The 1918 influenza pandemic (Spanish Flu) found cultural expression in the blues within the United States. Two songs told the story of the crisis, and in both cases viewed the catastrophe as an act of God.
“Jesus is coming soon” by Blind Willie Johnson
Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi
“Va, pensiero”, also known as the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”, is a chorus from the opera Nabucco (1842) by Giuseppe Verdi. It recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Verdi composed Nabucco at a difficult moment in his life. His wife and small children had all just died of various illnesses.
Fly, my thoughts, on wings of gold;
go settle upon the slopes and the hills,
where, soft and mild, the sweet airs
of my native land smell fragrant!
Greet the banks of the Jordan
and Zion’s toppled towers.
Oh, my homeland, so lovely and so lost!
Oh memory, so dear and so dead!
Golden harp of the prophets of old,
why do you now hang silent upon the willow?
Rekindle the memories in our hearts,
and speak of times gone by!
Mindful of the fate of Solomon’s temple,
Let me cry out with sad lamentation,
or else may the Lord strengthen me
to bear these sufferings!
People singing from balconies during coronavirus lockdown are part of a long tradition of using music to fight fear, stretching back through the Black Death to the 7th century BC. In the summer of 1576, the plague of Saint Charles devastated much of the Italian north.“It was a sight to see,” one commentator reported, “when all the inhabitants of this populous city, numbering little short of 300,000 souls … [sent] up together an harmonious voice.” (The Guardian)
Many music students today will recount music’s ability to overcome our egos as a very powerful tool in a quarantine. For patients with schizophrenia, cancer, multiple sclerosis and others – and even those on ventilators – music therapy can significantly reduce anxiety, depression and sometimes the underlying symptoms of disease. It is no surprise that music has consistently taken the hearts of the world during times of crises; it is in our best health interest to love music. Songs from an age reflect many details of a certain time and reflecting on our history is what helps us learn how we can change our future. Individual musicians sing in times of despair and crises in their lives and people today listen to those to learn.
Sources:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/how-people-turned-pandemic-pain-into-song-across-history
Leave a Reply