Energetic scene from this morning’s Gala launch.
Be more selective. That’s the advice of the National Cultural Foundation boss, Cranston Browne, to composers and writers this Crop-Over, especially when it comes to the use of the English language.
And the CEO has suggested that perhaps offering workshops on song-writing and arranging could be a good idea for his organisation to examine for the future.
Commenting on the lyrics of the season, the CEO after launching the Republic Bank (Barbados) Ltd Opening Gala and Ceremonial Delivery of the Last Canes, said that some could be “more creative”.
“I think we could do with more creative use of the English language. I would encourage the young writers and composers to make use of the English language. It is a beautiful language and therefore I think they should make better use of it,” he said.
Browne noted though that each year there were lyrics or songs early in the festival which pushed the envelope, but that was not the be-all and end-all of the music of Crop-Over.
“I think we get a mix every year. In the early stages of Crop-Over you hear a lot of the up-tempo songs, a lot of the songs you would call risqu√, but after that it settles down and you get the really sweet melodic songs coming through, so I am not really worried. I think that it would sort itself out, but I would encourage the composers and the writers to be more selective,” he suggested.
He said he believed the NCF had attempted hosting workshops for the seniors in the past, though he could not say what was the success of those.
Part of the challenge, he said was that: “Some of these guys think they know it all already; so what can we teach them?”
Nevertheless, Browne said: “I think it is a good idea that we can do it, especially in the area of song-writing and arranging that we should actually run some workshops, so I think that would be a good idea.” (LB)