The Benedictine Monks of Christ in the Desert Monastery Amy Suzanne Gillespie
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Music ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 8-25-2016 Chant and Transformation: The Benedictine Monks of Christ in the Desert Monastery Amy Suzanne Gillespie Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/mus_etds Recommended Citation Gillespie, Amy Suzanne. "Chant and Transformation: The Benedictine Monks of Christ in the Desert Monastery." (2016). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/mus_etds/12 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Music ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Amy Suzanne Gillespie Candidate Music Department This thesis is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Thesis Committee: Dr. Ana R. Alonso-Minutti, Chairperson Dr. Kristina M. Jacobsen Dr. David M. Bashwiner i CHANT AND TRANSFORMATION: THE BENEDICTINE MONKS OF CHRIST IN THE DESERT MONASTERY by AMY SUZANNE GILLESPIE BACHELOR OR ARTS, MATHEMATICS, 1975 MASTER OF MANAGEMENT, 1987 BACHELOR OF ARTS, CONTEMPORARY MUSIC, 2009 THESIS Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Music The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico July, 2016 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am forever grateful to the monks of Christ in the Desert for their willingness to engage in this project. Their unending hospitality, inseparable love for God and neighbor, forthright conversation, and friendship are a testimony to their solicitude to the Benedictine way of life. I am particularly grateful to Abbot Philip Lawrence, who was always willing to assist me with my interpretations and reflections and to Brother Leander Hogg, who, out of nowhere, would provide insight and inspiration at just the appropriate time. Also, I am indebted to the outstanding music faculty of the University of New Mexico who made my student experience productive and personally fulfilling. The thesis project was made possible due to the efforts of my committee lead by my advisor, Dr. Ana R. Alonso-Minutti. Dr. Alonso-Minutti was constantly providing encouragement, probing and insightful discussion, and wise critique. Dr. Kristina Jacobsen reassured me that the IRB process would lead to fieldwork that would exceed my expectations. Too, she always provided meaningful and thought- provoking guidance during the writing process. I thank Dr. David Bashwiner for igniting in me the music and emotion curiosity, and directing its application in this work. I remain eternally thankful for the scholars and educators from whom I descend. Utmost, I recognize the greatest gifts to me: the constant support of Margy Wienbar, infused with a loving grace given to all, and to my family, and family of friends. Often, these ardent devotees waited patiently on the sidelines for me to complete just one more section of, “the project.” iii CHANT AND TRANSFORMATION: THE BENEDICTINE MONKS OF CHRIST IN THE DESERT MONASTERY by Amy Suzanne Gillespie B. A., Mathematics, Western New Mexico University, 1975 M. M., University of New Mexico, 1987 B. A., Contemporary Music, College of Santa Fe, 2009 M. Mu., Musicology, University of New Mexico, 2016 ABSTRACT Music scholars have devoted significant attention to the vast repertoire of chant, the cults from which it is said to have sprung, semiology, or its place in Western Christian worship, but a limited number of studies address the chanter and how chant renders affective and cognitive processes. The monks of Christ in the Desert Monastery are engaged four hours a day, every day, in the antiphonal rhythm of psalmody, constructing its expressivity and sculpting, from forty members, one voice. Here, the Divine Office, as prescribed by St. Benedict, is strictly followed. The monk’s repetitive and synchronized practice, suffused with chanting, cultivates deeper levels of personal awareness and authenticity. I explore introspective and inspirational aspects of the desert soundscape and its ability to cultivate acute awareness and sharpened attention. Drawing upon ethnographic research with the community, I argue that the brothers’ singing is a transformative pathway that leads to strong group cohesiveness and well-being. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ..............................................................................................vii LIST OF EXAMPLES ........................................................................................... xi INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER ONE – The Founding Story: A Monastery Blossoms in the Desert ..... 9 I. A Place of Quiet Beauty ..................................................................................... 9 A. The First Decade ................................................................................. 12 B. The Seventies Bring Hardship and Hope ............................................. 18 C. The 1980’s and 1990’s Position the Future ......................................... 21 II. A Place Where People Journey ...................................................................... 28 A. The Next Half-Century ......................................................................... 37 CHAPTER TWO – Living a Tradition .................................................................. 42 I. The Monastery: The Workshop of Spiritual Crafts .......................................... 42 A. “Many Times a Day I Praise You.” Psalm 118:164 .............................. 46 B. Between the Hours of Terce and Sext: A Celebration ......................... 58 C. Vespers: Dusk in the Canyon .............................................................. 68 D. A Commemoration of the Faithfully Departed ...................................... 71 E. The Practice of Being Present: Lectio Divina ....................................... 78 CHAPTER THREE – The Sacred Desert Character ........................................... 83 I. Where Silence Speaks ..................................................................................... 83 v A. The Desert: What It Represents and How It Is Perceived .................... 85 B. The Desert Voice: Unique Provisions .................................................. 91 C. Silence as Dialog ................................................................................. 96 II. Music in this Place: The Soundscape ........................................................... 100 A. Chant Forms in the Felicity of Desert Silence .................................... 103 CHAPTER FOUR – Chanting Together as the Pathway to Achieving Unity and Well-being .................................................................................................. 108 I. The Brothers’ Pilgrimage: Becoming Attuned by Climbing and Descending, and Again. ......................................................................................................... 108 A. How Good and How Pleasant It Is, Brothers Dwelling in Unity .......... 112 B. Interiority and One Voice ................................................................... 118 II. Singing: The Brain and Body Connection ..................................................... 123 A. Singing Positively Affects the Body .................................................... 125 B. Cognitive Processes and Social Bonding and Cohesion ................... 131 C. Singing and the Well-Being of the Monk ............................................ 133 III. The Legacy: A Process of Prayerful Brotherhood ........................................ 139 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................. 145 REFERENCES ................................................................................................. 150 I. Books, Journals and Other Sources .............................................................. 150 II. Recorded Interviews and Other Communications ......................................... 157 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1. George Nakashima's Chapel .............................................................. 16 Figure 1.2. The Chapel Stone Altar and Tabernacle ............................................. 17 Figure 1.3. Cloister and Courtyard ........................................................................ 23 Figure 1.4. Refectory Interior. Gabel Stained Glass by Margaret Nelson ............. 25 Figure 1.5. Refectory Mural by Father Damian Higgins ........................................ 26 Figure 1.6. Chapel and Surrounding Landscape .................................................. 31 Figure 1.7. Humulus Lupulus Hops Garden .......................................................... 33 Figure 2.1. Psalm 99 ............................................................................................. 51 Figure 2.2. Decorations in Refectory Created by the Brothers .............................. 66 Figure 2.3. Recreation and Conversation in the Refectory ................................... 67 Figure 2.4. Chapel Interior. Altar Set for Vespers ................................................. 68 Figure 2.5. The Canticle from Luke 1:46-55 .......................................................... 70 Figure 2.6. Recession to the Chapel from the Monastery Cemetery..................... 77 Figure 3.1. Forest Service Road 151, Rio Chama Canyon Road ......................... 86