Articles: Articles, Press, etc

THE BEATITUDES

[An article by Howard about writing the music for the first Enchanted Voices CD] There are eight so-called ‘Beatitudes’ in St Matthew’s telling of Jesus of Nazareth’s sermon on the mount, the English word ‘beatitude’ coming from the Latin word ‘beati’ meaning blessed, as it appeared in the medieval Bible. As told by Matthew, they

Continue reading → on THE BEATITUDES

Scoring the dance of death

You would expect to see a requiem performed by a choir and orchestra. But a dance company? Howard Goodall explains how Eternal Light took flight.

Continue reading → on Scoring the dance of death
Howard Goodall, Alan Johnson and some primary pupils at State of Play 2007

National Singing Ambassador Update February 2007

Since the Secretary of State’s announcement of my appointment as ‘Singing Ambassador’ I have been inundated with messages of support, offers of help, examples of best practice and general enthusiasm for our campaign, which has been incredibly gratifying. To all of you who have written to me – thank you! Not surprisingly, many have asked

Continue reading → on National Singing Ambassador Update February 2007
Music Manifesto Logo

Olympic Chorus

Editorial essay in the Music Manifesto Report no.2 Singing is as natural and enjoyable to human beings as laughing. It is easy and universal, bonding us first to our mothers and then to each other. It complements our grasp of language and communication and accelerates our learning processes. It does not belong exclusively to one

Continue reading → on Olympic Chorus

Bibliophilia: an article by Howard Goodall for Portrait of the House, a compilation of reminiscences and ruminations on the subject of Christ, Church, Oxford:

I didn’t use Christ Church’s magnificent high Baroque library much in my first or second years as an undergraduate. In those days (the late 70s), Peckwater Quad had the unmistakeable ambience of an expensive boys’ public school and since I had escaped from just such a place to attend my excellent local comprehensive earlier in

Continue reading → on Bibliophilia: an article by Howard Goodall for Portrait of the House, a compilation of reminiscences and ruminations on the subject of Christ, Church, Oxford:

Howard Goodall on Enchanted Carols

I am sure I am not alone in thinking of the twenty or so best-known Christmas carols as the perfect embodiment of the spirit and message of the festival, more so than all the other trappings of the season, adorable as they are – the trees, the baubles, the reindeer and that off-duty fireman/Rotary Club

Continue reading → on Howard Goodall on Enchanted Carols

Planting the seeds of song

There is an ethnic group of tribes who live on the Hunan-Guizhou-Guangxi region borders in China called the Dong. They are many fascinating aspects of their culture, like the fact that their indigenous language was only written down for the first time in 1949 after the Maoist Revolution, or that they have constructed huge ‘drum

Continue reading → on Planting the seeds of song

'Sweet dreams are made of this'

Sunday Times Culture: Comment, 12 November 2006 The weight of history hangs heavily upon classical music’s shoulders. In the carefree, people-friendly world of popular music, Sandi Thom can sing ‘Oh, I wish I was a punk rocker (with flowers in my hair)’, not batting en eyelid at the absurdity or the historical inaccuracy of the

Continue reading → on 'Sweet dreams are made of this'
Howard as a chorister aged 12

The Chorister Thing

Forty years ago I became a chorister at New College, Oxford, not really knowing what to expect or what I could contribute, other than I knew I could hold a tune, I could learn the ropes from my older brother who was already there and I knew too that I loved Christmas Carols (which seemed

Continue reading → on The Chorister Thing

Music isn't 'dying' in our schools, it is changing!

Howard’s Times article responding to Richard Morrison’s ‘All Washed up: Down the Tubas’ piece on the state of music education in Britain. [February 2005] I spent eight months of last year researching the current state of music education in the UK for a South Bank Show shown just before Christmas. I visited schools all over

Continue reading → on Music isn't 'dying' in our schools, it is changing!