Sing Joyfully (2023)

The title Sing Joyfully was actually suggested to me by one of its commissioners from the Saffron Walden Choral Society, as a working title for a piece of music that would eventually explore the pleasure to be derived from singing. The title immediately brought to mind the anthem by William Byrd, with which I then chose to begin this new piece, divesting the work of its religious nature by omitting parts of the text.

I decided, inspired by the nature of the commission, to collect some texts that specifically describe singing communally and what benefits this holds for the individual and for society as a whole. A passage from Thomas Morley’s Plaine and Easy Introduction to Practical Music describes the narrator’s discomfort at being unable to join his fellow guests in some convivial communal singing. This then leads into words from a research paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science by Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay and Robin Dunbar that details some scientifically observed benefits of communal singing. This paper was brought to my attention when I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy of the book Why We Sing by Julia Hollander, published by Allen & Unwin. Julia’s book is full of science on this topic, interwoven with wonderful anecdotal evidence from Julia’s own life and practice; she kindly permitted me to quote a few sentences from her uplifting book.

Finally, I asked choir members themselves from Saffron Walden to answer general questions about why they personally chose to sing and why they became members of this society. Some of these responses are woven into the text.

A final request of the commissioners was that there be an element in which the audience could participate. On the return of the initial Byrd point, the piece turns into a simple round with an extra part for any further members of the audience who wish to be included. Hopefully it won’t just be the members of the choir who can experience the joy of singing together.

Roderick Williams

Text courtesy of:
Thomas Morley
Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay and Robin Dunbar
Julia Hollander

Carol Hunt, Christine Hall, Pascale Fowell, Jane Ridler and members of the Saffron Walden Choral Society

Sing joyfully

But supper having ended, and music books having been brought to the table, according to the custom: the mistress of the house presented me with a part, earnestly requesting me to sing. But when, after many excuses I protested sincerely that I could not: everyone began to wonder. Some whispered to others, demanding how I was brought up: so that, filled with shame of my ignorance, I now go to seek out a teacher in order to learn how to sing.

^{Thomas Morley: Plain and Easy Introduction to Music}

Why do we sing?

Creating and maintaining positive social relationships is essential for human physical and mental health and well-being. As a co-ordinated and often synchronous activity, in terms of breath and heart rhythms, as well as timing and pitch, it is unsurprising that singing has also been linked with elevated Beta endorphin levels, implicated in mother-infant bonds, romantic relationships and social touch in humans.

^{From The ice-breaker effect: singing mediates fast social bonding, By Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay and Robin I. M. Dunbar
© 2015 Eiluned Pearce, Jacques Launay and Robin I. M. Dunbar, Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/}

Singing together makes our hearts beat as one and it requires multiple synaptic activity all at once. Whatever your genetic make-up, singing will improve your general brain power and enable you to make full use of your listening ability.
Those of us who make music when we’re young enjoy better hearing in old age.

^{From Why We Sing by Julia Hollander. 
© Julia Hollander. Reproduced by permission of Atlantic Books.}

What does singing mean to us?

Mental stimulation
A sense of achievement
I love singing together with a shared goal
Alone and together, a shared purpose
It’s a privilege
Laughter and friendship
It’s uplifting
Wonderful music
Thankful to have a voice
I feel alive when I sing.
That physiological and emotional buzz when the harmony of the voices really zing!

^{Carol Hunt, Christine Hall, Pascale Fowell, Jane Ridler
and members of the Saffron Walden Choral Society.
Reproduced by permission.}

If you thought that singers were naturally buoyant, sociable individuals, you were wrong.
We’re not singing because we’re happy, we’re happy because we…

^{From Why We Sing by Julia Hollander.
© Julia Hollander. Reproduced by permission of Atlantic Books.}