History
Stealing the Devil's tunesDocumentary traces the musical history of the Salvation Army
While working among the destitute of London's notorious East End during the latter half of the 19th century, Salvation Army founder William Booth is said to have heard the bawdy popular songs issuing from the local gin palaces and exclaimed, “Why should the Devil have all the good tunes?” Why indeed. Almost from its beginnings, the Salvation Army has made music an essential part of its worldwide ministry. The new documentary Salvation Army: Music in Their Souls offers a look at the past, present and future of this proud tradition.
In 1865, William Booth established his new Evangelical movement in England to minister to the poorest of the poor. Brass band music entered into the picture early on, through circumstance rather than design. Though Booth had little fondness for the style, it helped to draw crowds on the teeming slum streets. And it drowned out the rogues and ruffians who frequently tried to disrupt their open-air gatherings.
“God's gift of music … was a major vehicle to first attracting the ear and then the heart of the listener,” explains William Himes, Music and Gospel Arts Director for the Salvation Army in Chicago. To this day, the Army is renowned for its stellar brass bands. But with the movement now operating in more than 100 countries and popular tastes prone to change, the Army has also been compelled to embrace many other musical genres, from calypso to rock.
In Canada, the Salvation Army musical tradition has been scarred by tragedy. In 1914, more than 150 Army members perished when the passenger ship Empress of Ireland sank in the St. Lawrence River. The disaster decimated the ranks of the acclaimed Canadian Staff Band, an “all-star” ensemble featuring top musicians from Army corps across the country. More than half a century passed before this band would be reborn.
In addition to recounting the Salvation Army's musical past, the documentary takes viewers to a present-day gathering in Lake Simcoe, Ont., where Army delegates from more than 30 countries perform and pray together as they ponder new ways of spreading their message through song.
“Sometimes it's easy to think of the good old days,” says Col. John Carew, Director of the Army's Canadian Heritage Centre. “But we feel the better days are yet to come. We can't live in the past.”