The Choir on Hope Street
Day Three of my yearly holiday in my favourite place, Ireland, and I have finished my first book. One of many I am hoping. The book which started my holiday is, “The Choir on Hope Street”, by Annie Lyon. This book brought two of my loves, reading and music, together in an uplifting story about the power of music.
I originally picked this book up because of its title. It is obvious it’s about something musical, a choir, and Hope Street is one of my regular haunts in Liverpool, although the book is not set in Liverpool. Little did I know that it would remind me how powerful music is.
A Choir on Hope Street follows two women, Caroline and Natalie, who have very different outlooks on life, one a perfectionist and the other no so much. However different, they are brought together with the help of their community and friends form a choir in an attempt to save their much-loved local community centre. Life isn’t an easy ride, Natalie and Caroline have a turbulent couple of months but they always manage to make it to their weekly choir rehearsals. Hope Street Community Choir soon becomes a place of solace, comradery, and hope. A little family.
Those who know me know that I love reading, and once I get into a book its rather hard to tear me away from it, and this was no different. I loved following the lives of Natalie and Caroline and even found some of their quirks and mishaps weirdly relatable. Annie Lyons has written in a way which makes you feel as if you are part of their lives. A little fairy on their shoulders as they go about their days. Lyon’s alternates between the two women’s viewpoint, every chapter allowing the reader to become equally invested in both protagonist’s endeavours and rooting for them when life inevitably takes a funny turn.
The best thing this book did for me was remind me how powerful music can be. No matter how much you know about music or how involved in it you are, there will always be a song that means something to you. Ties you to an event, a place or a person. Helped you get though a tough time. Helped you celebrate a success. Music has the ability to show and aid your emotions and give you a sense of calm. There are moments in this book which show this perfectly. At one particular point, Caroline describes how she feels as she starts singing with the Choir in the regional heats of the National Community Choir championships:
‘For a small moment all the worries… all the stresses and strains of my life, disappeared. I was lost in the music, caught up in the words of the song. I did feel strong, I did feel powerful. My body tingled with goose-bumps… I felt wonderfully alive.’
Music makes life bearable. Gives us the strength to carry on when we’re feeling down. Gives us a place to get lost in, a safe haven, when life gets too much. Although many of my friends are musicians who live and breathe music, and music may even be the cause of their frustration, practise isn’t going well or they can’t seem to find the perfect finish for their composition, music is still their go-to for relieving stress. Everyone has their guilty pleasures for just these types of moments. Mine, I am not ashamed to say, is Nathan Carter (If you haven’t heard of him and like a bit of country you’d probably enjoy it too!) His version of Wagonwheel by Bob Dylan is always a great pick me up whenever I feel down while at the same time being the go-to song for a carefree singalong in the car.
Music has been used so many times as a way to bring people together to fight an injustice or help a cause. The most obvious one that comes to mind is Live Aid. Sir Bob Geldof’s successful attempt at raising money for those starving in Ethiopia. Big names such as Queen and Status Quo made the bill, making it a concert not to miss. Over the years there have been many other uses of music for charitable causes. Every year, Children in Need and Comic Relief put on a televised event, with many musicians performing to show their support, casts of TV programmes such as Eastenders turn to musical numbers in their attempt to keep the donations rolling in.
What I’m trying to say is, music is one of the most powerful forms of communication there is. It forms bonds with us we can never quite understand and supports when we need it most. In short, music rocks!
Anyone who wants to know more about Annie Lyon and the Choir on Hope street can do so here. Go on give it a read, I promise you won’t regret it!