Tag Archives devotional music

The Baha’i Waiata Project – A Māori Musical Devotions Initiative

Art & Creative Works, Interviews, Music, Videos 2 Comments

The Baha’i Waiata Project is an initiative of friends in Christchurch, New Zealand. It originated as an artitistic endeavour in honour of the bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab. Nine songs, or waiata, were composed using the prayers and writings of the Bab, Baha’u’llah, and Abdul-Baha which had been translated into the Māori language. The songs vary in genre and include traditional chanting, a children’s song, a duet, and reggae. You can watch all the music videos of their songs on their YouTube channel: the Baha’i Waiata Project.

We were excited when the team behind this initiative, DJ, Benji, Chis, Robbie, Ty, Vahid and Megan, agreed to tell us more about their music. Here’s what they shared: Continue reading →

Chapter 45 – An Afro-Futuristic Album by Zahyia

Interviews, Music 1 Comment

Zahyia has released an album called Chapter 45. Zahyia is a songwriter, lyricist, producer and creative visionary and this eight track Baha’i-inspired album includes three songs based on excerpts from the Baha’i Writings, such as a musical meditation on the Long Healing Prayer.

The album is a personal reflection on the 45th year of her life and I was very curious to find out more. Here’s what Zahyia generously shared with us: Continue reading →

So Powerful – A Short Film by Isabel Miranda and Emmanuel (Manny) Lopes

Interviews, Videos 1 Comment

So Powerful is a touching and genuine short film by Isabel Miranda and Emmanuel (Manny) Lopes. It is a documentary about two individuals from very different cultural backgrounds, Max and Shoghi, who build a deep friendship through music.

So Powerful is a joy to watch and a sweet film to derive inspiration from. I’m grateful to Isabel and Manny for taking the time to tell us about their 17 minute documentary. Here’s what they shared with us: Continue reading →

The Orb – A New Album by James Mohajer in Honour of Abdu’l-Baha

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You may recognize the name James Mohajer, or perhaps you’re familiar with his voice! He participated in three Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions that were recorded in London: “O Thou Candle”, “Let Your Joy” and “Apple of Mine Eye”. We also interviewed him about his album Ascend (you can read that interview here on Baha’i Blog).

It’s a joy and a pleasure to hear from James again, this time about his latest album The Orb. Here’s what James said: Continue reading →

Hommage à Abdu’l-Baha (Tribute to Abdu’l-Baha) – An Album by Lucie Dubé

Art & Creative Works, Interviews, Music Leave a comment

Lucie Dubé is a singer, songwriter, and composer originally from Sherbrooke, Quebec (Canada). For over 25 years she has been composing and performing music all over the world. Her most recent musical initiative is an album titled Hommage à Abdu’l-Baha, which is French for “Tribute to Abdu’l-Baha” as this work was created in honor of the centenary of His Passing. The album includes 13 Baha’i Writings sung in French by a choir (comprised of 40 singers and soloists) accompanied by piano, string quartet and flute.

Lucie graciously agreed to tell us about her album. Here is what she shared:

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Make Me to Grow – An Album by Victoria Jane Leith

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Victoria Jane Leith’s album, Make Me to Grow, is subtitled “an immersive experience of melodies, nature and prayers” and that’s exactly what it is. Listening to it transported me to a devotional gathering in a tranquil garden.

You may recognize Victoria from our Studio Sessions “Lion Roar”, “Tiny Seed” and “I Loved Thy Creation”, renditions of which are also included on her sweet album.

I am glad Victoria wanted to share with us about her album. Here’s what she said:

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Waves of One Sea – A New Global Singalong by Elika Mahony

Interviews, Music 2 Comments

The music of Elika Mahony holds a special place in my heart and in our family life so we were thrilled when she released a new global collaborative song called “Waves of One Sea”. No matter how often we listen to it, it never fails to rejoice my soul.

We’ve featured Elika on Baha’i Blog before — most recently, I interviewed her about her album The Exalted One in honor of the bicentenary of the Birth of the Bab. I was curious to learn more about “Waves of One Sea”, and here’s what Elika graciously shared with me: Continue reading →

WAVES – A New Global Musical Collaboration by Ali Youssefi

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Ali Youssefi creates music that goes straight to the heart. You may be familiar with his collaborative music videos, especially his wonderful song called “Unite”, which includes 50 voices from around the world and which continues to be extremely popular!

Ali was also critical in helping us film Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions in Belgrade, Serbia (where he was living at the time), and from these sessions you can watch him singing “Jedinstvo (Unity)” in Serbian, and “Oh Mi Siervo (O My Servant)” in Spanish.

I was so excited to hear about Ali’s latest global musical collaboration called “Waves”! Featuring over 400 singers and instrumentalists from 38 countries and territories across the globe, “Waves” is a happy celebration of the unified diversity of the human race. Have you watched it? It never fails to make me smile, and I had to get in touch with my dear friend to find out more about his new initiative. Here’s what he shared: Continue reading →

Turn My Steps – An Album by Siria

Interviews, Music 2 Comments

Turn My Steps is the debut album of Siria Rutstein, and many of you may remember hearing her voice on two Baha’i Blog Studio Sessions called “Make Them to Grow” and “Immerse”.

Siria is a thoughtful and joyful singer-songwriter currently based in Edinburgh, Scotland. I have to admit that I have a soft spot for her as when she was a child, her family was in Papua New Guinea with me and my family, and I have so many fond memories of the times I spent with her parents. I was delighted when I heard that she had released her debut album, so I got in touch with her to find out more about her music and why it was important for her to create this album. Here’s what she shared:
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