“Music is the universal language of mankind” – Henry Longfellow.
“Music once admitted to the soul becomes a sort of spirit and never dies” – Edward Lytton.
“Where words leave off, music begins” – Heinrich Heine.
Though I had heard about Joss Stone before her concert here on Monday, I had never listened to her music. Music is an essential part of my life – it is what gets me through the worst and best of times. Every day I listen to a wide range of music, so I am not sure how I let such a talent escape me for so long.
The concert was held at the Eucalyptus Garden Amphitheatre of the Theatre Guild of Guyana. It was produced by University of Guyana’s office of Philanthropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement (PACE) and supported by the Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Social Cohesion, Culture, Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Business for the benefit of local non-governmental organisation Help and Shelter and the University of Guyana’s Artist in Residence Programme.
In addition to Stone, the attendees were wowed not only by the Distinguished Artist in Residence Ras Camo Williams on pan, Creole Rock, Buxton Fusion, MaskaJazz, Indus Voices and Collage, but of course the Grammy Award Winning artiste Joss Stone.
For Stone, it was part of a mission to perform in every UN registered country as part of her Total World Tour. Her mellifluous voice penetrated the air, surprising many who had never heard her before and even those who were familiar with her music. Listening to an artiste on a record is one experience, but to be in their presence, to witness the voice flowing from the soul of the artiste, not enhanced or distorted by modern inventions, such as auto-tune, but just pure talent, is truly amazing.
It was a pity it was just between five and six hundred people in the Eucalyptus Garden that witnessed this. It was a pity that such events are infrequent. Many wished that the concert could have gone on for much longer after her time ended. There was contemporary, soul, rhythm and blues and she even sang a few notes of reggae. I daresay no one present among the sold-out crowd could say that they were not entertained and captivated by her talent. Most of the people in attendance appeared to be expatriates. But there was also a significant number of Guyanese who were fortunate to be a part of a truly remarkable and enriching experience.
The rain that had threatened the event the day before and earlier on the day, did not wet the seats, stage, crew or audience. For good, all things work in harmony.
George Eliot said, “Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.”
This was evident as we sat under the stars, spellbound by the voice of the star. I felt more at peace than I had in weeks. The music replaced the angst and, in the end, again, some hope in mankind, some hope in us as a people, was renewed.
There are some sections of our society who would never attend certain events, either because of lack of interest, lack of knowledge or lack of resources. We may have different tastes in music, but the language is the same – something ignites within us when we hear and listen to music. But not only music, any aspect of the arts can save many of us from the madness around us.
What music will you choose to hear as we fight for our country? Soft strumming, inspiring you to be at peace, to embrace your neighbours, to love and stand united? Or the booming sounds, angry and deafening your ears, creating strife?
Amidst pending general elections, the formation of new political parties, campaigns, confidence in no-confidence, legitimacy in the fight for power, the concerns of the Guyanese people often seems to be ignored. And it would appear that a significant amount of, if not most, citizens seem unbothered by the drama. Some seem more concerned with America’s politics; debating whether Trump will succeed in building his wall.
But whether we have constructed walls in our minds in a deliberate effort to guard ourselves from bouts of rage, sadness or depression about the state of our country; whether we wish for change or are contented with the current directions and leaders, whether we are fearful because of past experiences, or choose to dwell on the hopes for the future or choose to mute all the noise and voices with music, we are hearing and listening to something.
Humming familiar words like “Kum ba yah,” we can close our eyes and choose to immerse ourselves in inspirational lyrics. Perhaps, “Come by here now peace for someone is fighting within themselves, fighting their enemies and even their friends” and “come by here now strength for someone is about to collapse and lose their fight with life” and “come by here now unity for we are on the verge of dividedly standing, which will only lead to our downfall.”
Many may be trapped by the walls they have built around themselves, not noticing when the light emerges or when the darkness appears, hypnotised by the screens and paralysed by laziness, and not hearing the messages booming from the drums, announcing beautiful events in our society, like Joss Stone’s concert.
“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife” – Kahlil Gibran.
“Where words fail, music speaks” – Hans Christian Andersen.
