Jill Purce- Singing back the Sun
As a child the thing I loved most about Christmas was singing Carols . One of the reasons I pioneered the voice healing movement in the West nearly forty years ago was because I felt our society had gone silent, and that it was essential, if we were to be healthy, to get people using their voices again by singing and chanting. The one form of singing that has remained against all odds, and which seems more robust than any other, is carol singing. I can only think, since Christmas is the Christianized celebration of the winter solstice, that we unconsciously realize, the only way we can make sure the light is born again within the heart of darkness, is to sing it back- nothing else is so effective. Otherwise why would singing at the mid winter festival be the only time we still recognize the need? Clearly, even though we don\\\'t know it, as in ancient Polish and Finnish folk epics, we feel personally responsible for \\\"Singing back the Sun\\\".
I have always described my vocation as \\\"Re-Enchanting the World\\\" making it magical again by inspiring our silent society to sing and chant again. I think this should come high up in the new ranking of the social impacts of different jobs by the New Economics Foundation just published this week, had they only thought about it. If child care workers and waste recyclers add value, while bankers destroy it, adding value to society by having it joyfully singing together should soar to the top of their list!
