Music in times of isolation: learning from Chilean political prisoners

In difficult times, we often look previous generations that have lived through similar situations. As we currently find ourselves in globally similar situations of confinement and isolation, we can find solace and survival strategies in others’ experiences. Music is one of our responses to hardship as it helps us endure and understand our predicament. Examples of composers responding to pandemics are vast; Cooke’s 15th-century hymn Stella celi about the Black Plague, Bach’s cantata No. 25 Es ist nicht Gesundes and meinem Leibe and Corigliano’s Symphony No. 1 about the HIV/AIDS epidemic are only a few examples [1].
In the current Covid-19 crisis, music has also played a role in people’s lives. In mid-March, at the beginning of the confinement in Italy, the news reported that neighbours sang and played music from balconies. Musical activities were providing entertainment, but also a sense of community and hope. The music business responded by creating online opportunities to assist live performances or access catalogues of previous performances – amongst many others, the Philharmonie de Paris and L’auditori. Musicians have found new ways of performing in online communities and disseminate their music. Although these performances can rarely replace the unique experience of a live performance, they can serve other, much-needed, purposes: creating shared experiences, building resilience and generating hope for the future.