‘Spirit of Rosa’

Spirit of Rosa are a folk duo that plays in local churches and community centres in South Birmingham. I first became aware of the band through attending their Tuesday afternoon slot in the community Hub in Bournville in January about two years ago.

It was a difficult day for me as my father had been ill in hospital and I felt there wasn’t much I could do to help the situation. Shortly after entering the space, I became aware of what can only describe as a healing quality to their music, as they played two of my favourite songs, Romeo and Juliet and Brothers in Arms, both by Dire Straits. I was struck by the self-effacing and simple way in they played these songs, and other classics – largely from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Hearing these songs played so simply and well, without affectation, was a beautiful thing, and set something stirring within me. Spirit of Rosa seemed to have learned a secret about the nature of music, and how it can be a force for creating community and harmony, if allowed to speak for itself.

As I got to know the duo a bit, I found out that Rosa was the mother of one of the members, Tim. She had died in a fire in 2015. Tim had met Melvin the other founder at St. Chad’s church, Rubery, shortly afterwards, where they were part of the same choir. Tim felt that playing music with Melvin would be a way of processing his grief at the loss of his mother, and could allow others to do the same.

Tim and Melvin are not at all precious about others joining in with their music, and the sessions on Tuesday are really about everyone joining in singing and making music together with Tim and Melvin at the core of an ever changing ensemble of musicians, myself included. Though skill and talent certainly help things go off with a swing, they are not necessary, and everyone can join in, even if only by tapping a tambourine or humming along, or on occasion my dad’s dramatic dance movements, which can only be described as unique.

It should be said, in the light of the theme of this blog, that these occasions on Tuesday afternoons are very joyful experiences – who knew that a Tuesday afternoon could be so uplifting?

They’ve have also had me wondering, however, that before Streaming, before DVD and Video, before Computer Games, before Television, and even before Radio, didn’t there used to be a lot more of this sort of thing?

I am talking about ithe difference between a very passive, consumption based form of entertainment, that is distributed widely by a monolithic organisation, even as one as venerable as the BBC, (but these days will often be Netflix, or Amazon Prime), in contrast to a more shared, communal way of entertaining ourselves (entertain means to intertwine) where a family or group of friends would sit around a piano, for example, and take turns to share songs, stories and poems they knew.

There seems to me a massive gulf between the first and the second. The first serves to isolate and disempower us, render us weak in the face of corporate marketing power, the second to bring us together in shared commonality, mutuality and enjoyment.

The first is no doubt better for the economy and the growth figures, but I reckon the second better for our hearts, minds and souls.

By Damian J. Hursey