#5195, Voices of Tibet
Listen to voices from Tibet, featuring in-studio performances by singer Yungchen Lhamo; New York-based composer and artist Laurie Anderson together with Tibetan multi-instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal and composer and activist Jesse Paris Smith; and chant from the Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir.
Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo was given the name Lhamo at birth by a Buddhist monk. The name means Goddess Of Melody, and Yungchen has spent her adult life living up to that title. After fleeing Tibet by walking over the Himalayas, in 1989, she established herself as a leading voice for Tibetan culture in the west, releasing a series of albums on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Record label and has become one of the signature voices on the global music scene, even singing for the Dalai Lama. In her work, she combines songs, prayers, and mantras dedicated to spiritual awakening, unconditional love, and compassion for all beings. Now based in upstate New York, she’s put the principles of Tibetan Buddhism to work not only in her music, but also in her activities leading the One Drop Of Kindness Foundation. Her latest album is also called One Drop of Kindness; Yungchen Lhamo and her band perform some of these pieces in-studio.
Yungchen Lhamo is part of a two-day celebration of Tibetan Culture at La MaMa Theatre on Oct. 16-17. She plays a concert at La MaMa on Saturday night, Oct. 17.
Then, sample the sound, flow, and words of a small portion of a guided and grounded journey through the text of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, from New York-based multi-disciplinary artist Laurie Anderson with Tibetan multi-instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal and composer and activist Jesse Paris Smith from their album Songs from the Bardo. Plus, the distinct sounds of chant from the Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir of Tibet, who consider this vocalizing as prayer. - Caryn Havlik
Watch the videos of Yungchen Lhamo performing 1. Om Mani Padme Hung 2. Nature's Tears 3. Perfect Compassion
Program #5195, Voices of Tibet (First aired 10/15/26)
ARTIST: Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir
WORK: Praising Chakrasamvara [1:03]
RECORDING: Tibetan Chants for World Peace
SOURCE: White Swan Records
INFO: whiteswanrecords.com
ARTIST: Yungchen Lhamo
WORK: Sound Healing [5:21]
RECORDING: One Drop of Kindness
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: https://lnk.to/RW252
ARTIST: Yungchen Lhamo
WORK: Om Mani Padme Hung [2:32]
RECORDING: Live at WNYC, Oct. 14, 2026
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. Watch via YouTube
INFO: https://www.yungchenlhamo.com/
ARTIST: Yungchen Lhamo
WORK: Nature's Tears [2:33]
RECORDING: Live at WNYC, Oct. 14, 2026
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. Watch via YouTube
INFO: The song appears on the album, Awakening | Info at https://www.yungchenlhamo.com/
ARTIST: Yungchen Lhamo
WORK: Perfect Compassion [4:57]
RECORDING: Live at WNYC, Oct. 14, 2026
SOURCE: This performance not commercially available. Watch via YouTube
INFO: The song appears on the album, One Drop of Kindness | Info at https://www.yungchenlhamo.com/
ARTIST: Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band
WORK: Across the Rolling Hills (Padmasambhava) [:56]
RECORDING: Legacy
SOURCE: There Records
INFO: https://peterrowan.bandcamp.com/album/legacy
ARTIST: Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band
WORK: Across the Rolling Hills (Padmasambhava) [:56]
RECORDING: Legacy
SOURCE: There Records
INFO: https://peterrowan.bandcamp.com/album/legacy
ARTIST: Laurie Anderson, Tenzin Choegyal, Jesse Paris Smith
WORK: Jigten [6:04]
RECORDING: Songs from the Bardo
SOURCE: Smithsonian Folkways
INFO: folkways.si.edu/songs-from-the-bardo
ARTIST: Philip Glass, Gyuto Monks
WORK: Sand Mandala [4:04]
RECORDING: Kundun [Soundtrack]
SOURCE: Nonesuch
INFO: https://www.nonesuch.com/albums/kundun-soundtrack
ARTIST: Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir
WORK: Praising Chakrasamvara [3:13]
RECORDING: Tibetan Chants for World Peace
SOURCE: White Swan Records
INFO: whiteswanrecords.com
