World Music Day: History and Significance
Dharshana Kathiresan, INN/Chennai, @infodeaofficial
We cannot imagine a world without music; the celebration of our soul begins there. In view of honoring both amateur and professional musicians, the World Music Day or ‘Fête de la Musique’ (festival of music) is globally recognized on June 21.
This concept was originally founded in the 1970s by musician Joel Cohen, who later worked with a French radio station. He wanted bands to celebrate with music on June 21 to welcome the season of summer.
The World Music Day was then acknowledged by France’s Ministry of Culture in 1982 due to the tireless efforts of France’s Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, and Maurice Fleuret, a French composer and music journalist (who was also a recent member of the ministry then).
This day is welcomed in over 120 countries, by arranging free public concerts in malls, parks, railway stations, streets, grounds, and other public places. Musicians and the general public are cheered to play music in open spaces and they enjoy each other’s company.
Other main aspects of this festival of music are to highlight the importance of making all genres of music accessible and free for everyone and to welcome the beginner artists.
France was one of the first countries to take this to the streets, where people come and participate in singing together. Soon thousands of people were seen performing in groups.
The country has also organized several free concerts with professional and amateur artists, which were received by a huge audience.
This got a huge response from other countries as well and they soon joined in this commemoration of music.
A report by News18 stated that according to France’s Ministry of Culture, this has become an “event which mobilizes the musicians of the whole world for the pleasure of the audience of more than 120 countries, starting with the European countries.”
Everyone enjoys listening to music; let it be jazz, heavy metal, rock and roll, country, or folk. Studies indicate that music is valuable to all of us.
It helps in lowering stress, improving sleep patterns, curing mental health issues, etc. Some experts have also noted that certain patterns of music help us to focus and concentrate on our work.
