The music and herbal medicine of Hildegard von Bingen ~ myth, music, and healing ways from the Celtic lands ~ vibrant connection with the land you call home ~ plant wisdom ~ chant and more
Chants and Plants offer doorways to healing of mind, body, and spirit, as well as to the healing of community, culture, and the Earth, too. We share music, herbal healing ways, and other lost perspectives drawn from medieval European, Irish, and other traditions in their earth-based forms that we feel have absolute relevance for cultivating peace and wellness in our troubled world.
We delve into Hildegard of Bingen’s music and herbal medicine, medieval and Celtic chant and herbal traditions, into myth and lore, nature-based knowings, and more. Chants and plants can help us experience the soul of the land, the sacred of nature, and to discern the mythic and sweetly personal that surrounds and includes us in every moment. You’ll find all this and more as we grow this site.
We are honored to journey with you.
About Your Guides:
Erin Durrett – cantor, chant specialist, and vocalist.
Erin has been a cantor for sacred liturgy for twenty-five years and is currently Director of Music Ministries at Church of the Holy Spirit (Episcopal) on Vashon Island where she also writes music for the Puget Sound Zen Center. She was a founding member and assistant teacher of the Seattle Medieval Women’s Choir under the direction of Margriet Tindemans for several years and will be teaching a workshop on Hildegard and the Water of Life in Iona, Scotland in 2021 as part of an international conference on music as a medium of healing.
Erin loves working with people of all ages and teaching music from all periods, genres and cultures. She has recently taught workshops on the Harmony of the Spheres, Chants of the Divine Feminine and most recently using chants from all over the world as part of daily spiritual practice.
Jane Valencia – harper, storyteller, and herbalist
Jane loves to share the healing magic of the plant world with those who are curious to work with these green beings. An herbalist and nature instructor Jane has presented for the past three years at the Pacific Women’s Herbal Conference and a number of times with St. Placid’s Priory in Lacey, WA. She is a graduate of the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine’s Herbal Immersion Program, and pursues studies and ongoing relationship with the plants themselves.
A Medieval Studies major in college, Early British Studies post-grad in Wales, and a professional bardic harper and storyteller, Jane has long been fascinated by medieval and renaissance music and culture. Her devotion to Hildegard von Bingen combines her passions for chant, herbs, medieval and folk ways, and ancestral connection: Hildegard lived 120 miles from the village where Jane’s paternal ancestors lived for centuries. Jane has also had a lifelong passion for things Celtic. She is host and producer of the Forest Halls Celtic streaming radio program, and teaches workshops on Celtic Herbs and Healing Ways, and Irish, Scottish, and Welsh styles in harp playing.