The Hero’s Journey in the Labyrinth

I can’t remember exactly where the idea of pairing John Burke and Antonia Pigot came from, but it proved to be a winning combination. Both musicians have played previously for our “Labyrinth as Sanctuary” program. However, this was the first time they worked together.

John Burke was the first musician we invited to work with our Cathedral labyrinth back in October of 2009 and in the past two years we have created several opportunities to collaborate with him around the theme of the labyrinth. John is primarily a composer whose interest in the labyrinth has drawn him into the role of performer. Now he finds himself composing in the moment and collaborating with a vocalist who performs in the moment.  Antonia Pigot is a trained and practiced improviser, who is very much at home responding and creating in the “present tense”. It was fascinating to watch them work together, developing strategies and trying out musical ideas. I sat in on one of their early rehearsals and was intrigued at how quickly they established common ground and working strategies.

The Hero’s Journey is a longtime theme of John’s, he sees it paralleled in the experience of walking the labyrinth. John uses a seed pattern of twelve chords which  he created to set out in musical terms the stages of the hero’s journey. These twelve chords formed the pattern and basis for an improvised collaboration between piano and voice. The structure of the seed pattern is based in the notion of the transformative archetype which has a definite trajectory from beginning through challenges to resolution. But it is the improvisation that brings it to life and gives it newness and a customized platform to support the real life journey of the participants who are walking the labyrinth.

(link to John’s Burke’s website)

http://earsay.com/labyrinthmusic/composer/interviews/interviews.html

The music helps to lulls the participant into the liminal space between two worlds, where it is possible to make a shift, to see things in a different light and to integrate this new aspect of the self into our ongoing journey of life.

Antonia created a complimentary choir effect using an electronic sound looping device. Without words she created a personalized story line, not unlike listening to someone sing in a foreign language. Her delicate and inventive touch was like hearing the voices of the mystics or perhaps the angels. Emotive and expressive, longing and hauntingly beautiful.

A better pairing I can’t imagine. A labyrinth walk is to a great degree an unknowable thing. We never know who will show up, and exactly what will happen, so given those parameters, improvisational music is the way to go.

I was quiet tired from my busy day of facilitating and preparing, yet had a desire to experience the effect of the music while walking the labyrinth. By the time I had finished I was refreshed with renewed energy and further intrigued to take in the dynamics of the music. What a gift on a rainy Friday night!

Harp music for the labyrinth

Lucile and her Celtic Harp

Was she playing on the strings of my heart? That’s how it felt when Lucile Hildesheim played her celtic harp for our “Labyrinth as Sanctuary” monthly program at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa. The sound of the harp can feel very direct and visceral. Perhaps it is the quality of sound and how it impacts or penetrates the body. In the amazing acoustical setting in which our labyrinth is located the sound is very clear and the resonance is quite beautiful. Lucile Brais Helidesheim is one of Ottawa’s most gifted and dedicated classically trained harpists. She also knows how to use her skills to listen within, allowing her own sense of music, her internalized sense of music, to flow out through her fingers. Not every musician is able to trust themselves enough to show up for a hour and half gig without prearranged music.

My labyrinth partner Vanessa Compton and I, while not musicians, find ourselves in the position of coaching our guest musicians to trust what they know and then we give them the opportunity to just let it flow. It’s a scary thing to do, but once a musician begins, they find their way and settle into what can become a meditation of it’s own. Lucile seemed a natural and as this was the first time she had played for the labyrinth I think she surprised herself.

We are making digital sound recordings of our events. This gives me a second opportunity to listen as I edit the recordings. I get to experience the music all over again from a different perspective. Music to accompany the labyrinth is best if it is not overly distracting and does not draw attention away from the experience but rather, supports and provides a presence of continuity.

I have long wanted to have a harpist play for the labyrinth and Lucile was such a natural. Harp music is very smooth and flowing and with that notion I thought the use of scarves would help to amplify the sense of flow. Who couldn’t use more gentle flow in their lives? We brought a basket of scarves and placed them at the entrance to the labyrinth. I picked up a couple of scarves as I began to walk the labyrinth and I used then as extensions of my arms. Any small movement was magnified through the movement of the fabric. I found they were somewhat distracting, taking my attention and turning it outward. I noticed a couple of others had taken scarves and draped them over their heads, so I tried it myself. Fascinating experience! These thin see-through scarves changed my experience and allowed for an increased sense of privacy. My vision was somewhat blurred and less focused but I was still able to find my way. I was impressed that such simple means produced a significant change. By the end of the evening the notion of peace on earth was believable.