The Contemplative Journey

Step into a realm of musical enchantment with Luminos Ensemble's forthcoming album, "In the Crystalline Vault of Heaven."

These six works are Beethoven's last major completed compositions. Extremely complex and largely misunderstood by musicians and audiences of Beethoven's day, the late quartets are now widely considered to be among the greatest musical compositions of all time and have inspired many later composers.

A guide to meditative breathing practices in Western religions and how these practices provide a direct experience of God

So Japanese poet Bashō wrote in 1684 about a famous natural spring recorded as “shedding it's clear drops of water with a drip-drop sound”. This act of cleansing and how it is expressed by Bashō offers an absorbing framework for hearing the music of Floating World Pictures. Just as haiku are rooted in close observation of nature and the seasons, a time and a place - a tiny meditation that both seizes the moment and brings about a much wider understanding - so too are the improvised explorations and focused production of Floating World Pictures.

Lemn Sissay's writings are a source of inspiration to huge numbers of people around the world. From poems on the walls and buildings of Manchester and beyond to the contemplative dawn verses published each morning on social media, his words bring solace and light to readers everywhere.