Ancestral Song Traditions
of Europe
FREE CLASS
A free call to journey with ancestral songs and sounds of Europe that have been passed down through the ages
Live Calls Set for Australian / European Time Zones
Recording of Live Class
from Wednesday, 5th June
Songs to Connect Us with Our Roots...
Join us in this nourishing gathering where we will have the opportunity to hear some of the ancestral songs that still exist around Europe, along with stories that surround the traditions from these vastly unique landscapes.
Your Host
Hanna Leigh
Greetings! My name is Hanna Leigh, (IG: @hannaleighsong) and I am a Singer-Songwriter, Voice Doula, Weaver, and Devotee of this precious, living Earth. I grew up in California (Chumash territory), and my people migrated to the U.S. several generations ago from England, Scotland, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.
Residing on the Celtic isles in recent years, I have been on an inspired journey to reclaim ancestral wisdom and connect with the indigenous spirit of the “Great Sacred Motherland of Europe” – a term I first heard from activist Lyla June.
This longing for reconnection was the impetus to create a well-loved program called “Songs of Mother Europe”, which features song carriers from all over Europe who still carry the old songs. In the past two years we have had 31 guest teachers and over 750 participants in the course, which speaks to me of a collective impulse to remember and preserve ancestral wisdom.
Your Guest Teachers
Nóirín Ní Riain,
Ireland
Nóirín has traversed many diverse paths during her life-time and lives our her life in great gratitude for the good of it all, despite “the hollow lands and hilly lands” (William Butler Yeats). One constant, natural given has been as a singer of spiritual song; beginning with the Irish sean-nós amhrán cráifeach, this led her to other traditions such as Gregorian Chant, the music of Hildegard von Bingen, Joa Bolendas and Mira Bai.
She is author of several books ranging from a children’s Irish traditional song collection, the repertoire of her sean-nós singing mentor, Pilib Ó Laoghaire, an autobiography in 2008 and the publication of her doctoral thesis in 2011 and numerous articles.
In 2003, she was awarded the first ever doctorate in Theology from MIC, University of Limerick for her originality in creating a theology of Listening for which she coined the term, Theosony, meaning The Sound of God. Always longing to pursue a call to ministry, she was ordained an Inter-faith minister in London in 2017.
Amélie Mehru & Flo Böck,
Germany
Amelie and Flo are a couple and voice duo from Germany. For the past years, they have been traveling together, exploring the sounds of different landscapes and the vocal traditions that arise from them. On that journey they discovered parts of their roots in yodeling and reconnected with this archaic way of using the voice. To them, yodeling is a pure expression of the joy to be alive! An old way to be in harmony with the elements and life force, and a great opportunity to melt with other voices in delicious polyphonic harmonies. They love to take people on that journey of reconnection, giving concerts, courses and retreats and help to make this vocal art sexy again.
Dr Gwilym Morus-Baird,
Wales
Dr Gwilym Morus-Baird is a Welsh musician and author. He currently teaches courses on Celtic mythology at celticsource.online
Eeva Maria Leino,
Finland
Eeva Maria Leino grew up in the Finnish countryside and has dedicated herself to the study and teaching of Finnish mythology, folklore, herbalism and ancestral wisdom, having written two books in Finnish that weave these subjects with depth psychology. Her path of singing has taken many diverse shapes, including being a vocalist in a metal band, and later finding her voice more deeply through finno-ugric shamanistic traditions, utilizing drum and kantele. Her work is devoted to supporting people to connect with the inner power of the soul, called “haltija” in Finnish.
May this bring you nourishment and inspiration to carry with you into your dreaming.
Bring a candle, and join us live for this free virtual gathering.
This free event is a kick-off for our upcoming course “Songs of Mother Europe”, hosted by Hanna Leigh & Lana Lanaia, which starts on June 20th, 2024!
“Our songs travel the earth.
We sing to one another.
Not a single note is ever lost and no song is original.
They all come from the same place and go back to a time when only the stones howled.”
Louise Erdrich
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