Hello, everyone, and welcome to Speaking with Joy, a podcast to fill your soul, challenge your mind, and make you brave.

I'm your host, Joy Clarkson, and an evangelist for all things good, true, and beautiful.

So make yourself a cup of tea, find somewhere comfortable, and let's dive in to this week's episode. Welcome back to my series on You Are a Tree

and other metaphors to nourish life, thought, and prayer. Today, I'm absolutely delighted

to bring you a new episode with one of the show's very favorite guests, Christopher Ten.

Christopher Ten is a two-time Grammy- Award-winning composer. He's composed music for film,

television, and video games like Civilization Four. Most recently, Chris was commissioned to write a new

ending for Turin Dot, Puccini's final and unfinished opera. It's set to premiere on May 11th.

When Chris and I have a conversation, I never quite know where it will go. In today's conversation,

we talk about the way that music and metaphor help us express and share our deep

and effable experiences, how different ways of speaking about love informed his new adaptation

of Turin-Dot, and we ended up talking about Arthuriana and Courtly Love, one of my favorite

and most nerdy topics. I should have known that Chris would have something to say about it.

This week's episode can be loosely paired with the chapter, Safety is a Castle, but we covered many topics,

including the heights and depths of music, metaphors for love, and more. So I hope you'll enjoy

listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it.

It is a delight to welcome you back on the show, Chris. It's a delight to welcome you back on the show, Chris.

It's a delight to be back on the show, Joy.

And I really mean that.

I really, really enjoy our conversations.

I think I talk about this every time I'm on your show, but like, I just like chatting with you.

I feel the exact same way. And I was thinking about it. I think that I've had a few guests,

...