The Enduring Power of Music: How Melodies Reflect – adn Resist – History
A new book explores how iconic pieces of music transcend their original context, becoming vessels for political ideologies, cultural movements, and even corporate greed, revealing the complex relationship between art and society.
The idea was always ambitious, perhaps even ludicrous: to encapsulate millennia of human musical history – and the sonic history of the Earth itself – within the confines of 50 pieces. yet,as author tom Service discovered,the very limitations of this project illuminate its most compelling aspects.”The certain failures and gaps of the project are precisely where its interest lies,” he explains.
Service’s forthcoming book, A History of the World in 50 Pieces, doesn’t aim to be a comprehensive musical history or a personal playlist. Instead, it centers on a democratic definition of a “piece of music” – one that exists not in a definitive recording or score, but in its continuous reinterpretation across generations and cultures.This outlook reveals unexpected connections and highlights how music can be both a force for unity and a tool for manipulation.
The Double-Edged Sword of Universal Themes
Nowhere is this duality more apparent than in the story of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and its iconic “Ode to Joy.” Originally intended as a celebration of universal compassion and humanist ideals,the melody has been appropriated by vastly different ideologies. It resonated with student protestors in Tiananmen Square in 1989, becoming a soundtrack to their calls for freedom and democracy. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall that same year, the lyrics were adapted, replacing “freude” (joy) with “Freiheit” (freedom).
However, the tune’s universality also made it susceptible to darker interpretations. As Beethoven’s biographer Jan Swafford noted, the Nazis twisted the message of brotherhood into one of exclusion, declaring that “non-brothers should be exterminated.” The melody has served as the anthem of both the European Union and apartheid Rhodesia, and even earned the approval of Stalin.
The story of the Hill sisters, a Black American vocal trio who achieved success in France during the interwar period, offers another example of music’s complex relationship with identity and politics. Their music, while celebrated for its artistry, was also used to reinforce colonial stereotypes, with their image being marketed to exoticize Black culture.
More recently, Dmitri shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony has become a focal point for understanding the power of musical resistance. Composed under the shadow of Stalinist repression, the symphony’s seemingly triumphant finale has been interpreted in multiple ways. Some view it as a genuine expression of hope,while others see it as a cynical concession to the regime,a forced display of optimism masking deep despair. The symphony features a melody by Franz Léhar, a composer favored by Hitler. This “we’re off to Maxim’s” melody, from Léhar’s operetta The Merry Widow, is described as attempting to “steamroller the symphony out of existence,” mirroring the Nazi attempt to obliterate Leningrad.
Shostakovich himself explained that the music represented “all forms of terror, slavery, the bondage of the spirit,” extending beyond Nazism to encompass any totalitarian regime. The symphony’s finale ultimately offers a hard-won victory, embodying the resilience of the human spirit.
However, even this powerful symbol of resistance has been subject to political manipulation. In 2022, Vladimir Putin invoked the symphony during a speech commemorating its 80th anniversary, framing it as a celebration of Russian nationalism and a call to defend the “motherland” amidst the invasion of Ukraine. This appropriation highlights the ongoing contestation surrounding the symphony’s meaning, with its message of freedom and resistance being simultaneously embraced and exploited.
These examples – from Beethoven to the Hill sisters to Shostakovich – demonstrate that music is never neutral. It is indeed a dynamic force, shaped by history and capable of shaping it in turn. As Service concludes, this collective music-making reflects the entirety of humanity, encompassing both its triumphs and its failures.
A History of the World in 50 Pieces: The Classical Music That Shapes Us by Tom Service is published by Ebury (£25). To support the Guardian, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. delivery charges may apply.
