I have been an avid music lover all of my life, and pride myself on being the creator of two musical comedies which briefly won wide acclaim in Nevis and St. Kitts.
“Horatio,” a light-hearted retelling of the historic marriage of Horatio Nelson and Fanny Nisbett in 1787, was produced in 1987, and “Five Star Follies,” a gentle spoof about labour relations at the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis, was produced in 2000, although written several years earlier.
A total of over forty songs and musical numbers in the two shows expresses a wide range of situations and human emotions like love, hate, fear, ambition, and joy.
I created all of the music and lyrics, and tried to tell my stories with pleasant melodies and language that would appeal to everyone, and was suitable for the most sophisticated adults or the youngest children in our midst to listen to.
And, believe it or not, the shows were staged in Nevis and St. Kitts without the benefit of over-amplified sound – yet audiences were able to listen to, and fully appreciate, what was being offered. The music that was presented was melodious, tasteful, and not loud enough to be a disturbance to others in the neighbourhood. Most importantly; the overall message that was projected, was wholesome and reflected a positive and favourable image of the cultural development and sensibilities of our society.
I’ve always enjoyed a wide range of music: classical, jazz, folk, spiritual and so on. Through my teen and early adult years, I became quite captivated with the Gilbert and Sullivan type of operettas like “The Pirates of Penzance,” and the big Broadway musicals like “The Sound of Music,” which really set the benchmark for my several humble attempts.
I never saw the Broadway Production of “The Sound of Music,” but the screen version simply took my breath away with the beauty of the songs with music by Richard Rogers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein. Songs like “Climb Every Mountain,” are so inspirational, “My Favorite Things,” nostalgic, and “Do–Re –Mi,” so fun-filled and childishly playful.
“The Sound of Music” fittingly was not only the title of the show, but also the most memorable of the songs. I still thrill at the memory of Julie Andrews singing the beautiful refrain;
The hills are alive with the sound of music;
With songs they have sung for a thousand years.
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music;
My heart wants to sing every song it hears.
The verse goes on to describe what she feels in her heart from the sounds of nature which are like music to her, and ends with the lines,
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music,
And I’ll sing once more.
Alas, the hills, streets, bars, cars and shops of Nevis and St. Kitts are alive with the sounds of over-amplified music, for which I feel quite justified in using the spelling and intonation suggested in the title of this article. That beautiful song can certainly not be sung with much conviction anywhere around here these days. The natural charm and beauty that that song reflects is being trashed and trampled, uprooted, mangled, destroyed and discarded by those who don’t care a hoot about the natural benefits of peace and quiet.
Noise, noise, and more noise seems to be the ultimate aim – and the more, the merrier. Who don’t like it, can just suffer, is the attitude. And to top it all off, the proper authorities who should be concerned, the health, education, and civic biggies who ought to be publicly trying to rectify the situation, have either joined ranks in support of the perpetrators, or just given up because “dey cyan do nuttin!” – or so it seems.
People are actually getting sick, and I don’t mean just sick and tired from the loud mu-sick which is allowed to bombard those who don’t want it and can’t stand it. In a greater effort to try to get something done about this wave of sickening activity, the anti-noise campaign will step up the effort with a drive to petition the powers that be, for meaningful measures to provide relief in this situation which is so negatively affecting a great many of us.
We need to get as many signatures as we possibly can from all those who have been affected, or want support our cause. Peace and quiet harm no one, and that is the main aim.
Petitions are available at the museums in Nevis, at CHOICE/fm radio station, or from Amba Trott, call 469-1424 or 765-3559.
