Music composed by Daniele Dinaro
All right reserved.

Venere

Dan Carillo - guitars, percussion
Jason Rigby - soprano saxophone
John Patitucci - basses

Temple Music is a composition that unfolds over a relatively long time scale.  The composed portion of the music is played up to a point of departure for collective improvisation.  After each improvisation, the written material is played again from the beginning to a further point which serves as a point of departure for the next improvisation.  Miniatures composed for bass choir separate the end of the improvised sections from the next successive thematic statement.  A reprise of the fully composed piece, in a duet setting for acoustic guitar and bass, is played as a single continuity to close the piece.

First and foremost, Temple Music is conceived as a piece of collective improvisational music and the performance is offered as an artistic expression in the purest sense of the term.  However, the title is also a reference to the meditative, contemplative, prayerful nature of the piece, and to the influences of worship practices of many cultures.  Whether one chooses to worship God, Yahweh, Allah, the Creator, the Higher Power, the Universe, Krisha, etc., or chooses to worship in a Gothic cathedral, an Eastern Orthodox church, a mosque, a Buddhist meditation center, the courtyard of a Hindu temple, a store front neighborhood church, a synagogue, a megachurch campus, or in the great expanse of nature, Temple Music will encourage a state of peace and tranquility, and open pathways for contemplative prayer and meditation. 

Recorded at Solid Sounds Studio, Cornwall NY
Recording engineers - Lucas Carillo, Dan Carillo
Mixed by Lou Holtzman at East Side Sound Studio, NYC

Temple Music

Action or contemplation–which is better?

This pitting of one against the other has been a long standing debate throughout history. Theologians have often used allegorical depictions of biblical women to illustrate this divide.  Augustine famously used the two wives of Jacob to articulate his preference. He held up Leah as the model of the fruitful activist life. But Rachael was a model of the harder to attain contemplative life. Others set the Biblical sisters Mary against Martha: Mary, who sits as a disciple at the feet of Jesus, is identified with contemplation whilst her sister Martha, who is distracted by her many tasks, represents action. 

Philosopher Hannah Arendt believed that prior to the Modern Age, contemplation was preferred. But with the technological boom, the Protestant Reformation and the rise of Marxism, action become dominant. Yet, there have always been streams within the contemplative tradition that seek to unite the two for healthy Christian formation.

“We need both action and contemplation to have a whole spiritual journey. It doesn’t matter which comes first; action may lead you to contemplation and contemplation may lead you to action.” Fr. Richard Rohr

And so, in the next two episodes, I want to elevate two women (without pitting them against one another!) as they illustrate how action and contemplation work together for holistic Christian formation. 

In today’s episode, activist Kathy Khang talks about action and her latest book Raise your Voice: Why we Stay Silent and How to speak up! Kathy and I talk about why our voices matters, the costs of raising our voices, and the dangers of assimilation. 

Kathy Khang is a writer, speaker and yoga instructor who has worked in campus ministry for more than twenty years. She is a coauthor of More Than Serving Tea: Asian American Women on Expectations, Relationships, Leadership and Faith. and the author of a new book: Raise Your Voice, which we talk about in this episode.

Stay tuned for Part 2 when we speak with Phileena Heuretz about contemplation and her new book: Mindful Silence: The heart of Christian Contemplation.

Link: 
Visit Kathy's website and read her blog at kathykhang.com
Follow her on Twitter: @mskathykhang
Purchase Raise Your Voice: https://amzn.to/2Mg5u6R
Watch the Shalom Chant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D8QjWqe2hU

Thanks to Kai Engel for the use of his song Snowfall

Special thanks to Julie Tai at Fuller Seminary for the use of the Shalom Chant. You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D8QjWqe2hU

25 Kathy Khang: Raise Your Voice (Action & Contemplation Part 1)

The Betwixt podcast explores the liminal space where faith and culture converge. Conversations with fascinating guests coax us from ideological trenches with betwixting stories from the middle space.

25 Kathy Khang: Raise Your Voice (Action & Contemplation Part 1)

Betwixt Podcast

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