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Chant CD Liner Notes

Congregation Bet Haverim’s album, Chant: Beyond the Veil, turns its gaze on chant. Hebrew phrases repeat against an imaginative bed of acoustic and electronic soundscapes enriched by the CBH string ensemble, chant participants, guitar, oud and even mountain dulcimer. It’s a heart-expanding, intimate passage through a collection of chants arranged and led by CBH music director Gayanne Geurin and producer Will Robertson. Chant: Beyond the Veil is the fourth and final release in CBH’s recording series, The Merkavah Project. Chant with it, use it as a meditation tool or just listen. Let it take you more deeply into yourself and draw you into a sacred space that is beyond words, beyond the veil of everyday time.
 
Produced by Will Robertson
Arranged by Will Robertson and Gayanne Geurin
String arrangements by Will Robertson
Artwork by Miriam Karp
Copy and graphics by Allison Carter
 

Tracks

1  HineniGayanne Geurin  
Hineni (Here I am)  
 
2  Ehyeh Asher EhyehGayanne Geurin   
Ehyeh asher ehyeh  (I am what I am, I am becoming what I am becoming)
 
3  Kol D’mamah DakahShirona*
Kol d’mamah dakah, ana ana ana hakshivula  (Still, small voice, let us listen)  
* Kol D'mama Daka, taken from the original song by Shirona, copyright 2000, from the album "Judaic Love Songs" by Shirona
 
4  Elohai NeshamahRabbi Shefa Gold  
Elohai neshamah shenatata bi tehorah hi (My God, the soul you have given me is pure)  
 
5  Mah Nora Hamakom HazehJacqueline Westhead
Mah nora hamakom hazeh (How awesome is this very place)
 
6  AhavahBon Singer   
Ahavah, rachamim, chesed, shalom  (Love, compassion, loving-kindness, peace)
 
7  GalehRabbi Moshe Shur   
Galeh kavod malchutecha alenu (Reveal the honor of your magnificence)
 
8  Kosi R’vayahRabbi Shefa Gold  
Kosi r’vayah (My cup runneth over)
 
9  Shalom, Rabbi David Zeller 
Shalom (Peace)
 

 

Gayanne Geurin, chant leader/vocals, mountain dulcimer
Will Robertson, vocals, piano, upright bass, guitar, oud. keyboard/synth and windchimes
Mike Zimmerman, djembe  

 

Chant Participants
Beth-Ann Buitekant, Reuben Haller, Jackie Sherman, Catherine Lyman, Bill Witherspoon**, Val Wolpe, McKenzie Wren*
*Additional vocals on Elohai Neshama and Kosi R’vayah

CBH String Ensemble
Sarah Zaslaw and Benjamin Reiss, violins
David Borthwick and Julia Borthwick, violas
Aria Posner, cello

Thanks

Many thanks to Miriam Karp* for her beautiful artwork and for digitally adapting her original piece for our album cover; Allison Carter for her talent in designing the copy, navigating CD layout logistics and all things promotion; Sarah Zaslaw for editing (as well as violin playing); the CBH Chant participants who have supported or participated in this CD and the spiritual practice of chant; Paula Robertson and Santos Ochoa for use of their basement for recording while Gallop Studios was under renovation; the CBH String Ensemble for adding a magical touch that was unexpected when we first began this venture; Lynne Norton who did all out-reach for acquiring chant composer's permission; Mike Zimmerman for coming on such short notice to offer his drumming for our recording; the CBH Chorus for their special moment; Rabbi Josh and the CBH staff for their support; Molly the cat for being instrumental in the recording sessions; and most of all, Congregation Bet Haverim for inviting music and innovation.

** Miriam Karp's original piece, Give and Take (1999), was the first painting she made after her daughter, Isabella, was born. She thinks of it as a birth painting. The original colors were dawn/sunrise colors. It had two sides - the left with the interlacing raised lines that she sees as  representing the unfolding of life - and the other side was a field of pink/orange with a lozenge of white, a little submerged in the wax, which represents the birth canal and of course birth.The painting is encaustic which is hot wax fused in layers. The lines are built up with about 5 layers of paint.For the cd image she changed all the colors and the shape.

how to participate in chant at cbh

CBH holds ongoing Hebrew chant services, led by Gayanne Geurin or a chant participant/leader

  • Wednesday mornings at 7:30 at Mulberry Fields in Candler Park
  • the first and third Monday evenings of the month at CBH on Lavista Road. Silent meditation begins at 6:00, followed by chant at 6:30.

In addition, CBH occasionally has a chant-style Shabbat evening service, and theres an annual chant retreat, usually in the summer. In related practices, Rabbi Josh leads Meditation and Mussar classes one Friday evening each month. Also, "ShalOM Yoga" is offered on Saturdays once a month. On the second day of Rosh Hashannah, CBH begins services with a chant service led by Rabbi Josh and Gayanne Geurin 

To receive ongoing chant information, join the chant e-mail list by sending your e-mail address to gayannegeurin@gmail.com. She will add you to the group. The CBH calendar lists weekday chant services. Please contact Gayanne for directions to Mulberry Fields or with any questions about chant.
 
Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784