It would be lovely to say that Judith Weir is the ideal choice for this post. But is she? And, frankly, what does the post entail that would allow anyone to define what “the ideal choice” would be?
Perhaps the best way to show the real significance of this
post during the reign of the current monarch is to ask how many people can tell you the name of
Weir’s predecessor? What impact did
Peter Maxwell Davies make while holding the role? We thought his predecessor, Malcolm
Williamson, was a pretty inactive Master of the Queen’s Music; especially
coming after Arthur Bliss whose fanfares and ceremonial marches defined the
early part of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
But who can list what Max has done in the role? There was a royal wedding (William and Kate)
– memorable pieces by John Rutter and Paul Maelor – and a fair crop of state
visits, royal occasions, important national occasions, all of which passed by
without any obvious contribution from the man honoured as being a major figure
in British music. He did write a Christmas carol, which was privately performed
to the Queen, and both Charles and Camilla and William and Kate asked for one
of his (pre-Master of the Kings Music) compositions to be played during their
respective weddings, but that is hardly in the same league as, say, Purcell’s Birthday Ode for Queen Mary or Elgar’s Nursery Suite. Will Judith Weir, who for many people is
still best known for her Christmas carol, Illuminare,
Jerusalem, do anything to bring music once again into the arena of major state
events, or will she see it merely as a badge of honour in recognition of past
achievements?
I hold out little hope, not least because music no longer
matters to the mass of people. Saturated
with musical sounds the very ubiquitousness of which breeds a comfortable and
comforting familiarity, the general public has lost its ability to be stirred
by new music. When every tiny journey,
every visit to a shop, every meal or drink taken and every piece of visual and
aural entertainment is done accompanied by music (I watched TV footage of the
grisly aftermath of the crash of MH17 and was almost as upset by the faint but
inevitable background music added by a producer convinced that reality can only
exist with a musical accompaniment as I was by the horrors of that reality),
what purpose is there in adding music to a major national event? And when for most people music is confined to “playlists”
comprising familiar “songs” they have, through continued exposure, come to
regard as quite nice, there is no market for something new beyond a few fringe
weirdoes, like myself, who use rather than abuse their ears. We have almost
reached that point where, to mark some very special event, we need silence as
being the exception to our daily life
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| The promise of a Musical Monarch? |
In her public life, at least, music is not something which Queen
Elizabeth puts high up on her agenda of genuine interests; but her successor
does have a reasonable musical pedigree and has shown an alert interest in
music. Criticised as he is for his
interventions in matters of environment and social inequality, I wish the
Prince of Wales could intervene on the issue of music? He would be shot down in flames by those who
choose to criticise any utterance from a member of the royal family, but at
least he would have sparked a debate which might, just might, give some
credence to a post which has become grotesquely devalued and seems largely redundant
today.
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| Explore Judith Weir's choral music with this excellent disc from Delphian (DCD34095) |
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