The Comfort of Music

This past Easter Sunday, the world-renowned opera singer, Andrea Bocelli took an empty Milan and the Duomo cathedral as his stage in order to deliver a solo concert to convey messages of love, hope and solidarity to Italy and the rest of the world.

Bocelli’s concert, which was dubbed “Music for Hope” consisted of five tracks: Panis Angelicus, Ave Maria, by Charles-François Gounod, Sancta Maria by Pietro Mascagni, Domine Deus by Gioachino Antonio Rossini and the grand finale; Amazing Grace by John Newton.

The video first depicts drone shots of a completely empty, quiet and tranquil Milan during this COVID-19 lockdown and proceeds to play Andrea Bocelli speaking in a voiceover in which he states, “On the day in which we celebrate the trust in a life that triumphs, I’m honoured and happy to answer ‘Sì’ to the invitation of the City and the Duomo of Milan. I believe in the strength of praying together; I believe in the Christian Easter, a universal symbol of rebirth that everyone – whether they are believers or not – truly needs right now. Thanks to music, streamed live, bringing together millions of clasped hands everywhere in the world, we will hug this wounded Earth’s pulsing heart, this wonderful international forge that is the reason for Italian pride. The generous, courageous, proactive Milan and the whole of Italy will be again, and very soon, a winning model, engine of a renaissance that we all hope for. It will be a joy to witness it, in the Duomo, during the Easter celebration which evokes the mystery of birth and rebirth.” The moving video has racked up over 30 million views on YouTube since it was live-streamed two days ago, with comments and messages from all over the world offering comfort and hope to each other.

This begs the question, how can music affect one’s mood, and can it provide comfort? It is widely known that music can have several positive effects on mental and psychological health. It also has various different effects on the brain, especially in the developmental years. The most popular phenomenon dealing with music and the effects it has on the brain is known as the ‘Mozart effect’, which is the idea that playing music by Wolfgang Mozart will boost your intelligence. Although there is no clear explanation as to why classical music, specifically, boosts intelligence, scientists have speculated that it is because “[…] Listening to music helps organise the firing of nerve cells in the right half of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for higher functions,” a study from Harvard Medical School explained. However, it goes on to explain that the “Mozart effect” only accounts for around two IQ points which is not a positive score, however, studies have reported that learning to play an instrument can augment the brain’s ability to master different skills such as languages, memory and attention.

Several studies have proven the effects that music can have on stress. The Harvard Medical School released a report outlining a study that was conducted with 80 patients that were undergoing urologic surgery with spinal anaesthesia, and it found that music decreased the need for intravenous sedation. In the study, patients were able to control the amount of sedative they would receive during the operation. It was found that the patients that were randomly assigned to listen to music needed less sedative medication than those who listened to white noise or sounds of the operating room. The report goes on to explain that, “In the […] urologic surgery studies, the patients were awake during their operations. But a study of 10 critically ill postoperative patients reported that music can reduce the stress response even when patients are not conscious. All the patients were receiving the powerful intravenous sedative propofol, so they could be maintained on breathing machines in the intensive care unit (ICU). Half the patients were randomly assigned to wear headphones that played slow movements from Mozart piano sonatas, while the other half wore headphones that did not play music. Nurses who didn't know which patients were hearing music reported that those who heard music required significantly less propofol to maintain deep sedation than those patients wearing silent headphones. The music recipients also had lower blood pressures and heart rates as well as lower blood levels of the stress hormone adrenaline and the inflammation-promoting cytokine interleukin-6.”

The report also comments on the effects of music on a person’s mood. “An authoritative review of research performed between 1994 and 1999 reported that in four trials, music therapy reduced symptoms of depression, while a fifth study found no benefit. A 2006 study of 60 adults with chronic pain found that music was able to reduce pain, depression, and disability. And a 2009 meta-analysis found that music-assisted relaxation can improve the quality of sleep in patients with sleep disorders.”

Music is of utmost importance during this difficult time that humanity is experiencing on a global scale, and will be facing in the coming months. Although music might not be able to fully alleviate the stress, tension and depression we might be feeling, it can help in the feeling of solidarity and hope. Bocelli’s concert in the Duomo cathedral is only one example of how music can bring together people from all over the world to support each other and offer extra support. Although we are separated by countless kilometres, walls, medical face masks and sometimes simply two metres, humanity stood closer together than ever before on Easter Sunday in being united by music and hope.