The purpose of the steelband

THE EDITOR: In each steelband’s formal performance at Panorama finals, the arranger sees in the unfolding of purpose a particular instance of wholeness with his audience and hears the musical answer to the question his musical arrangement had written upon his heart.

Does his music have a property, have a purpose?

Are these revealed and unfolded during the formal presentation, say Panorama finals?

Are they revealed in the audience, an audience that believes its individual members have truly heard what the arranger wanted heard?

Is music then alive in an audience, as alive as breathed air, water drank, the provisioning earth?

Is a garden then alive, able to present a visitor with the bloom of a flower, the chirping of birds and insects, the scent of cow manure as fertiliser?

For the music is a mere shadow of the steelband’s performance which purpose is to still large audiences, open hearts of joy and peace, close down thoughts of suffering and guilt, bring a measurement of reparation to strangers of the region, awaken love that trembles the very hair on the hands of a listener.

We belong in the life of our music of which there are many parts.

SIMON CLEMENT

via e-mail