Why the Social Stigma...?

I vividly remember my first violin lessons at school. I can still recall the creaky hinges of my battered case, the smell of the resin and the sound of my strings being tuned by my (very patient) teacher. I think I must have been around ten or eleven when my parents bought me my first violin and paid for private lessons for me. I had been begging them for so long and I was over the moon when they finally said yes. They were taught within school hours, yet I would have to go off to the music room and essentially miss around forty minutes or so of my school subject (it was always a good day if I missed Maths!)

I had high hopes of becoming the next Vanessa Mae; she was so beautiful and successful not to mention ridiculously talented. I wished that one day, and after many years of hard work, practice and lessons, I would be able to be just like her. Except of course, I quit playing the violin when I turned thirteen. And I still regret it to this day.

But at the time, carrying my cumbersome case along the busy school corridors along with all my other bags and PE kit, or bashing girls' knees and shins with it on the bus-ride home just proved to be too much of a nuisance in the end, and so I did the cowardly thing of quitting. All because it was literally getting in the way of my life at a time when I just wanted to fit in with my other non-music playing friends. I went to an all-girls school where fitting in was something everyone seemed to take pretty seriously.

I had been in the school orchestra along with a couple of my best friends (they played clarinets so we would wave at each other from across the hall whilst I sat amongst the other strings). I really enjoyed being a part of the orchestra and missed it very much when I decided to quit playing. I think my music teacher was a bit upset, as were my parents (who I think had also harboured high hopes for my future career as a successful violinist). But it just wasn't to be. I caved. Why?

Because at a seminal time of my life when I had just entered my teens, I didn't think playing a violin was very trendy. It wasn't the image I wanted to project to my friends and peers. (Even though a few of them did play instruments and/or sing in the school choir). All the pretty and popular girls at school that I can remember off the top of my head didn't play instruments or sing, they were just 'regular girls' who thought that being in the choir or orchestra was too much of an old-fashioned thing when they could spend their break and lunchtimes practising dance moves and singing along to the newest pop songs, or talking about their latest crushes (most often pop stars too).

And so I became a sheep like them in order to fit in....

Typing this post has made me quite sad to be honest with you, as a big part of me wishes I had stuck to my guns and been more my own person. But at that time in my life, especially at an all-girls' school, social acceptance was key. And playing instruments or showing an interest in anything remotely 'classical' would show you up to be either a) a posh snob or b) a bit of an 'arty-farty' type. And sadly, both those categories didn't stand you in good stead for popularity.

This leads me quite nicely to the whole purpose of my post; that is to say, why is there such a social stigma regarding classical music and young people. I remember my friends and I would snigger if we had to listen to anything classical during music lessons. Why was that? What stopped us all from saying, "you know what, that is actually a beautiful piece of music."

I would love to know whether knowledge plays a big part in all this. If classical music and music lessons were taught as part of the curriculum alongside all the other humanities, would we still have such a culture of classical-phobes who would much rather hear the latest pop songs. Is education at the heart of this classical socia stigma? 

Or is it precisely because of the social bracket that classical music is synonymous with; it essentially detracts the middle and lower classes from becoming involved with with for fear humiliating themselves infront of others due to a lack of musical knowledge? So many questions. Would really love to hear you thoughts on this particular issue.

Take care and I will be back very soon.

In leaving though, I couldn't resist not sharing this image from Tone Deaf comics with you all...

Food for thought right there....

Who was Handel?

A question which I've asked myself many times over the past couple of weeks since being asked to create this blog.

As with most other world-renowned composers such as Beethoven, Bach and Mozart, I have heard of Handel...but do I know much about him?

In all honesty, and I am ashamed to admit this, but no I really don't. I'm aware of his famous 'Water Music', and yet again, I'm not even sure exactly where I know it from.

I have a vague recollection of hearing it for the first time when my husband and I were short-listing music for our wedding. It's one of those pieces which everyone seems to 'know' and at the same time, not really know anything about its origins or creator.

I'm basically quite the ignorant when it comes to Handel, his peers, and classical in general for that matter. It's precisely because of the fact that there are so many other young people like myself who really are none the wiser about this genre of music that formed the very basis for this blog in the first place though, so without further ado, I'll get on with the reason for this particular post.

For the purposes of the blog, and for those who like myself, are a complete novice to classical music, I'm going to just provide the briefest of biographical info about Handel so as to 'set the scene' as it were, for the run-up to my first ever concert attendance next month when I will witness Handel's The Messiah sung in all its glory by The Grange Choir.

For anyone reading this who has been classically trained, and/or is even a classical singer or musician, then please accept my apologies in advance for the very crude biography of Handel which is about to commence.

It's somewhat ironic that such an iconic composer should have had to hide his talent during childhood, and yet he would be forced to do this when playing a small keyboard as a young boy apparently, owing to the fact that his father disapproved of his desire to become a musician. 

George Frideric Handel was born in 1685 in Germany, but would go on to spend most of his life living and working in London. He was well known for his operas, organ concertos, anthems and oratorios, and is remembered as one of the most influential baroque-composers in music history. 

