‘Symphonies of the Sublime’ is a YouTube channel hosting a series of performances and interviews with an ever increasing number of musical artists who are based in the UK. Each musician's contribution exists as a stand alone performance that can be viewed on the ‘Symphonies of the Sublime’ youtube channel here
Throughout the project, we will be raising funds by crowdfunding and other means, to finance the continuation of this project, allowing us to pay artists and pay for production costs. The aim is to create a spectacular collection of performances and interviews by some of the many remarkable musicians who operate in and from the UK. We hope the channel will bring well deserved exposure to the artists we film and even create new connections between artists hitherto unknown to each other. The project is not focused on any particular genre, culture or musical discipline, it simply aims to delve deep into the unparalleled tapestry of diversity and variety of traditions alive in the UK today - some you could describe as traditional to the British Isles, some are more recent arrivals and novel, others have been here for many generations and are so deeply embedded in the post-war Britain cultural narrative, that it warrants a rethink as to what we understand the 'music of the British Isles' to be.
A central theme running through this project is the exploration of the inevitable cross cultural exchange and deviation that, form the very moment music emerged, has served as the mechanism giving way to the countless instruments, styles, disciplines and practices of musical expression we see across the world today.
Many of the worlds musical traditions and the instruments belonging to them are under threat of disappearing as younger generations show less interest in them - this is apparent in Asian and African cultures as much as it is in European ones, with many of the worlds nations desperately striving to keep its traditions alive.
Ideas and their manifestations come and go - this is the pattern of history, but there is, non the less a thriving ecosystem of music traditions in the UK, originating from near and far, being kept alive by those who care to pick up the mantle.
Yet the idea of tradition and what it actually means is a tricky one. What does it mean to be described as traditional? Who gets to define it? Is traditional synonymous with authentic? The answer to the last question is no, it is not. The truth is that holding one to ideals, to resist change and to assign value to something being seen as ‘traditional’ is arguably a misconception rooted primarily in European Romanticism and Nationalism that fails to appreciate the constantly evolving nature of music as a living, breathing and ever changing cultural and cross cultural phenomenon.
Music has always been and is still (albeit maybe less apparent in the modern era) a reckoning of the old and new. It is a vehicle for dissidence whilst also an act of unity and celebration. It is without doubt a form of seance and a dialogue seeking to maintain connection through which to give explanation and to create meaning, and it seems that at least in part to be such, that it is this trait that gives the somewhat uniquely spiritual dimension to the phenomemon of music. From the most devout practice of the Sufi musician as a life dedicated to the transcendental through a discipline where spiritual and musical practices are inseparable, to the less obvious, perceived value of old instruments like the Stradivarius violin or a 50s Telecaster - no doubt these instruments sound superior for a number of reasons, but it is surely the resonating musical legacy they are associated with the and connection to the forbearers they carry that gives these instruments their meaning.
It is a vehicle for dissidence whilst also an act of unity and celebration,
‘Symphonies of the Sublime’ is a celebration of this most beautiful aspect of humanity. It is a journey into what we hope will be a revelation that shines light onto something we have that is worth preserving - that which is worth keeping alive because it is what makes us alive. It keeps us connected to who we are and what we are. There is no other cultural practice quite like music. It quite likely predates the emergence of modern humans and is thus rooted in the ancestors of our species. Every culture in existence today and that has ever been does, and has engaged in the act of making music. For lack go a better term, it is in our DNA - it is a language that all of us understand.