A Writer’s Response to Classical Music

By Chris Billingham 

Three weeks ago, my colleague James posted this fascinating article, examining whether music should be considered a language. Whilst I am certainly not a musicologist or composer, I can relate to the article and the theories it discusses because of my experience as a writer. 

With a background in many forms of writing, from poetry to comedy, the idea of music creating an emotion fascinates me. From conversations with other writers and my own experiences, it is clear that different styles of music cause different emotional reactions, which help or hinder writing in a number of ways. In my opinion, we interact and connect to the language of music with a wide range of responses. 

The most common form of writing I undertake is scriptwriting, an activity that for me at least initially requires complete silence, followed by all-encompassing instrumental music. The silence is needed first, to find the characters and the scene. I find that music can be distracting, or perhaps too leading. For example, Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ is an incredible work, and recently the gentle pace of the opening was perfect when writing a character profile for a shy, quiet character. When the pace of the music increases, however, the images that were conjured up suddenly didn’t fit the character. 

This is the reason that music is only introduced to the process when the direction of a scene and the characters within that scene are clearly seen in my mind’s eye. At this stage, orchestral music especially is an incredible aid, the sadness and tragedy of a piece like Mahler’s 9th Symphony bringing such vivid imagery to life that immediately translates to the page. This process takes place with instrumental music in particular; I tend to find that vocals, or more specifically lyrics, lead thoughts in a certain direction, causing me to imagine the specific scenario the singer is describing, not the one I need to portray in the script. 

It goes without saying that the process described above is completely personal, and all writers and lovers of classical music will have different experiences, taking in a number of other internal and external factors. There will be those that react physically to music, the ones that cheer and stamp their feet directly opposing those that sit in a refined manner and take in the piece (another blog article for another day). There will be those that feel that the composer should decide your thoughts when you hear a piece; logical, one might think, but what about when guidance from the composer is limited? Are listeners then dependent on the author of the programme? 

Recently, a newly-musical friend mentioned that they were attending a concert of Mahler 2, the “Resurrection” Symphony. At 90 minutes, it wasn’t exactly an ‘accessible’ entry into the world of orchestral music, so at our suggestion he took some emotive, rather than technical, notes into the concert. Illuminative, or restrictive? Should he have been able to make up his own mind about what he heard? He responds: “The notes helped provide an extra dimension and understanding of the performance. This was the first classical concert performed by a symphony orchestra I had attended. The notes guided me through each movement, allowing a fascinating insight in to the mind and motivation of the composer. A truly memorable performance by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra." 

For my own writing process, then, and for consistency’s sake, how can someone who wants to write and make people think about their chosen subject matter turn to a piece of music that is clearly about another subject for inspiration? Perhaps it’s the many responses to the language of music that makes music so powerful as an art form; my initial, literal response might be entirely different to my deeper, cerebral one. 

How do you react to music? Do you work to classical music? To get in touch and share your thoughts, comment below or join in the discussion on Facebook or Twitter. 

To find out more about Southern Sinfonia, please visit our website or Instagram page. 

To find out more about tomorrow evening’s concert with the brilliant City of Bath Bach Choir, click here. Next Friday sees Chris Hill, Dave Newton and Heather Cairncross perform ’Winter Jazz to Cheer Us’, in a Café Concert not to be missed. To find out more, click here.