community. Friendship is built on shared experience and fun and that’s what this is – FUN.
How long have the Kirtans been going on at YH?
Denise: We started in 2006. I had been chanting on my own for a while and I had been inspired to buy a harmonium. I wanted to bring the Kirtan here as a part of building the community of Yoga Haven. It started with Antonia and me. She had chants she liked, I had some I liked and we took it from there. Then Ann and I came together. Her voice is so beautiful--she adds an element of beauty. But the big shift came in 2008 when Arthur came on because it opened our repertoire so much more. He could hear the music and play it and then he started creating music for us which just blew us away. When you start creating music together there’s a coming together of the hearts that’s very powerful.
Arthur, how did you become involved in the Kirtan?
Arthur: A couple of years ago, Denise asked me to do it. I accepted because I’m the kind of guy who does what the teacher asks (he chuckles). She was all smiley, so I said sure.
Denise, laughing: He was in my class a good year before I found out he was a guitarist and composer which is why I asked him if he would play the guitar for the Kirtan. I told him the names of a couple of my favorite songs and when he came back and played them so beautifully for me, I thought ‘Wow, this is the guy we need.’
What’s your background?
Arthur: I’m a musician, teacher, and writer. I teach guitar, piano and composition. I went to college for jazz and music education and then to graduate school for classical composition.
How did Steve and Alan become involved?
Arthur: I’ve worked with Steve since 1988, since we were freshmen in college. Alan and I met on the scene gigging…it’s been at least 10 years. We play jazz and instrumental music at clubs and private functions. I just asked them if they were interested and they said yes. And Stefynie is a great musician who fills in when Alan can’t make it.
Before signing on, did you know anything about Kirtans or the music?
Arthur: It was new to me. I started learning by listening to CDs by Shantala, then Krishna Das and Jai Uttal. I got a book of traditional chants. So we play some recognizable tunes and a good amount of original ones.
If they’re set chants how can yours be any different than say, Krishna Das?
Arthur: You’re really taking the text and putting it to music. So if you take something like Om Nama Shivaya, there are probably thousands of melodies for it. I’ve set them with melodies and harmonies that feel right for the mood of the text, with my musical conception. The meaning and rhythm of the words matters most and that often serves as my initial inspiration.
Denise: They’re all chants based on original Sanskrit text. All the different melodies come from what moves that particular individual’s creative heart. And wow, we are so fortunate to have such a creative heart here in Arthur!
Are you glad you signed on?
Arthur: Yes. The real thrill comes from making music for an appreciative audience. I’m looking to create a meaningful experience for everyone in the room. It’s very rewarding.
What can people expect to get out of it?
Ann: It’s kind of like a yoga class. You can take yoga on so many levels. You can take it for your back pain, to de-stress, or to go deeper inside yourself. It’s the same with Kirtan. It can be a concert, a mood lifter, or a spiritual journey. It’s what you bring to it. You get out of it what you need to get out of it. And, you may go not expecting to get anything out of it –and then find it surprises you.
Denise: It really gives participants a deeper connection to their hearts and to the hearts of those around them. The chanting is really a vehicle in. It’s a way for us to all join as one. We all want to be happy and chanting does bring a sense of true joy to our being. You just can’t help but feel moved and happy by coming together with others in this way. It makes you happy in the heart, open to be touched, moved, and inspired.
What do you personally get out of it?
Ann: I’m there because I really like that I can participate with other people. I love music and it makes me happy. With so many other things in life you can intellectualize it-- plan it, but I don’t with this. I just do it for the pure joy. Think about children. When they play, they play for the pure joy of it. And for me, that’s what chanting is. It’s for the pure joy of it.
Arthur: We (Arthur and the other musicians) like coming to a place where it’s a listening and supportive environment – where people aren’t talking over the music, where you’re not competing with distractions. I also get the same thing that other participants get of it – the spiritual benefits, the meditative benefits, the community benefits.
Denise: For me chanting is like sipping a sweet divine elixir and the more I sip in the energy of the room, the more intoxicating the experience, until I am totally blissed out! The energy in the room itself transforms and it is the sweetest experience when we can make deeper connections to one another in this way. The experience is made more powerful by all of us just sharing heart space. The power is in the sharing of the experience for sure.
Any last thoughts?
Ann: Even if you aren’t in the mood to sing, you’re still going to feel the sound. It’s like going to a concert. If you go to hear music you like, it usually shifts your mood. So if you’ve never been, check it out. You don’t have to stay for the whole thing, but checking it out is a good thing to do.
