Chalice of Repose

At the abbey of Cluny, France, during the Middle Ages, dying monks were surrounded with special prayers and music to ease the transition from life into death. This holistic approach echoes to this day in the visionary work of Therese Schroeder-Sheker. Chalice of Repose is an intimate portrait, in images and music, of how Schroeder-Sheker learned from the insights of Cluny and developed a unique approach for prescriptive music as a clinical care practice for the dying. Over the past two decades, her pioneering efforts have helped bring spiritual and physiological comfort to a wide range of patients with diverse symptoms.Told through vivid, real-life footage, Chalice of Repose documents the efforts of the Chalice of Repose Project, showing how contemplative musician-clinicians offer an "anointing of sound" that can help dramatically alleviate the pain of the dying. Chalice of Repose brings into focus a historical spiritual practice through the lives and work of Therese Schroeder-Sheker and her colleagues -- and the patients they serve through their music.

As physicians who must daily deal with the pain, fear, and grief that surround a terminal illness, we have found the deathbed vigil using prescriptive music to be a tool that can optimize the comfort and dignity of the patient ... a valuable tool indeed". Stephen Speckart, M.D. Missoula Oncology & Infectious Disease