Happy World Music Day (Fête de la Musique)!
It's just another day, another celebration to some,
but to the others, it is a day that is truly special. It is a day on which the world celebrates the magical gift of music. It was conceptualized in France, way back in 1976, by the American musician Joel Cohen. The concept was to celebrate music - all night long - to mark the beginning of the summer solstice.
Since the Eighties, the concept has caught on in a big way with a huge number of countries celebrating in their own way, regardless of the season that one might be experiencing.
The idea is noble..... amateur and professional musicians perform on makeshift stage, often together, to promote the goal of making all genres of music accessible to the masses.
In true sense, it has become a mass movement in not less than thirty odd nations of the world.
Street music has its detractors too, many are averse to the idea of all-night long revelry, the loud music, and the general commotion. The noise restrictions and other norms are thus imposed at most of these open-air free concerts. However, music rules the roost.
'Faites de la musique' (make music) is the slogan that has gained prominence.
Music serves to unite, to build bridges between cultures, and, more than anything else, it fosters harmony, tolerance and peace.
A friend of mine echoes my sentiments in saying, "Music for me is not just a hobby, it is a passion, it is worship, and is akin to oxygen, without which survival is absurd." Many of us genuinely believe that the ones who are blessed musically (and not all are) have the power to rise above all odds, they can heal themselves as well as others. They communicate in the universal language of God.
"Music", in the words of Leonard Bernstein, "can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable."
I believe that our souls are enriched by music that flows eternally, in this universe of ours, in the cosmos.
It's just another day, another celebration to some,
but to the others, it is a day that is truly special. It is a day on which the world celebrates the magical gift of music. It was conceptualized in France, way back in 1976, by the American musician Joel Cohen. The concept was to celebrate music - all night long - to mark the beginning of the summer solstice.
Since the Eighties, the concept has caught on in a big way with a huge number of countries celebrating in their own way, regardless of the season that one might be experiencing.
The idea is noble..... amateur and professional musicians perform on makeshift stage, often together, to promote the goal of making all genres of music accessible to the masses.
In true sense, it has become a mass movement in not less than thirty odd nations of the world.
Street music has its detractors too, many are averse to the idea of all-night long revelry, the loud music, and the general commotion. The noise restrictions and other norms are thus imposed at most of these open-air free concerts. However, music rules the roost.
'Faites de la musique' (make music) is the slogan that has gained prominence.
Music serves to unite, to build bridges between cultures, and, more than anything else, it fosters harmony, tolerance and peace.
A friend of mine echoes my sentiments in saying, "Music for me is not just a hobby, it is a passion, it is worship, and is akin to oxygen, without which survival is absurd." Many of us genuinely believe that the ones who are blessed musically (and not all are) have the power to rise above all odds, they can heal themselves as well as others. They communicate in the universal language of God.
"Music", in the words of Leonard Bernstein, "can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable."
I believe that our souls are enriched by music that flows eternally, in this universe of ours, in the cosmos.
