Chant

In Chant, a middle-aged working mother with avocational music ability and a simmering need for renewed purpose embarks on an amateur sleuth's quest for the roots of Jewish music. From winter into spring, Meredith, an optimistic Midwesterner, ventures from behind the computer in her cozy Minnesota basement to Yiddish archives in New York City to archeological ruins in Jerusalem to find the source of the music she loves. She travels through history, from Egypt to Israel to Spain to Romania to the Caucasus Mountains, to experience the melodic and tectonic forces that have shaped Jewish music. And she confronts the tension between art and time - to understand the evolution of music and to make sense of her own choices. Along the way, she wrestles with "coming of age" now that her daughters are grown and her work is waning. She revels in the often funny moments that add up to motherhood and connect in unexpected ways with her research, but she struggles to understand what comes next - and just how much disruption she is willing to undergo, and inflict on those she loves, to find her new purpose. CHANT is at once a fascinating survey of the scope and history of Jewish vocal music and a deeply personal journey to find meaning in the next chapter of one's life. The two themes meld together seamlessly, as each illuminates universal truths - the importance of art, the essence of identity, and what it takes to support a culture, a family, and oneself. Imagine a stew of James Michener's "Source," Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love," and a half dozen CD's of klezmer and medieval music, spiced with a strong, intelligent woman's need for new purpose. This is the adventure of CHANT.