Hospital Radio: Is the UK a 'land without music'?

Did you know that in 1904 a German music critic, Oscar Adolf Hermann Schmitz, described the UK as “the land without music”?

At that time, so I am led to believe, few disagreed, including Brits themselves. If you cast your mind back to the great classical composers until fairly recently in musical terms, they have predominantly come from the continent.

But if you look deeper, you can see the British Isles has a rich tradition of music that weaves its way through historic folk songs right through to the modern day, where some of the most famous songs of all time were born right here.

Much of the music we know came from a religious background; the earliest beginnings were chants, and as time developed, churches became somewhere where songs were sung.

Maybe not quite as we know them now, but if you go to church on a Sunday and you sing a hymn, the chances are that it is a few hundred years old. By the 18th century, well-known figures such as John and Charles Wesley had written hundreds, some say thousands, of hymns, many of which are still sung in churches today.

A writer of hymns is known as a hymnist, whilst the singing or composition of hymns is called hymnody. The emotions in the words and feel of the melody inspired congregations of the time to express their faith through song.

Here are just two examples of how their hymns have lasted the test of time. Charles Wesley was prolific, and "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" was first published in 1747, and even earlier, in 1739, he had penned "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Maybe he was the Ed Sheeran of his day. That is not to say that we will consider modern popular music as hymns in the future. Or will we?

Chart music is littered with hymns along the way; here are a couple of examples. "Morning Has Broken" is a Christian hymn from 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and is set to a traditional Gaelic tune. In 1972 Cat Stevens released his version, which reached number 9 in the UK and included piano work by Rick Wakeman. Probably even more well known is "Amazing Grace", written in 1772 by an Anglican clergyman and poet.

This is possibly the most recorded hymn in the world, the Joan Collins version being the best known, although there are hundreds of versions. These include one of my least favourite recordings of all time by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards,’ an instrumental version featuring a bagpipe soloist accompanied by a pipe band.  Truly awful.

Nowadays there is even an official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart. Which is full of modern takes on what I guess are effectively hymns. But there is, of course, another genre of song that has been popular in the UK for centuries: the folk song. Names to conjure with are the likes of Sandy Denny and Al Stewart, who managed crossover hits after starting out with folk music. There are a whole host of artists who might float your boat in the folk world.

Liverpudlian Jamie Webster had a huge hit with his debut studio album, We Get By, a few years ago. Established artists including Kate Rusby, The Levellers, Seth Lakeman, Richard Thompson and Show of Hands who are churning out classy music which is intrinsically British in origin and looks as if they will stand the test of time. So, we are and have never been a ‘land without music’.

Of course I have not even touched on popular music, but I will save that for another time. Given the history of British music over the last hundred years, it may take me a while to cover that. I suggest you catch a gig or visit a folk club or a Sunday service; there’s lots of good stuff out there.