When my wife and I moved to Gloucestershire in 1968 we were delighted to discover that – outside of London – we now lived in probably the most culturally vibrant place in Britain. There were five grand opera groups, six large choral societies, about a dozen musical societies, male voice choirs, over fifty small choirs and choral groups, church choirs and, of course, the Cotswold Savoyards with their complete repertoire of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Orchestras and chamber groups abounded and it was possible to sing everything from Giuseppe Verdi to Ivor Gurney and Franz Lehar to John Lennon.
All this was performed in magnificent Cathedrals, Abbeys, Theatres and the Cheltenham Pump Rooms and Town Hall. Add to these, hundreds of Parish Churches, Village Halls and even Pubs, (I once sang Vaughan Williams’ songs in the skittle alley of the Britannia Pub in Nailsworth) In fact, whatever the genre of music it could be found within a twenty five mile radius of this parish.
It still can. And from pop to opera, from oratorio to folk, from skiffle to orchestral we have it all!
Music reaches deep within us and from time to time we are touched by words or paintings or sculpture. But there are also those places within us that can be reached only by the melodies, harmonies and movement of Music. Every now and again an artist, poet or composer will draw from within themselves something that speaks for us too. Even the early psalmists wrote about the, ‘deeps within the human soul,’ and so it is not surprising that the highest forms of music and art are associated with the most profound of human thoughts.
It is interesting to see how music and religion have developed a sympathetic language, and it is amazing how often a religious belief can help people to plumb the depths of their own being and then inspire them to create the best in enduring music and art.
Mind you, composers, like everyone else, have to earn a living and many got their livelihoods from rich sponsors or the church. However it was not money that drove Bach, Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. Haydn believed he, ‘had a gift that was given for him to magnify,’ and one hundred and six symphonies and thousands of other works poured from him in boundless joy, both to himself and millions more.
Regular readers will remember my saying that singers and wind players live years longer than the average, and that this is down to their making full use of their lungs. However, this is not the only reason to sing and Gareth Malone of the TV programme Military Wives Choir believes there to be, “No finer feeling in the world than standing next to someone in a choir sharing a sense of something that is bigger and deeper than we are ourselves.”
I have had many such experiences whilst singing in choirs and opera groups, and whilst I don’t know if I will live longer than average; I do know the joy of standing next to friends and having my mental and physical horizons stretched by composers and hymn writers who have dug deep into their own reserves of inspiration.
Inspiration however does not only show in the music itself but can also be displayed in a song’s title. This is particularly the case with Country & Western Music which varies from Folk Music in that it tends to be based in the American South and has a more modern tale to tell.
The words in country music are usually more prominent than the notes, and titles frequently sum up heartfelt messages of pathos, frustrated love, treachery and despair.
Humour is not however lacking as can be seen from the following two titles. The first: A cry from the heart of a distraught lover:
“Since you bought the water bed; we’ve drifted apart.”
And the second, which was written by a poor cowboy from Arizona whose sweetheart had left him and gone to live with a rich rancher. He lamented his loss in the song:
“I still miss you baby, but my aim is getting better.”
View from the Pew 