The World Music Day
Music is an educational, aesthetic and cultural necessity, bringing people closer to each other, and combining the various close objectives related to the creativity of musicians. The World Music Day is an occasion for the exchange of ideas among the people of the world. It creates an atmosphere of artistic cooperation between international and national music institutions, and encourages conferences, festivals and competitions.
On June 21st 1982, the French Ministry of Culture launched an initiative entitled "Play Music on Music Day”, as thousands of professional and amateur musicians and music lovers participated in this initiative. The Mediterranean and Francophone countries were the first to participate in this one of a kind initiative. The 21st of June was taken as the International Music Day, as it became a global celebration. Arab countries had thus participated in this global initiative, and this International Day for nearly sixteen years. In addition, the World Music Day aims at reviving people’s cultural and artistic taste.
Celebrations of the World Music Day
World Music Day is the largest international musical event in the world which is celebrated in the five continents with over one hundred and twenty-three Arab and Western countries participating in this phenomenon. This holiday is also considered an important national holiday in many countries such as Italy, Greece, Colombia, Luxembourg, and other countries in which music is an essential part.
The idea of holding a Music Festival was launched by the French Minister Jacques Lang, who was Minister of Culture at the time, and the Director of Music and Dance Maurice Fleury. They had a vision of having a single event that can include jazz, rock, singing along with classical music, and they especially wanted to value amateur performance, and this unique French invention became World Music Day. It has grown worldwide and its export has been very successful.
The celebration of Music Day is a celebration of popular culture, its role in the demonstrations, its inciting power, and its most important experiences. Many countries in the world eagerly await World Music Day with its various atmospheres and free musical celebrations that aim to discover the various types of cultures through this universal language that everyone understands. Music has different colors; Arab, Western, jazz, classical or others, and the World Music Day all over the world witnesses the organization of concerts that meet all tastes, in the presence of artists from different countries to learn and discover musical heritage in various parts of the world. Moreover, this holiday is a great celebration of its kind and is open to music lovers if they are beginners, amateurs or professional artists. So how did music originate in the first place?
The Origin of Music
There is no history of the origin of music. Music has been known ever since the dawn of humanity and it originated with the first man as he used to imitate the sounds of birds combining two and then three voices, until he became accustomed to singing. Singing thus became a necessity of life and a way of expressing his sympathy with others with the musical rhythm and dance incorporated in singing. The earliest form of dancing was clapping hands. Then, they began to strike stones and wood, noticing the rhythmic sounds that come from such actions. After that, they invented stringed instruments by using sturdy plant strings.
Music Today:
Undoubtedly, music today has changed tremendously from the way it once originated. By incorporating technology and even Artificial Intelligence, there is a constant debate now whether AI should even be allowed to make music since this activity has been one within which all human’s creativity has stemmed. Regardless of so, music is here to stay and is worth having World Music Day.