'Water Music' (1716), Messiah (1741-2) and Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749) are undoubtedly three of his most popular compositions, but it is Messiah perhaps more than any of his other works, which has had the ability to cement Handel's status into modern culture and music. This is thanks in some part to the popularity of certain excerpts being familiar to the public through Christmas Concerts and Choral Societies. And yet that merely scratches the surface to this musical masterpiece.

I will talk more about Messiah in a later post however, as I don't want to detract from the main theme to this particular entry; that of Handel himself.

Battling paralysis in the arm caused by a stroke, and suffering with blindness in later life, Handel was blighted by problems, yet he continued to compose into old age, and subsequently passed away in London, 1759.
His legacy is one which is fitting of such a prolific artist, and his compositions serve as a reminder of his musical genius.

Since undertaking research into Handel and his life for the purposes of this post, I feel more ignorant about classical music than ever before, if that were possible. It is just a whole other world. And yet, the more I have learnt about Handel, the more I want to learn. I find it so interesting, not least because Handel lived in London for such a long time, I feel as though he is a part of British history as much as he is a part of British music And directly because of this, I am looking forward to next month's performance of Messiah by The Grange Choral Society of Christchurch even more than before.

His house in Mayfair has been restored by The Handel House Trust, alongside English Heritage, to replicate exactly how it would have looked during his time living there between 1723 and 1759. One of the most interesting facts that I found out about this particular dwelling of Handel's is that it would later become the neighbour to another iconic and influential musician, Jimi Hendrix, who lived in the adjacent flat. Who on earth would have thought that two such polarised musical geniuses could have lived in such close proximity to each other?

This made me wonder; in a poll of young people, how many would be able to acknowledge who Hendrix was, and how many could recount for Handel?

I think I could safely say that the numbers for knowing Hendrix would vastly outweigh those for Handel. A sign of rock and roll's popularity, or not giving classical the recognition it deserves?

Perhaps a bit of both. Either way, there is no denying the craft and talent of both men, and as the bio on the house's website states;

"separated by a wall and 200 years are the homes of two musicians who chose London and changed music."

I hope you enjoyed reading this post and my brief little biography on Handel. I owe a huge apology for the delay in publishing this, but my son has not been well this past week and so the blog has had to take a reluctant back-seat.

I will be back with a new post this Sunday (no delays this time), with my thoughts on why classical music has been chosen to act as a deterrent for young people, and what this will do for the already fractured relationship between the two.

intricate and complex; sheet music for Messiah

   

An Introduction...

Hi there. My name is Emma and for those who don't know me, I am a lifestyle and beauty blogger over at nolovelikeit.com.

Make up and 'mum stuff' is what I usually talk about there, and feel free to take a look if either of those topics are of interest to you, but the reason I have set up this blog is because I have a new subject up for discussion, one which I felt deserved its own web space.

In case the title hasn't already given it away in part, this blog is going to be focussed on classical music, and the youth of today. Specifically, its aim will be to generate some debate and try to answer the question of just exactly why young people are so disinterested in classical music?

I'm twenty-eight, so not exactly a spring chicken, nor an old bird. Sort of in the middle. I would like to think that my musical taste is fairly wide-ranging; I enjoy pop, rock, dance, reggae and even some metal....No mention of classical in there though. But it's not as though I don't like classical music, or that I'm not aware of it.

On the contrary, there are many pieces of classical music which I absolutely adore, yet the problem lies in the fact that nine times out of ten, I have only ever discovered classical music through a 'mainstream' form of entertainment such as a film, TV programme or even, I'm ashamed to admit it, through an advert! And herein lies the problem I think, because I have a feeling that this is the case for so many young people.

Is the education system to blame for not putting more emphasis on the classics in music lessons? Should The X Factor culture of 'sudden stardom' be culpable for it's pop-heavy filled shows? Or is there something else at work which means that neither of the above are accountable? Is it an issue of class? If so then why the disproportion in age for classical music aficionados?

There is a lot up for discussion here, and I am hoping to create some talking points over the coming weeks, culminating in a concert which I have been invited to attend next month. It is Handel's The Messiah, performed by the The Grange Choral Society, and conducted by Marcio Da Silva.

Now I'm very excited for this as it will be my first ever experience of a full-length classical choir performance. I honestly don't know the first thing about Handel, although of course I know 'of him', as I'm sure many other young people may do.

I will write up my thoughts on the choir concert in a post on here, but for now, I just wanted to start off with a little introduction to the blog, and get a topic started for discussion.

Are you a young person not familiar with classical music? Do you love it, hate it, or not know enough about it to answer that question?! If it's the last option, why do you think that is the case?

So many questions... I hope that we can get a good debate open here and hopefully understand a little better the issues behind classical and the youth.

Thank you for reading and please drop me a comment with your thoughts - would love to hear from you.

Coming soon: Who is Handel? I take a look at the composer's life and works and see where his legacy has positioned him within the canon of classical music knowledge amongst the younger generation. That will be in the next blog post: a week today.