Songs, Spirituality and Stuff

Shawn Roney/Sacred & Secular

An exploration of the relationships between music and faith, as examined through interviews, performances and, sometimes, host Shawn Roney's personal musings. Ideal for music lovers, musicians, songwriters and/or fellow spiritual seekers.

Episodes

  1. 02/01/2021

    "Opera and Omnipresence"

    Operatic soprano/voice teacher/therapist Patricia Martinez, who's based in the Kansas City area and performs with the musical collective Sacred & Secular, discusses how her interest in music began, what led her into teaching music and her spiritual journey.  She also sings an aria from "Adriana Lecouvreur," an early 20th-century opera (music by Francesco Cilea, libretto Arturo Clautti), performed at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and later mixed by Nick Sanabria.  Notes: Patricia Martinez has two websites where she can be reached. The one mentioned during the episode is https://www.artistcounseling.com/. Her other website, which includes her career bio and wasn't mentioned, is www.patriciamartinezsoprano.com. For additional samples of Nick Sanabria's work, visit http://www.nicksanabria.com/.For more information about composer Francesco Cilea, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Cilea. For more information about librettist Arturo Colautti, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Colautti.Original music featured in this episode: "Midnight Moonlight Meditations" and "St. Adele's Waltz" (For Piano), composed by Shawn Roney, performed by Sacred & Secular. "Midnight Moonlight Meditations" is available for streaming in its entirety on multiple platforms, including Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/track/3GYwlyzQ052uoRhSZU2Kgp."St. Adele's Waltz" is featured on "In Solitude," Sacred & Secular's debut album,  available on multiple streaming platforms, including YouTube Music. To listen to the song in its entirety, visit https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=3y6GK0Edn-Q&feature=share. To stream "In Solitude" in its entirety on YouTube Music, visit https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n_78QgdhLloJ4Fof5j2lXEqC1bnfyCaCU.  Support the show

    31 min
  2. 08/31/2020

    "The Life-Saving Cello and the Poet"

    #SongsEtc Phyllis Hopper, a member of the musical collective Sacred & Secular, shares how she came to play the cello and the instrument's positive influence on her life. Other topics include her faith journey and her projects outside of Sacred & Secular.Host/Sacred & Secular member Shawn Roney shares an excerpt from a collaborative work in progress between Ms. Hopper and himself, inspired by poet Emily Dickinson. He also discusses plans for the music, pending a decision by Harvard University Press regarding whether the work is under the copyright claim of HUP or in the public domain. Notes: Check out Phyllis Hopper's arrangement work at https://phroglis.wixsite.com/mysite.For more information about Emily Dickinson, visit https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/. An excellent essay on Dickinson's relationship with faith is posted here: https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/emily-dickinson/biography/special-topics/emily-dickinson-and-the-church/.To listen to the Andre Previn-Barbara Bonney rendition of Aaron Copland's adaptation of "I felt a funeral in my brain," the poem mentioned in this episode, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLAJyMUvNrg.Writer and scholar Rebecca Balcarcel offers a fascinating analysis of "I felt a funeral in my brain," including an alternate way of interpreting the work. Her analysis, posted on YouTube, is in two parts. For part I, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ISE11zqic. For part two, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6B6nCnpc0U.Support the show

    32 min

About

An exploration of the relationships between music and faith, as examined through interviews, performances and, sometimes, host Shawn Roney's personal musings. Ideal for music lovers, musicians, songwriters and/or fellow spiritual seekers.