Creative Life

Christmas is full of the celebratory sounds of music that echo the joyous fifty days of Christmastide. This music is particularly well suited to choirs and orchestral arrangements in western culture. Here is a small selection to draw you into the richness of the season.

Sjaella is Scandinavian and originally means soul. The the Leipzig vocal sextet give their souls a voice: joint singing. Since 2005, when the ten to thirteen year old girls began performing, the ensemble has enthralled its listeners with crystal-clear acappella singing across all repertoires and genres.

Native American Poet Laureate, Joy Hardio, draws on First Nation storytelling and histories, as well as feminist and social justice poetic traditions, and frequently incorporates indigenous myths, symbols, and values into her writing. She is a writer of profound beauty, calling her readers to relocate themselves in the landscape, in their own personhood.

Pádraig Ó Tuama is the delightful host the Poetry Unbound podcast. He asks people to stop for 12 minutes every day and simply be still and listen to a poem, and some thoughts about it. This is art and spirituality all in one. Stillness and creativity woven together.